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· Private foundation

Backus Family Foundation Inc

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.

$27k
Granted FY2024still arriving
48
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What you fund
0197% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY20202024.

Health$19kAnimals$14kEducation$10kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kReligion$10kHuman Services$8kPhilanthropy$7kInternational$3kOther$0
02FY2024 · 48 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k47 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$250
Median grant
13
States reached
$475k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NANOSTEAD FOUNDATION DBA MARSHALL RELIEF ALLIANCE$10,000
GALE ETRICK TREMPELEAU SCHOOL DISTRICT$1,000
FAITH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH$1,000
MIDWEST HORSE WELFARE FOUNDATION$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
MERCY CHEFS$521
GUNDERSEN LUTHERAN MEDICAL FOUNDATION INC$518
WISCONSIN MASONIC CENTER FOUNDATION INC$515
THREE PILLARS SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES$515
INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION$515
DAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION FOR ADOPTION$514
UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH OF STOUGHTON$500
HELP THE LEAST OF THESE$500
Individual grant recipient$500
STOUGHTON HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$500
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

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

show:

Your human-services grants (FY21–24, $2k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%MINGUS MOUNTAIN ESTATE RESIDENT CENTER INC: $750 → 14%MERCY CHEFS: $521 → 20%MINGUS MOUNTAIN ESTATE RESIDENT CENTER INC: $250 → 14%CENTRICA CARE NAVIGATORS: $200 → 12%CENTRICA CARE NAVIGATORS: $200 → 12%WISCONSIN MASONIC HOME: $500 → 5%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

Which US states your grants reach

WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
CA
UT
VA
MD
AZ
TN
NC
DC
OK
GA
TX
FL

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$61k · 57 repeat orgs$37k to everyone else

57 repeat relationships — 29 still active in FY2024, 28 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
51

Total granted

$61k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+34%
+48%

Still filing today

58%
37%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 35% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $17k 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
AnimalsHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyEducationHousing & ShelterOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • HT
    HELP THE LEAST OF THESE INC
    5× · 2020–2024 · $3k · revenue +13%
  • SH
    Stoughton Hospital Foundation Inc
    4× · 2021–2024 · $2k · revenue +175%
  • DT
    DAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION FOR ADOPTION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $2k · revenue +118%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $3k
  • ES
    EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $1k · revenue +48%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2021 · $1k

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

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
2
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
3
American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation

The mission of the akc canine health foundation, inc. is to fund, advance, and communicate canine health research and science through knowledge and discovery.

Animals
4
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit

The friends are dedicated to the rescue, protection, and adoption of companion animals in need while inspiring the human-animal bond. we meet our mission by:-saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals.-providing high-quality animal care…

Animals
5
Worldwide Vets Incorporated

Our goal is to sustainably improve animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and improve veterinary education globally. in order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 5 continents, supporting local people and animals,…

Animals
6
Marin Humane Society

Marin humane transforms lives through exceptional animal care, humane education, and advocacy. every day, marin humane inspires compassion and positive relationships between people and animals.

Animals
7
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
8
Wisconsin Humane Society

The mission of the Wisconsin Humane Society is to make a difference for animals and the people who love them.

Animals
9
Minnesota Medical Association

To be the leading voice of medicine to make minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice.

10
Shield of Faith Missions

Sof is called to empower warriors to find purpose, be resilient, and live well. we develop and provide customized treatment plans for veterans through our national network of partners.

Religion
11
Good Samaritan Foundation

Partnering for healing and a healthy future through philanthropy.

12
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Shelter From the Storm Animal Rescue Inc and the most unlike its peers is Guardian Angels of Naples Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyEnvironmental Conservation …Child Abuse Advocacy Servic…School District FoundationsCancer Support ServicesVolunteer Fire & Ems Servic…Equine Therapy ProgramsYouth Sports ProgramsPolicy Research and AdvocacyHealth Access Advocacy and …Animal Rescue and ShelterCommunity Foundations
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 33 years old; the field is 16. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number22%2%<5yr14%6%5–10yr19%18%10–20yr16%29%20–35yr13%23%35–55yr16%23%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value22%0%<5yr14%6%5–10yr19%18%10–20yr16%29%20–35yr13%25%35–55yr16%21%55yr+

The field is 22% startups (under 5 years old) — 2% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close 0.0% lost their exemption, against 13% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/73
the rest of the field
13%
240,396/1,819,492

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

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

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172026, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 65 of the 130 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
65/65
Grantees still filing
40/65
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

