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Bentson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bentson Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$14M
Granted FY2025still arriving
37
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$7.1M
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$26MHealth$22MArts & Culture$2.6MFood & Nutrition$2.3MHuman Services$869kHousing & Shelter$653kInternational$415kCommunity Improvement$278kOther$0
02FY2025 · 37 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $320k
  • $50k–250k16 grants · $1.6M
  • $250k+6 grants · $12M
$50,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$106M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$7,097,369
UNIVERSITY OF CALIF SANTA BARBARA$3,105,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES$450,000
AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY$420,000
LOBERO THEATRE$250,000
UPMC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$250,000
ACLU OF MN FOUNDATION$225,000
IOWA LAW SCHOOL FOUNDATION$200,000
DULUTH REGIONAL CARE CENTER$125,000
CHABAD JEWISH CENTER$100,000
FRIENDS OF EDUCATION$100,000
NEW IMPACT FUND$100,000
UNICEF$100,000
INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$100,000
INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE$100,000
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 (FY17–25, $1.5M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS: $10k → 14%AMPERSAND FAMILIES: $15k → 14%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS - ROSEBUD: $10k → 14%PARTNERSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS: $10k → 14%THE DWELLING PLACE: $5k → 7%THE DWELLING PLACE: $5k → 7%AMPERSEND FAMILIES: $10k → 14%AMPERSAND FAMILIES: $10k → 14%PROOF ALLIANCE: $5k → 14%UNITY SHOPPE: $19k → 14%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC: $10k → 23%ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC: $10k → 23%TOGETHER FOR GOOD: $5k → 14%WILDER FOUNDATION: $250k → 14%RIVERWORKS: $20k → 11%RIVERWORKS: $5k → 11%UNION GOSPEL MISSION TWIN CITIES: $5k → 14%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%AMPERSAND FAMILIES: $15k → 14%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%YOUTH FRONTIERS INC: $5k → 11%THE LINK: $5k → 11%TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH: $278k → 11%AVIVO: $80k → 11%COMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICES: $50k → 11%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $16k → 11%FRASER: $150k → 11%FRASER: $150k → 11%FRASER: $120k → 11%FRASER: $10k → 11%YOUTH FRONTIERS: $5k → 11%YOUTH FRONTIERS: $5k → 11%WAY TO GROW: $10k → 11%SHOLOM FOUNDATION: $100k → 11%SAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN: $25k → 11%LIFEWORKS SERVICES INC: $5k → 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
MI
NY
OR
SD
IA
IN
PA
CA
MO
VA
MD
DC
LA
AL
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$42M · 85 repeat orgs$13M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +37% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

85 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2025, 65 since wound down; 17 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

85
114

Total granted

$42M
$7.9M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+13%

Still filing today

65%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4.8M 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
Human ServicesEducationArts & CultureHealthEnvironmentInternationalOther
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 MINNESOTA FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $10M · revenue +105%
  • SH
    SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND
    3× · 2020–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +17%
  • PA
    PRODEO ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL #4213
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.3M · revenue +432%

Funded once

  • AH
    ALLINA HEALTH SYSTEM
    one grant, 2024 · $2.5M · revenue 0%
  • UO
    U OF M - COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY HEALTH CARE CENTER
    one grant, 2024 · $1.0M
  • U
    USCB
    one grant, 2019 · $500k
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
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
2
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
3
Minnesota Medical Association

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

—
4
University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors

To provide the highest level of stewardship for university donors through professional management and oversight of the university of minnesota foundation's assets by creating a focused investment environment with clarity of purpose,…

Education
5
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
6
Minnesota Land Trust

The minnesota land trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Environment
7
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce

Creating powerful advocacy to enhance economic vitality in the minneapolis-st. paul region.

—
8
Mn Community Measurement

Mn community measurement empowers stakeholders with meaningful information to drive improvement.

Health
9
Homeward Bound Inc

Providing innovative and life-enriching services for children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities.

Human Services
10
United Way of Ne Minnesota

United way of northeastern minnesota invests in nonprofits, programs, and collaborations that equip and empower, creating opportunities for people to thrive in our communities.

