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Alex Stern Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Alex Stern Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$554k
Granted FY2025still arriving
69
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$113k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Philanthropy$729kEducation$521kHuman Services$426kRecreation & Sports$340kHealth$320kArts & Culture$279kYouth Development$146kFood & Nutrition$67kOther$0
02FY2025 · 69 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k51 grants · $231k
  • $10k–50k17 grants · $210k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $113k
$5,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$9.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
IMPACT FOUNDATION$112,500
OAK GROVE LUTHERAN SCHOOL$25,000
ANGELS HOCKEY CLUB$25,000
HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC$15,000
RED RIVER REGIONAL MARKSMANSHIP CEN$15,000
SANFORD HEALTH FOUNDATION$10,000
TNT KID'S FITNESS$10,000
LANDON'S LIGHT FOUNDATION$10,000
RED RIVER CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTE$10,000
AMERICAN GOLD GYMNASTICS$10,000
YWCA CASS CLAY$10,000
LEND A HAND UP INC$10,000
SMALL WONDERS PRESCHOOL & CHILD CAR$10,000
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF THE VIL$10,000
HOSPICE OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY$10,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $313k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HALEY'S HOPE: $13k → 12%HALEY'S HOPE: $13k → 12%BRIDGING THE GAP: $10k → 12%HALEY'S HOPE: $5k → 12%NORTH DAKOTA AUTISM CENTER INC: $5k → 12%FIX IT FORWARD MINISTRY: $5k → 11%HALEY'S HOPE: $5k → 12%FIX IT FORWARD MINISTRY: $5k → 11%NORTH DAKOTA AUTISM CENTER: $5k → 12%THE GREAT NORTH POLE: $5k → 12%HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC: $15k → 12%HOPE BLOOMS: $10k → 12%HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC: $10k → 12%HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC: $10k → 12%HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC: $10k → 12%HANDI-WHEELS TRANSPORTATION INC: $10k → 12%RAPE AND ABUSE CRISIS CENTER: $10k → 12%RAPE AND ABUSE CRISIS CENTER: $5k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $5k → 12%RURAL ENRICHMENT & COUNSELING: $5k → 11%HOPE BLOOMS: $5k → 12%HOPE BLOOMS: $5k → 12%RAPE AND ABUSE CRISIS CENTER: $5k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $5k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $5k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $4k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $4k → 12%COMMUNITY OF CARE: $4k → 12%THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $10k → 12%HOSPICE OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY: $10k → 12%HEART N SOUL COMMUNITY CAFE: $5k → 12%NEXUS-PATH FAMILY HEALING: $5k → 12%THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%FRASER LTD: $5k → 12%FRASER LTD: $5k → 12%NEXUS PATH FAMILY HEALTH: $5k → 12%FRASER LTD: $5k → 12%THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%NEXUS-PATH FAMILY HEALING: $5k → 12%YMCA OF THE NORTHERN SKY: $5k → 12%THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION: $5k → 12%FIRSTLINK: $5k → 12%HOPEFUL HEART PROJECT: $5k → 12%HAVEN: $4k → 12%HAVEN: $3k → 12%HOSPICE OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY: $10k → 12%DAKOTA BOYS & GIRLS RANCH: $5k → 12%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.1M · 90 repeat orgs$379k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +19% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

90 repeat relationships: 44 still active in FY2025, 46 since wound down; 23 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

90
48

Total granted

$2.1M
$243k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+19%
+14%

Still filing today

52%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 69% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $137k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesArts & CultureHealthYouth DevelopmentHousing & ShelterEducationOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • LL
    LANDON'S LIGHT FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2025 · $50k · revenue +86%
  • TK
    TNT Kid's Fitness
    4× · 2020–2025 · $40k · revenue +4%
  • GP
    Great Plains Food Bank
    5× · 2020–2024 · $40k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • FP
    Fargo Park District Foundation
    one grant, 2024 · $20k · revenue 0%
  • SH
    SOLUTIONS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
    one grant, 2021 · $20k
  • PF
    PAUL FISHER-CAPSTONE CLASSICAL
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Catholic Charities North Dakota

Guided by our values, Catholic Charities North Dakota serves people in need and advocates for the common good of all.