NANOSTEAD FOUNDATION DBA MARSHALL RELIEF ALLIANCE — $10,000 · OtherNANOSTEAD FOUNDATION DBA MARSHALL RELIEF ALLIANCEFAITH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH — $4,000 · OtherFAITH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHGUNDERSON MEDICAL FOUNDATION — $3,518 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $2,500 · OtherGALE-ETTRICK-TREMPEALEAU EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION — $2,500 · Other+83 more — $48,204 · Other+83 moreINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC — $2,530 · AnimalsINTERNATIO…GULF COAST HUMANE SOCIETY INC — $1,270 · AnimalsGULF COAST…ANGEL'S WISH INCORPORATED — $1,006 · AnimalsANGEL'S WI…MIDWEST HORSE WELFARE FOUNDATION INC — $1,000 · AnimalsMIDWEST HO…ALTER-ATIONS INC — $1,000 · AnimalsALTER-ATIO…HAVEN ON EARTH ANIMAL LEAGUE INC — $600 · AnimalsHAVEN ON E…HUMANE SOCIETY OF HURON VALLEY — $450 · AnimalsBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY — $420 · AnimalsPeaceful Valley Donkey Rescue Inc — $400 · Animals+3 more — $708 · Animals+3 moreARIZONA HEMOPHILIA ASSOCIATION INC — $1,100 · HealthBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC — $870 · HealthCANCER RESEARCH FUND OF THE DAMON RUNYON-WALTER WINCHELL FOUNDATION — $808 · HealthCARCINOID CANCER FOUNDATION — $600 · HealthGundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Inc — $518 · HealthMIDWEST ATHLETES AGAINST CHILDHOOD CANCER INC — $500 · HealthCaringBridge — $400 · HealthTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN — $300 · HealthBronson Health Foundation — $250 · HealthTHE MICHAEL J FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON'S RESEARCH — $206 · HealthWISCONSIN MASONIC FOUNDATION — $1,500 · EducationEVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION — $1,260 · EducationFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION — $1,206 · EducationMADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC — $500 · EducationConservative Partnership Institute — $250 · EducationAMERICAN CORNERSTONE INSTITUTE INC — $200 · EducationStoughton Hospital Foundation Inc — $2,000 · PhilanthropyWISCONSIN MASONIC CENTER FOUNDATION INC — $515 · PhilanthropyCHILDREN'S DYSLEXIA CENTERS INC — $500 · PhilanthropyTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $500 · PhilanthropyVision Charitable Trust — $450 · PhilanthropyGARY SINISE FOUNDATION — $207 · PhilanthropyMINGUS MOUNTAIN ESTATE RESIDENTIAL — $1,000 · Human ServicesGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC — $816 · Human ServicesMERCY CHEFS INC — $521 · Human ServicesWISCONSIN MASONIC HOME INC — $500 · Human ServicesHospice Care of Southwest Michigan — $400 · Human ServicesHELP THE LEAST OF THESE INC — $2,500 · InternationalWORLD VISION INC — $535 · International+1 more — $100 · International
Other$70,722Animals$9,384Health$5,552Education$4,916Philanthropy$4,172Human Services$3,237International$3,135

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC — $2,530 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHELP THE LEAST OF THESE INC — $2,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetStoughton Hospital Foundation Inc — $2,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetDAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION FOR ADOPTION — $1,678 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWISCONSIN MASONIC FOUNDATION — $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGULF COAST HUMANE SOCIETY INC — $1,270 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION — $1,260 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION — $1,206 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFlorida Sheriffs Youth Ranches Inc — $1,150 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation — $1,100 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA HEMOPHILIA ASSOCIATION INC — $1,100 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetANGEL'S WISH INCORPORATED — $1,006 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMIDWEST HORSE WELFARE FOUNDATION INC — $1,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetMINGUS MOUNTAIN ESTATE RESIDENTIAL — $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSTARLIGHT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION — $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALTER-ATIONS INC — $1,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetHOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC — $905 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetST MATTHEWS HOUSE INC — $878 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC — $870 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC — $816 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS OF DANE COUNTY INC — $812 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCANCER RESEARCH FUND OF THE DAMON RUNYON-WALTER WINCHELL FOUNDATION — $808 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOLBRICH BOTANICAL SOCIETY INC — $706 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM — $702 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMADISON PARKS FOUNDATION INC — $612 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHAVEN ON EARTH ANIMAL LEAGUE INC — $600 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetCARCINOID CANCER FOUNDATION — $600 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD VISION INC — $535 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY CHEFS INC — $521 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Inc — $518 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWISCONSIN MASONIC CENTER FOUNDATION INC — $515 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S DYSLEXIA CENTERS INC — $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLORIDA STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION INC — $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWISCONSIN MASONIC HOME INC — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMIDWEST ATHLETES AGAINST CHILDHOOD CANCER INC — $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVision Charitable Trust — $450 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF HURON VALLEY — $450 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY — $420 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHospice Care of Southwest Michigan — $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGUARDIAN ANGELS OF NAPLES FOUNDATION — $400 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCaringBridge — $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPeaceful Valley Donkey Rescue Inc — $400 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMUTTS WITH A MISSION — $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INC — $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTREMPEALEAU COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY — $300 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE SHRINERS' HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN — $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

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

  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC
  • Who funds HELP THE LEAST OF THESE INC
  • Who funds Stoughton Hospital Foundation Inc
  • Who funds DAVE THOMAS FOUNDATION FOR ADOPTION
  • Who funds WISCONSIN MASONIC FOUNDATION
  • Who funds GULF COAST HUMANE SOCIETY INC
  • Who funds EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION
  • Who funds FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION
  • Who funds Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches Inc
  • Who funds Young America's Foundation
  • Who funds ARIZONA HEMOPHILIA ASSOCIATION INC
  • Who funds ANGEL'S WISH INCORPORATED
  • Who funds MIDWEST HORSE WELFARE FOUNDATION INC
  • Who funds MINGUS MOUNTAIN ESTATE RESIDENTIAL
  • Who funds STARLIGHT CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
  • Who funds ALTER-ATIONS INC
  • Who funds HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS INC
  • Who funds ST MATTHEWS HOUSE INC
  • Who funds BLOOD CANCER UNITED INC
  • Who funds GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND INC

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Alliant Energy Foundation IncWI19.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · United Way of Dane County Inc · Madison Community Foundation · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Endres Manufacturing Foundation Inc · The Evjue Foundation Inc · Petsmart Charities Inc · Madison Gas and Electric Foundation Inc · Greater Green Bay Community Foundation Inc · Edward Jones Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Backus Family Foundation Inc funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal, a single department, or state — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
202122232425
no gov · 90%0%1%3%5%your share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from governmentmedian 6%
  • The Shriners' Hospital for Children6% of income from government
  • The Oregon Community Foundation2% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
9get no government money at all
9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
typical government reliance, FY2025

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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 130 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

Generated from your IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

More from the funding graph