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Butzow Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Butzow Family 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.

$380k
Granted FY2025still arriving
22
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$35k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Health$1.1MPhilanthropy$342kYouth Development$340kHousing & Shelter$302kRecreation & Sports$271kEducation$270kHuman Services$266kAnimals$75kOther$0
02FY2025 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k6 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $347k
$15,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$6.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRIDGING INC$35,000
WASHBURN CENTER FOR CHILDREN$35,000
FACE IT FOUNDATION$35,000
BOLDER OPTIONS$35,000
ABIJAH'S ON THE BACKSIDE - HORSES FOR MENTAL HEALTH$25,000
GIFFT HILL SCHOOLCORAL BAY SCHOOL INC$25,000
MAGNUS VETERANS FOUNDATION$25,000
PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION$25,000
PAY IT FORWARD FUND$20,000
Individual grant recipient$17,000
GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY$15,000
TRUE FRIENDS$15,000
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$10,000
BASCOM PALMER EYE INSTITUTE$10,000
ISLAND GREEN LIVING RECYCLING$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 (FY17–25, $335k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 6%. 87% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 6%ROXIES HOPE: $5k → 7%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $15k → 11%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $15k → 11%LEG UP FUND: $16k → 5%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $15k → 11%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $15k → 11%LEG UP FUND: $12k → 5%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $12k → 11%LEG UP FUND: $10k → 5%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $12k → 11%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $12k → 11%LEG UP FUND: $5k → 5%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%LEG UP FUND: $3k → 5%GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $10k → 11%PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $25k → 11%PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $20k → 11%PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $15k → 11%PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $15k → 11%CRESCENT COVE: $5k → 11%CRESCENT COVE: $5k → 11%CRESCENT COVE: $5k → 11%CRESCENT COVE: $5k → 11%FRASER: $25k → 11%FRASER: $25k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $7k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $7k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $5k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $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

ND
MN
IL
NY
MA
KY
VA
FL
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.9M · 32 repeat orgs$108k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +41% since the first grant, against +15% for those funded once.

32 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
12

Total granted

$2.9M
$66k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+41%
+15%

Still filing today

69%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $42k 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 ServicesEducationHealthPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsArts & CultureOther
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

  • BO
    Bolder Options
    9× · 2017–2025 · $340k · revenue +206%
  • BI
    Bridging Inc
    9× · 2017–2025 · $276k · revenue +29%
  • FI
    FACE IT FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $230k · revenue +201%

Funded once

  • BD
    BLACK DOG HILL SHELTER
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • WB
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NY INC
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $8k
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 Medical Association

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

—
2
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…

—
3
Minnesota Council on Foundations

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

—
4
Connectability of Mn Inc

Connectability of mn, inc. works to advance the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of people experiencing physical or invisible barriers.

—
5
The Minneapolis Foundation

The foundation cultivates generosity by taking action on the greatest civic, social, and economic needs partnering with nonprofits, facilitating grantmaking, driving research and advocacy, and providing services to donors seeking to make a…

Philanthropy
6
Avivo

Avivo increases well-being through recovery and career advancement while working to end homelessness.

Human Services
7
The Foundation for Health Care Continuums

The mission of the foundation for health care continuums is to strengthen each community we serve by providing a wide spectrum of housing and health care services that honor the evolving, aging population.

Health
8
Homeward Bound Inc

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

Human Services
9
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
10
Leadingage Minnesota Foundation

The foundation supports initiatives designed to transform and enhance the experience of aging. the focus is on: catalytic change in building the workforce for tomorrow; advancing new approaches to service delivery; and developing…

Human Services
11
Reach for Resources Inc

Empowering people of all abilities to reach their full potential. we provide individualized services that maximize independence, boosts community engagement and improves physical and emotional well-being.

—
12
Glencoe Regional Health Services

Glencoe regional health services exists to improve every life by offering high-quality, safe, and accessible healthcare. we are dedicated to strengthening healthcare by connecting our communities, enhancing the patient experience,…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Team Impact Inc; the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. 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