—
2
North Dakota Natural Resources Trust
—
3
North Dakota Assistive

North Dakota Assistive delivers services to people with disabilities so they can get the assistive technology they need for work, school, and home.

Education
4
North Dakota Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health

Children's mental health

Health
5
Nd Association of Counties

NDACo provides leadership and services to foster effective and efficient government for the good of all counties.

—
6
North Dakota State University Foundation

Building enduring relationships that maximize advocacy and philanthropy to support North Dakota State University.

Education
7
Lake Region Corporation

Providing support for people in achieving success in their life and their community.

—
8
North Dakota Long Term Care Association

We are a professional association of long term care and community service providers who enhance the lives of people we serve through collaboration, education and advocacy.

—
9
Odd Fellows and Rebekah Home of North Dakota Inc

It is the mission of the Odd Fellows Home to be a "Place Where Somebody Cares." This has been the motto off Odd Fellows Home since the 1925 dedication. The Odd Fellows Home's mission is to provide a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere as…

Housing & Shelter
10
Easter Seals Goodwill Nd Inc

Easter Seals Goodwill ND, Inc. is a leading organization in supporting children, adults, and families to have equal opportunities to live, learn, work, and play in their communities.

Health
11
North Dakota News Cooperative
Arts & Culture
12
Family Wellness Bismarck-Mandan Llc

Committed to improving the wellness of families.

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Dakota; the most unlike its peers is Tellegacy Coporation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

