What we do at Briljent is an extension of who we are as people—where we came from. Our CEO and founder, Kathy Carrier, started Briljent in 1998 to form a company, “where everyone could have a voice … to take care of our people equally, listen to their ideas, value their contributions and give them opportunities.” That’s why our culture is defined by our Non-Negotiable Items (NNIs). 

The Luminous Fund

One of our favorite NNIs – but it’s so hard to pick just one! – is To Whom Much is Given, Much is Required. We summarize that NNI like this: 

We don’t take our success lightly. We’ve worked hard and our diligence has yielded a flourishing company…But we never take it for granted. We’ve made it a priority to give back whenever possible and extend to others from what we’ve received. 

We created The Luminous Fund to walk the talk as we believe giving back is a demonstration of our character.

The Luminous Fund was founded in 2016 by Kathy, her husband Dave, and their children. They were inspired by the idea that Briljent’s success will uplift their family, their employees, and the lives of others. Since its inception in 2016, the Luminous Fund has awarded $588,400 to nonprofit organizations across the country in the communities where our employees live. In 2021 alone, The Luminous Fund received 50 grant requests and awarded over $155,000! 

We invested in organizations with missions that support:

• Cancer Research, Treatment, and Prevention ($19,500)
• Housing and Homelessness ($27,500)
• Wellness and the Health of the Aging Population ($35,500)
• Veterans and Law Enforcement ($5,000)
• Women, Infants and Children ($15,200)
• Youth Learning ($52,700)

Featured Awardee: The Emily Settle Fund

When asked to reflect on the notable achievements in 2021, Kathy shared: 

I am most proud of the work that The Luminous Fund did with one of Briljent’s key employees, Mike Settle. Working with Mike and his family we created and made a significant donation to The Emily Settle Fund. This was in honor of Mike’s daughter, Emily, who died in September after a five-year battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

The goal of the Emily Settle Fund is to support Indiana cancer patients (ages 20 – 39) and their families with financial assistance to meet their travel and day-to-day needs. As part of our work to serve others, Board members of The Luminous Fund set up a donor-advised fund for the Settle family, made the connection with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and funded the design of a website.

Hear from Mike Settle, Briljent’s Learning and Development Operations Manager and Emily’s dad, discussing The Luminous and Emily Settle Funds.

Kathy continued, “The best part of this charitable project is that it was all done with Emily, just before she died. In typical Emily fashion she was vibrant and enthusiastic as The Emily Settle fund came to life. Today the fund totals nearly $90,000.”  We invite you to visit The Emily Settle Fund Website to learn more and find a link to donate. 

Learning Leaders, Even in Philanthropy

With our background in learning and development, it’s no surprise that a commitment to continuous learning sets Luminous apart from other philanthropic families. In fact, that leads us to another NNI—Learning Leaders. Kathy and the Board are always on a mission to expand and share philanthropic knowledge and lessons learned. Kathy regularly attends learning events sponsored by the National Center for Family Philanthropy and was recently a featured speaker at a philanthropy conference on the topic of open and transparent operation: 

We are a donor-advised fund and we use the Community Foundation to streamline our investment process and the distribution of our grants. In all that we do and how we do it, we aim to be transparent and open. We are also lifelong learners, so each year we network with other families through the National Center for Family Philanthropy and we implement new ideas. 

The Luminous Fund has been honored with an innovation award in recognition of this passion for selfless giving and relentless pursuit of best practices. 

Briljent brings the best to its clients with our methodology and skill and The Luminous Fund does the same with our grantees. 

Join us in celebrating the organizations that we supported this year! Visit the Luminous website to learn more about the community organizations we gave back to in 2021. Thank you to our families, friends, employees, and community partners for nominating the nonprofit organizations that are near and dear to your hearts!