—
11
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Minneapolis Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Santa Cruz Island Foundation. 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

125 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. 125 of the 221 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)
26
Early backer (in before they grew)
123/125
Grantees still filing
87/125
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF NURSING: $7,000,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF NURSINGUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - PELL CHALLENGE GRANT: $3,747,400 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - PELL CHALLENGE GRANTUNIVERSITY OF CALIF SANTA BARBARA: $3,105,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIF SANTA BARBARAUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - CEHD: $1,782,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - CEHDUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - CIDRAP: $1,750,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - CIDRAPCHILDREN'S MINNESOTA: $1,500,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF WISC FOUNDATION - DEPT OF ONCOLOGY: $1,125,000 · Other+120 more: $10,760,428 · Other+120 moreUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $10,405,869 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUND…PRODEO ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL #4213: $1,270,000 · EducationPRODEO ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL…HOPE ACADEMY INC: $744,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $695,000 · EducationAUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION: $605,000 · Education+10 more: $1,300,000 · Education+10 moreALLINA HEALTH SYSTEM: $2,500,000 · HealthALLINA HEALT…REGIONS HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $2,146,873 · HealthREGIONS HOSP…Washburn Center for Children: $475,000 · HealthWashburn Cen…PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES: $450,000 · HealthPLANNED PARE…CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $285,000 · Health+6 more: $246,000 · HealthSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $1,805,000 · Food & NutritionFoodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc: $68,750 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $45,000 · Food & NutritionFRASER: $430,000 · Human ServicesTOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH: $278,000 · Human ServicesAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $250,000 · Human ServicesSHOLOM FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Human ServicesAVIVO: $80,000 · Human ServicesAMPERSAND FAMILIES: $50,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICE INC: $50,000 · Human Services+15 more: $235,020 · Human ServicesWALKER ART CENTER: $986,100 · Arts & CultureNotes For Notes Inc: $70,000 · Arts & CultureSANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC: $65,000 · Arts & CultureNEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Arts & CultureILLUMINATE THE ARTS: $50,000 · Arts & Culture+9 more: $106,000 · Arts & CultureInternational Rescue Committee INC: $150,000 · InternationalUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $100,000 · InternationalDIRECT RELIEF: $100,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $50,000 · InternationalWorld Savvy: $40,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $20,000 · International+1 more: $15,000 · International
Other$30,769,828Education$15,019,869Health$6,102,873Food & Nutrition$1,918,750Human Services$1,473,020Arts & Culture$1,327,100International$475,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $10,405,869 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetALLINA HEALTH SYSTEM: $2,500,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREGIONS HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $2,146,873 over 4y, 14% of budgetSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $1,805,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetPRODEO ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL #4213: $1,270,000 over 9y, 2.2% of budgetWALKER ART CENTER: $986,100 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetPEOPLE INCORPORATED: $800,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetHOPE ACADEMY INC: $744,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $695,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetAUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION: $605,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetWashburn Center for Children: $475,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES: $450,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFRASER: $430,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetNAMI MINNESOTA: $375,000 over 6y, 5.6% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION: $285,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetWINONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $280,000 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetTOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH: $278,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFRIENDS OF EDUCATION: $232,500 over 7y, 6.9% of budgetUC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION: $210,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetDULUTH REGIONAL CARE CENTER INC: $207,500 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetIOWA LAW SCHOOL FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetFamily Tree Inc: $200,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetHOPE FARM SCHOOL: $180,000 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetSANTA BARBARA BOWL FOUNDATION: $160,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $150,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGuild: $145,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetPEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE INC: $135,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHOLOM FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetDIRECT RELIEF: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIndiana University Foundation: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTWIN CITIES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $90,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAVIVO: $80,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNotes For Notes Inc: $70,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetRECONCILE NEW ORLEANS INC: $70,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetSAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFoodbank of Santa Barbara County Inc: $68,750 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL INC: $65,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetPRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF NEW ORLEANS IN: $60,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetAUGSBURG UNIVERSITY: $57,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetANISHINABE LEGAL SERVICES: $55,000 over 2y, 2.3% of budgetAMPERSAND FAMILIES: $50,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetNEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetILLUMINATE THE ARTS: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF UNITED WAYS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 5.2% 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 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ALLINA HEALTH SYSTEM ↗
  • Who funds REGIONS HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND ↗
  • Who funds PRODEO ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL #4213 ↗
  • Who funds WALKER ART CENTER ↗
  • Who funds PEOPLE INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds HOPE ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Washburn Center for Children ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD NORTH CENTRAL STATES ↗
  • Who funds FRASER ↗
  • Who funds NAMI MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds UC SANTA BARBARA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DULUTH REGIONAL CARE CENTER INC ↗

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.

Otto Bremer TrustSaint Paul & Minnesot…The Minneapolis Found…The Richard M Schulze…Pohlad Family Foundat…Fr Bigelow FoundationThe Walser FoundationXcel Energy FoundationGreater Twin Cities U…The Sauer Family Foun…Mightycause Charitabl…Medica Foundation
Otto Bremer TrustMN46.7× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Otto Bremer Trust · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · The Walser Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Greater Twin Cities United Way · The Sauer Family Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Medica 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 Bentson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bentson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Western Rivers Conservancy: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
40report 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 Bentson Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Bentson 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 221 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 Bentson’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