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Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$575k
Granted FY2019
7
Grants FY2019
3
States reached
$500k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

98% of Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to Schwab Charitable Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2019, the last year Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 6 organizations, $575k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

7
’17
4
’18
6
’19
4
’20
3
’21
2
’22
4
’23
3
’24
3
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Philanthropy$1.5MReligion$550kRecreation & Sports$240kEducation$105kCommunity Improvement$30kYouth Development$13kArts & Culture$10kHealth$10kOther$0
02FY2019 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2019

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $70k
  • $250k+1 grant · $500k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Luther Seminary$500,000
Williston Parks & Recreation Foundation Inc$25,000
Cross Training$15,000
Williston State College Foundation$10,000
Evergreen Baseball Boosters Inc$10,000
Valley City State University Foundation$10,000
Williston School District #1$5,000
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 (FY17–17, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%Dakota Family Solutions: $5k → 8%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.

35%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$345k · 9 repeat orgs$632k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +84% since the first grant, against -16% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2019, 4 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2019 (too recent to call). Read against FY2019, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
11

Total granted

$345k
$91k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+84%
-16%

Still filing today

78%
45%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 18% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $23k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementReligionHealthHuman ServicesOther
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

  • CT
    Cross Training
    7× · 2017–2024 · $95k · revenue +60%
  • WP
    WILLISTON PARKS & RECREATION FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2019–2021 · $65k · revenue ×17 · 35% of their budget
  • WC
    WILLISTON COMMUNITY BUILDERS
    2× · 2022–2023 · $30k · revenue +84%

Funded once

  • EC
    EHS COUGAR TOUCHDOWN CLUB
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue -39%
  • SJ
    St Joseph's Catholic School
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
  • WC
    WILLISTON COYOTE FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +78%
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
North Dakota University System Foundation

The function of the north dakota university system foundation is to support, enrich, advance and improve higher education in the state of north dakota, and to assist its students, faculty and staff.

Philanthropy
2
School District No 110 Foundation

The School District 110 Foundation provides scholarship-based financial support to qualifying Waconia High School graduating seniors preparing to enter colleges, universities, technical, trade, or vocational schools. Additional financial…

Philanthropy
3
Winona State University Foundation

Encourage bequests and donations for the benefit of students and the educational programs of winona state university

Education
4
Willmar Civic Scholarship Assoc

The organization's purpose is to annually honor scholastic achievement by awarding scholarships to willmar senior high students to be used for their post secondary education.

—
5
Western Dakota Vocational Technical Foundation Inc

To promote, assist, and extend financial support to western dakota technical college and the students thereof by providing scholarships, grants, and financial aid.

—
6
North Dakota State University Foundation

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

Education
7
Williams Valley Viking Education Foundation
Education
8
Dakota United Soccer Club

The purpose for which this association is organized is to foster, encourage and promote the development of the soccer skills of players living in central north dakota under the age of 20.

Recreation & Sports
9
Williston Baseball Boosters Inc

Williston Baseball Boosters, Inc. is organized to support the athletes, parents, coaches, and administrative staff of The Williston Middle High School Baseball program by raising funds, conducting events, and recruiting volunteers.

—
10
Northern Wyoming Community College Foundation

Advancing student success through partnerships with the community and Sheridan College.

Education
11
Western Wyoming College Foundation

Support of western wyoming community college programs and scholarships

Education
12
Williston Band Boosters

To support the students attending the music and drama programs in the Williston Basin School district #7.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Williston State College Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Ehs Cougar Touchdown Club. 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

16 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. 16 of the 29 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
9/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $1,494,566 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC+1 more: $15,000 · PhilanthropyLUTHER SEMINARY: $500,000 · OtherLUTHER SEMINARYEvergreen Baseball Boosters Inc: $47,500 · OtherEvergreen Baseball Boosters IncFIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH: $35,000 · OtherVALLEY CITY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Other+13 more: $101,750 · Other+13 moreCross Training: $95,000 · ReligionWILLISTON PARKS & RECREATION FOUNDATION INC: $65,000 · Community ImprovementWILLISTON STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationEHS COUGAR TOUCHDOWN CLUB: $15,000 · EducationPOSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE: $15,000 · EducationTETON BOOSTER CLUB INC: $2,500 · EducationWILLISTON COMMUNITY BUILDERS: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsWilliston Basin Skating Club Inc: $10,000 · Recreation & SportsBETHEL LUTHERAN FOUNDATION: $10,000 · HealthDAKOTA FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $5,000 · Human Services
Philanthropy$1,509,566Other$709,250Religion$95,000Community Improvement$65,000Education$52,500Recreation & Sports$40,000Health$10,000Human Services$5,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $1,494,566 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCross Training: $95,000 over 7y, 2.1% of budgetWILLISTON PARKS & RECREATION FOUNDATION INC: $65,000 over 3y, 35% of budgetEvergreen Baseball Boosters Inc: $47,500 over 5y, 18% of budgetWILLISTON COMMUNITY BUILDERS: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetVALLEY CITY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWILLISTON STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetEHS COUGAR TOUCHDOWN CLUB: $15,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetPOSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWESTERN STAR LITERACY CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetWILLISTON COYOTE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetWilliston Basin Skating Club Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetBETHEL LUTHERAN FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDAKOTA FAMILY SOLUTIONS: $5,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetTETON BOOSTER CLUB INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.6% 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.

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.

Buck and Lois Scheele…American Legion 37 Ed…Williston Convention …Oneok Foundation IncNational Philanthropi…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Buck and Lois Scheele FoundationND15.8× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Buck and Lois Scheele Foundation · American Legion 37 Edgar M Boyd · Williston Convention and Visitors Bureau · Oneok Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ardean & Colleen Aafedt Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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.

    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 29 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 2019, released 2019. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Ardean & Colleen Aafedt’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