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Ay McDonald Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ay McDonald Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$879k
Granted FY2024still arriving
60
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Education$990kPublic Benefit$332kArts & Culture$267kPhilanthropy$237kHuman Services$232kRecreation & Sports$165kEmployment$124kYouth Development$96kOther$0
02FY2024 · 60 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k46 grants · $115k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $187k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $276k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$2,500
Median grant
7
States reached
$8.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YMCA-YWCA$300,000
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC SCHOOL$120,000
Individual grant recipient$56,200
UNITED WAY$50,000
ST COLUMBKILLE'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND PARISH$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE$40,833
FOUNDRY EDUCATION FOUNDATION$28,500
DICKEYVILLE PARK FOUNDATION$25,000
HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES$20,230
NORTHEAST IOWA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (NICC)$20,000
LORAS COLLEGE$20,000
STEEPLE SQUARE$12,500
DUBUQUE REGIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY$10,000
IOWA COLLEGE FOUNDATION$10,000
ST MARK YOUTH ENRICHMENT$7,500
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 (FY20–24, $146k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%FOUR OAKS: $4k → 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 10%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 10%AREA RESIDENTIAL CARE: $5k → 11%AREA RESIDENTAL CARE: $1k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $20k → 11%RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $10k → 11%RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $7k → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $4k → 11%HILL CREST FAMILY SERVICES: $4k → 11%RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $3k → 11%RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $3k → 11%HILL CREST FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 11%HILLCREST FAMILY SERVICES: $2k → 11%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.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
WI
IA
OH
PA
NJ
TN
NC
DC
TX
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.0M · 57 repeat orgs$673k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +35% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

57 repeat relationships: 40 still active in FY2024, 17 since wound down; 19 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
53

Total granted

$2.0M
$315k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+35%
+13%

Still filing today

61%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 58% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $358k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthHuman ServicesRecreation & SportsArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE
    4× · 2020–2024 · $94k · revenue +91%
  • HF
    Hillcrest Family Services Inc
    5× · 2020–2024 · $92k · revenue +4%
  • DM
    DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART
    4× · 2020–2023 · $80k · revenue +38%

Funded once

  • DC
    Dubuque County Historical Society
    one grant, 2020 · $125k · revenue +19%
  • OT
    OUTRUN THE RAYS INC
    one grant, 2020 · $25k · revenue -89%
  • 1C
    1ST CONGRETIONAL CHURCH
    one grant, 2020 · $17k
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
Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Dubuque Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) will lead tourism destination promotion and development to enhance and expand the Dubuque Area experience.

Community Improvement
2
United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States

To connect people and resources to advance the health, education, and income of those in need in our community.

Philanthropy
3
Foundation for Dubuque Public Schools

Support student achievement by promoting investment in the Dubuque Public Schools.

Philanthropy
4
United Way of North Central Iowa

Seeking to build a stronger, more caring community by forming partnerships with businesses, community experts, education & health & human service agencies to achieve targeted outcomes & sustained changes in community conditions which will…

Philanthropy
5
Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque

The community foundation of greater dubuque grows philanthropy to improve life in northeast iowa by serving donors, strengthening nonprofits and leading collaborative initiatives to address community needs.

Philanthropy
6
Medical Associates Foundation of Dubuque
—
7
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
8
Iowa Lutheran Hospital Auxiliary

To promote and advance activities beneficial to iowa lutheran hospital.

Health
9
Iowa City Unesco City of Literature

To build and support diverse communities of writers and audiences through the transformative power of story. We lead by inclusion and collaboration, celebrating the emotions, discovery and connections inspired by the written word in all…

Education
10
The Dubuque Visiting Nurse Association

The visiting nurse association exists to promote and improve the health, wellness, and safety of individuals and communities through provision of comprehensive, home, and community based initiatives and services.

—
11
Food Bank of Iowa

The organization receives, warehouses, and distributes salvageable food items to non-profit tax exempt member agencies to feed the ill, needy, and infants.

Food & Nutrition
12
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Iowa

The foundation works to defend and promote the constitution of the united states, focusing especially on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and 14th amendments. the foundation also works to defend and promote the constitution of the…

Civil Rights
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Four Oaks Family and Children's Services; the most unlike its peers is Mile Monsters Inc. 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