31 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. 31 of the 48 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)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
20/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Bridging Inc: $276,000 · OtherBridging IncGIFFT HILL SCHOOLCORAL BAY SCHOOL INC: $220,000 · OtherGIFFT HILL SCHOOLCORAL BAY SCHOOL INCAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS MN MINNESOTANORTH DAKOTASOUTH DAKOTA: $165,000 · OtherAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS MN MINNESOTANORTH DAK…CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION: $155,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S FOUNDATIONThe Herb Brooks Foundation: $70,000 · OtherBASCOM PALMER EYE INSTITUTE: $70,000 · OtherABIJAH'S ON THE BACKSIDE - HORSES FOR MENTAL HEALTH: $65,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $50,000 · OtherSOCIETY 340 INC: $50,000 · Other+17 more: $253,000 · Other+17 moreBolder Options: $339,500 · EducationBolder OptionsFACE IT FOUNDATION: $230,200 · EducationFACE IT FOUNDATIONUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA …TEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC: $41,000 · EducationTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS…GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $116,000 · Human ServicesGREATER MINN…PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $75,000 · Human ServicesPINKY SWEAR …FRASER: $50,000 · Human ServicesFRASERLEG UP FUND: $45,000 · Human ServicesLEG UP FUNDEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $24,000 · Human ServicesEAST SIDE NE…CRESCENT COVE: $20,000 · Human ServicesCRESCENT COV…+1 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesWashburn Center for Children: $229,000 · HealthWashburn C…MAGNUS VETERANS FOUNDATION: $40,000 · HealthMAGNUS VET…American Diabetes Association: $15,000 · Health+1 more: $6,500 · HealthRIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION: $140,000 · PhilanthropyTEAM IMPACT INC: $10,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyTRUE FRIENDS: $155,000 · Recreation & Sports+1 more: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsNEW VOCATIONS RACEHORSE ADOPTION: $45,000 · Animals
Other$1,374,000Education$660,700Human Services$335,000Health$290,500Philanthropy$160,000Recreation & Sports$156,000Animals$45,000

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 budgetBolder Options: $339,500 over 9y, 4.2% of budgetBridging Inc: $276,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetFACE IT FOUNDATION: $230,200 over 9y, 13% of budgetWashburn Center for Children: $229,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetAMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS MN MINNESOTANORTH DAKOTASOUTH DAKOTA: $165,000 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetTRUE FRIENDS: $155,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetRIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION: $140,000 over 9y, 1.4% of budgetGREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY: $116,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetPINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetThe Herb Brooks Foundation: $70,000 over 7y, 12% of budgetFRASER: $50,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLEG UP FUND: $45,000 over 5y, 23% of budgetNEW VOCATIONS RACEHORSE ADOPTION: $45,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetTEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC: $41,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetMAGNUS VETERANS FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetChildren's Theatre Company and School: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $24,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCRESCENT COVE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetPERSPECTIVES INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMINNESOTA ASSISTANCE COUNCIL FOR VETERANS: $16,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetST FRANCIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: $6,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROPEL NONPROFITS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPARK NICOLLET FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ART: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCANTERBURY CHAPLAINCY BACKSIDE FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetROXIES HOPE: $5,000 over 1y, 16% of budgetUNITED HEROES LEAGUE: $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 Bolder Options ↗
  • Who funds Bridging Inc ↗
  • Who funds FACE IT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Washburn Center for Children ↗
  • Who funds AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS MN MINNESOTANORTH DAKOTASOUTH DAKOTA ↗
  • Who funds TRUE FRIENDS ↗
  • Who funds RIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GREATER MINNEAPOLIS CRISIS NURSERY ↗
  • Who funds PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Herb Brooks Foundation ↗
  • Who funds FRASER ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LEG UP FUND ↗
  • Who funds NEW VOCATIONS RACEHORSE ADOPTION ↗
  • Who funds TEE IT UP FOR THE TROOPS INC ↗
  • Who funds MAGNUS VETERANS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Children's Theatre Company and School ↗
  • Who funds EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds CRESCENT COVE ↗
  • Who funds PERSPECTIVES INC ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTA ASSISTANCE COUNCIL FOR VETERANS ↗
  • Who funds American Diabetes Association ↗
  • Who funds TEAM IMPACT INC ↗
  • Who funds ST FRANCIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds PROPEL NONPROFITS ↗

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.

Saint Paul & Minnesot…The Minneapolis Found…Mightycause Charitabl…Ch Robinson Worldwide…Pohlad Family Foundat…The Richard M Schulze…Xcel Energy FoundationThe Graco FoundationOtto Bremer TrustFastbreak FoundationTradition Family Foun…Minneapolis Jewish Fe…
Saint Paul & Minnesota FoundationMN27.5× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · The Graco Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Fastbreak Foundation · Tradition Family Foundation · Minneapolis Jewish Federation

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%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
    6report 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.

    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 48 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 Butzow 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