84 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 84 of the 162 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
80/84
Grantees still filing
55/84
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ANGELS HOCKEY CLUB: $100,000 · OtherANGELS HOCKEY CLUBOAK GROVE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL: $75,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $60,000 · OtherMOORHEAD YOUTH HOCKEY: $60,000 · Other+111 more: $1,487,841 · Other+111 moreImpact Foundation: $717,500 · PhilanthropyImpact Foundation+2 more: $16,000 · PhilanthropyHandi-Wheels Transportation Inc: $55,000 · Human ServicesHandi-Wheel…HALEY'S HOPE INC: $35,000 · Human ServicesHALEY'S HOP…THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesTHE OUTDOOR…Community of Care: $27,000 · Human ServicesCommunity o…Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead: $20,000 · Human ServicesRape and Ab…Hospice of the Red River Valley: $20,000 · Human ServicesHospice of …Hope Blooms: $20,000 · Human ServicesHope BloomsFRASER LTD: $15,000 · Human ServicesNEXUS-PATH FAMILY HEALING: $15,000 · Human ServicesHAVEN: $14,000 · Human Services+11 more: $64,500 · Human Services+11 moreFARGO-MOORHEAD ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION: $32,500 · Arts & CulturePLAINS ART MUSEUM: $20,000 · Arts & CultureGOOSEBERRY PARK PLAYERS: $20,000 · Arts & CultureFARGO AIR MUSEUM: $20,000 · Arts & CultureFARGO MOORHEAD AREA YOUTH SYMPHONIES: $11,000 · Arts & CultureFARGO-MOORHEAD CHORAL ARTISTS: $6,000 · Arts & CultureCass County North Dakota Historical Society: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $7,500 · Arts & CultureRed River Childrens Advocacy Center: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentBIO Girls Inc: $30,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRL SCOUTS - DAKOTA HORIZONS: $14,000 · Youth DevelopmentLEGACY CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentHARVEST HOPE FARM: $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY: $4,000 · Youth DevelopmentTNT Kid's Fitness: $40,000 · Recreation & SportsAmerican Gold Gymnastics: $35,000 · Recreation & SportsFargo Park District Foundation: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsCAPSTONE CLASSICAL ACADEMY: $30,000 · EducationUniversity of Jamestown: $25,000 · EducationUniversity of Mary: $22,500 · EducationST MONICAS MONTESSORI INC: $7,500 · Education
Other$1,782,841Philanthropy$733,500Human Services$315,500Arts & Culture$122,000Youth Development$98,000Recreation & Sports$95,000Education$85,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetImpact Foundation: $717,500 over 6y, 7.8% of budgetHandi-Wheels Transportation Inc: $55,000 over 5y, 8.8% of budgetLANDON'S LIGHT FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetTNT Kid's Fitness: $40,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetGreat Plains Food Bank: $40,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Gold Gymnastics: $35,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetHALEY'S HOPE INC: $35,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetRed River Childrens Advocacy Center: $35,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetFARGO-MOORHEAD ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION: $32,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetTHE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION INC: $30,000 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetCAPSTONE CLASSICAL ACADEMY: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJEREMIAH PROGRAM: $30,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE INC: $30,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetBIO Girls Inc: $30,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF MINOT: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCommunity of Care: $27,000 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetUniversity of Jamestown: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRED RIVER DANCE AND PERFORMING COMPANY: $25,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetPEACE OFFICER JAIL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetShare House Inc: $23,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetLEARNING BANK INC: $22,500 over 6y, 24% of budgetUniversity of Mary: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPLAINS ART MUSEUM: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead: $20,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFargo Park District Foundation: $20,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetHospice of the Red River Valley: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHope Blooms: $20,000 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetCONCORDIA COLLEGE CORPORATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGOOSEBERRY PARK PLAYERS: $20,000 over 4y, 4.7% of budgetFARGO AIR MUSEUM: $20,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetWOMENS CARE CENTER: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDOWN HOME: $16,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetFRASER LTD: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF NORTH DAKOTA: $15,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetNEXUS-PATH FAMILY HEALING: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN LIGHTS COUNCIL OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA INC: $15,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS - DAKOTA HORIZONS: $14,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHAVEN: $14,000 over 4y, 3.9% of budgetTHE ARTS PARTNERSHIP OF THE RED RIVE: $14,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetFARGO MOORHEAD AREA YOUTH SYMPHONIES: $11,000 over 3y, 3.7% of budgetFARGO MEMORIAL HONOR GUARD: $11,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetBRIDGING THE GAP: $10,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetCCRI INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLEGACY CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHigher Power Automotive Ministries Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLend A Hand Up Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetHEARTSPRINGS: $8,000 over 3y, 6.3% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds Impact Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Handi-Wheels Transportation Inc ↗
  • Who funds LANDON'S LIGHT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TNT Kid's Fitness ↗
  • Who funds Great Plains Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds American Gold Gymnastics ↗
  • Who funds HALEY'S HOPE INC ↗
  • Who funds Red River Childrens Advocacy Center ↗
  • Who funds FARGO-MOORHEAD ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CAPSTONE CLASSICAL ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds JEREMIAH PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds HOPE INC ↗
  • Who funds BIO Girls Inc ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF MINOT ↗
  • Who funds Community of Care ↗
  • Who funds University of Jamestown ↗
  • Who funds MOORHEAD SCHOOLS LEGACY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds RED RIVER DANCE AND PERFORMING COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds PEACE OFFICER JAIL CHAPLAINS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Share House Inc ↗
  • Who funds LEARNING BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Mary ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Fargo-Moorhead Area F…Blue Cross Blue Shiel…The Barry FoundationDakota Medical Founda…Midcontinent Foundati…Offutt Family Foundat…Sanford Group ReturnImpact FoundationOtto Bremer TrustNorth Dakota Communit…Fred M Hector Jr Char…United Way of Cass-Cl…
Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation CorporationND113.1× affinity54 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation Corporation · Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Caring Foundation · The Barry Foundation · Dakota Medical Foundation · Midcontinent Foundation · Offutt Family Foundation · Sanford Group Return · Impact Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · North Dakota Community Foundation · Fred M Hector Jr Charitable Trust · United Way of Cass-Clay

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Alex Stern Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Alex Stern Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    22report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Alex Stern Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Alex Stern Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 162 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Alex Stern Family’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home