60 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 60 of the 130 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/60
Grantees still filing
36/60
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: $470,500 · OtherHOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC SCHOOLSYMCA-YWCA: $300,000 · OtherYMCA-YWCAUNITED WAY: $235,000 · OtherUNITED WAYFOUNDRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION DBA FEF: $121,500 · OtherFOUNDRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION DBA FEFIndividual grant recipient: $112,460 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST COLUMBKILLE'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND PARISH: $100,000 · Other+97 more: $566,665 · Other+97 moreDubuque County Historical Society: $125,000 · Arts & CultureDubuque C…DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART: $80,000 · Arts & CultureDUBUQUE M…THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE GRAND…+1 more: $5,235 · Arts & CultureUNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE: $94,416 · EducationClarke University of Dubuque Iowa: $67,500 · EducationOUTRUN THE RAYS INC: $25,000 · Education+5 more: $18,235 · EducationMIRACLE LEAGUE OF DUBUQUE: $125,235 · Recreation & SportsDickeyville Park Foundation Inc: $25,000 · Recreation & Sports+2 more: $4,500 · Recreation & SportsHillcrest Family Services Inc: $92,440 · Human ServicesRIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $23,530 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 · Human ServicesArea Residential Care Inc: $6,235 · Human Services+1 more: $3,500 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF ST MARY'S: $69,500 · Community Improvement+2 more: $4,000 · Community ImprovementJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC: $21,559 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER DUBUQUE: $17,550 · Youth Development+1 more: $1,000 · Youth Development
Other$1,906,125Arts & Culture$235,235Education$205,151Recreation & Sports$154,735Human Services$145,705Community Improvement$73,500Youth Development$40,109

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 budgetMIRACLE LEAGUE OF DUBUQUE: $125,235 over 3y, 15% of budgetDubuque County Historical Society: $125,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetFOUNDRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION DBA FEF: $121,500 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE: $94,416 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHillcrest Family Services Inc: $92,440 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART: $80,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF ST MARY'S: $69,500 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetClarke University of Dubuque Iowa: $67,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetIOWA COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $45,500 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetLORAS COLLEGE: $41,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $30,250 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetOPENING DOORS: $27,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetDickeyville Park Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetTHE GRAND OPERA HOUSE: $25,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetRIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION: $23,530 over 4y, 7.3% of budgetSt Mark Youth Enrichment: $23,500 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC: $21,559 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER DUBUQUE: $17,550 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetDUBUQUE REGIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY: $17,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetCOMPASS TO CARE: $11,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetCENTENNIAL CROSS INCORPORATED: $10,000 over 2y, 20% of budgetVARIETY - THE CHILDREN'S CHARITY OF IOWA: $6,800 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDUBUQUE ARTS COUNCIL: $6,500 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetHOSPICE OF DUBUQUE: $6,400 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetArea Residential Care Inc: $6,235 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEGION-AIRES DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS: $5,235 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetAVERY FOUNDATION: $5,235 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWATER WELL TRUST INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINSPIRING COMMUNTY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetRiverview Center Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS IOWA INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOUR OAKS FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $3,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY - QUAD CITIES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBENEFIT THE VETS: $2,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetBoys and Girls Club of Elizabethton Carter County Inc: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetDubuque County Early Childhood Inc: $2,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Fountain of Youth Program: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDUBUQUE MAIN STREET LTD: $2,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetVETERANS FREEDOM CENTER INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF IOWA INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMULTICULTURAL FAMILY CENTER: $1,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetALBIA BOOSTER CLUB: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetPLATTEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTHE UW-PLATTEVILLE FOUNDATION AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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 MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DUBUQUE ↗
  • Who funds Dubuque County Historical Society ↗
  • Who funds FOUNDRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION DBA FEF ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE ↗
  • Who funds Hillcrest Family Services Inc ↗
  • Who funds DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF ST MARY'S ↗
  • Who funds Clarke University of Dubuque Iowa ↗
  • Who funds IOWA COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LORAS COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds DUBUQUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds OPENING DOORS ↗
  • Who funds Dickeyville Park Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds OUTRUN THE RAYS INC ↗
  • Who funds THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds St Mark Youth Enrichment ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER DUBUQUE ↗
  • Who funds DUBUQUE REGIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds COMPASS TO CARE ↗
  • Who funds CENTENNIAL CROSS INCORPORATED ↗

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.

Dubuque Racing Associ…Community Foundation …Spahn & Rose Lumber C…James B & Melita a Mc…Heartland Charitable …Alliant Energy Founda…Sirk Family FoundationFalb Family Charitabl…Flynn Family Foundati…The Butler Family Fou…The Klauer Foundation…Gantz Foundation Char…
Dubuque Racing Association LtdIA67.1× affinity30 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Dubuque Racing Association Ltd · Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque · Spahn & Rose Lumber Co Charitable Fdtn · James B & Melita a McDonough Foundation · Heartland Charitable Trust · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Sirk Family Foundation · Falb Family Charitable Foundation · Flynn Family Foundation · The Butler Family Foundation · The Klauer Foundation Trust Xxxxx5009 · Gantz Foundation Charitable Trust

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 Ay McDonald Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ay McDonald Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 Ay McDonald Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Ay McDonald Charitable 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 130 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Ay McDonald’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