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Minnesota · Private foundation

C K Blandin Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$16M
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
931
Grants FY2024
561
Organizations funded FY2023
39%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$2,900
Largest grant, FY2024
$335,000
Organizations funded a year
561 to 626
FY2020 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
1
Total assets, FY2024
$506M
Applications
Takes unsolicited applications
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 39% of the organizations C K Blandin Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 18% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 82% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.6M went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23
Arts & CultureCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesHealthEducationCrime & LegalOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving638$16M36%
FY2023561$14M39%
FY2022587$16M36%
FY2021592$11M28%
FY2020626$14Mn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$25MCommunity Improvement$12MHuman Services$7.8MArts & Culture$7.7MPublic Benefit$3.7MPhilanthropy$3.2MHousing & Shelter$2.7MHealth$2.7MOther$0

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Itasca Area Schools Collaborative$11,208,3305n/a
Kootasca Community Action Inc$2,681,24057%
Itasca Community College Foundation$1,790,500554%
Itasca Economic Development Corpor$1,485,000442%
Itasca County Family YMCA Inc$1,468,576512%
Greater Minnesota Housing Fund$1,380,00052%
Leech Lake Financial Services Inc$905,000528%
Bigfork Valley Foundation$806,300585%
Fond Du Lac Tribal & Community College$752,4753n/a
Northern Community Radio Inc$752,114522%
Show all 289 grantees
All grantees of C K Blandin Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Itasca Area Schools Collaborative$11,208,3305n/a
Kootasca Community Action Inc$2,681,24057%
Itasca Community College Foundation$1,790,500554%
Itasca Economic Development Corpor$1,485,000442%
Itasca County Family YMCA Inc$1,468,576512%
Greater Minnesota Housing Fund$1,380,00052%
Leech Lake Financial Services Inc$905,000528%
Bigfork Valley Foundation$806,300585%
Fond Du Lac Tribal & Community College$752,4753n/a
Northern Community Radio Inc$752,114522%
Itasca Community Television Inc$750,120543%
Reif Arts Council$724,513531%
Minnesota Diversified Industries Inc$675,65047%
University of Minnesota Foundation$651,60050%
Boys' Club of Duluth$633,900510%
Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency Incorporated$587,00031%
Native Governance Center$540,65057%
Mississippi Headwaters Area Dental Dba Northern Dental Access Center$500,00017%
North Homes Inc$500,00021%
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Leech Lake Area Inc$495,000521%
Northland Area Family Service Ctr$482,500528%
Eldercircle$472,900514%
Second Harvest North Central Food Bank$447,50652%
City of Deer River$400,0003n/a
First Call for Help of Itasca County$385,00053%
Regional Native Public Defense Corp$370,000327%
Center For Rural Policy & Development$370,000517%
Northeast Entrepreneur Fund Inc$370,00031%
Grace House of Itasca County$365,060520%
Advocates for Family Peace$354,600518%
Upper Midwest Film Office$350,000214%
Anishinabe Legal Services$350,00049%
Macrostie Art Center$327,838525%
Edge of the Wilderness Community Center$321,350581%
Zeitgeist Center for Arts and Community$320,00044%
Itasca Orchestra & Strings Program$318,700548%
Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa$301,0003n/a
Support Within Reach$300,500512%
Voices for Racial Justice$300,00039%
Northland Foundation$297,00021%
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Inc$282,10042%
United Way of 1000 Lakes$279,263529%
Itasca Youth for Christ$277,200550%
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota Inc$275,00034%
Propel Nonprofits$256,66722%
Community Cafe Inc$242,650544%
Department of Public Transformation$240,000215%
Marcell Family Center Foundation$240,000569%
4 Directions Development$240,0002n/a
City of Nashwauk$229,1754n/a
Le Sueur County$226,0002n/a
Minnesota Public Radio American Public Media$220,40040%
City of Coleraine$215,0003n/a
Judy Garland Childrens Museum$200,000533%
Communidades Latinas Unidas En Servico Inc$200,00021%
City of Mahnomen$165,0002n/a
City of Hill City$156,0001n/a
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians$155,0003n/a
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe$151,0002n/a
Land Access Alliance$150,0002n/a
Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity$150,00018%
Niibi Center$150,000314%
Mesabi Fit Coalition$150,00019%
City of Hibbing$150,0001n/a
African Development Center$150,00022%
Sharing Our Roots$150,00036%
Bemidji Community Arts Council Inc$150,000312%
City of Bovey$150,0001n/a
Strong Towns$142,97526%
Peacemaker Resources$140,000220%
Northern Minnesota Public Television Inc$135,00052%
Eagle Bend Area Community Development Corporation Inc$130,0001n/a
Minnesota News Media Institute Inc$126,000391%
Community Economic Development Associate$125,00013%
Tower-Soudan Historical Society$125,000127%
Cass Lake Volunteer Rural Fire Association$125,000117%
Wells Historical Society$125,000176%
Springboard for the Arts$125,00021%
Granite Area Arts Council$125,000165%
Voices for Ethnic and Multicultural Awareness Corporation$121,0002n/a
Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership Inc$120,10011%
Northland Counseling Center Inc$120,04030%
All Nations Rise Inc$120,000112%
City of Chisholm$120,0002n/a
City of Winnebago$120,0001n/a
Something Cool Inc$115,000222%
Minnesota Council on Foundations$114,85041%
Special Olympics Minnesota Inc$110,05051%
Aitkin County Friends of the Arts$105,000264%
Bigfork Improvement Group$101,0002n/a
Saint Peter Good Neighbor Diversity Council$100,000198%
City of Two Harbors$100,0001n/a
We Got Your Back USA$100,000188%
Embarrass Region Fair Association$100,000142%
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians$100,0001n/a
Warroad Community Development$100,000218%
Jacobson Community Center Foundation$100,0001n/a
City of Tracy$100,0001n/a
City of Park Rapids$100,0001n/a
Art of the Lakes Association Inc$100,000174%
Pine County$100,0002n/a
Preserve Appletons Heritage$100,0001n/a
Bear Paws Cultural Art$100,000148%
Northwoods Battered Women's Shelter Inc$100,00016%
Boundary Waters Care Center$95,00012%
Lakes Area Food Shelf$90,000115%
Dlccc Inc$90,00013%
Maji Ya Chai Land Sanctuary$90,000120%
City of Palisade$90,0001n/a
Giiwedinong Museum and Cultural Center of the Nort$90,000137%
North Shore Area Partners$90,000113%
Minnesota Childrens Press$90,0003n/a
Prairie Island Indian Community$85,0001n/a
Itasca Ski and Outing Club Inc$84,350324%
Red Wing Downtown Main Street$81,000126%
Goodhue County$81,0001n/a
City of New York Mills$75,0001n/a
Big Stone Area Growth$75,000149%
Austin Community Charitable Fund$75,00012%
City of Virginia$75,0001n/a
Growth & Justice$75,000124%
The Madison Art and Innovation Center$75,000135%
North House Folk School$75,00012%
Franconia Sculpture Park Legeros$75,00017%
Region Nine Development Commission$74,6281n/a
City of Lanesboro$70,0002n/a
City of Dawson$70,0001n/a
One Heartland$70,00017%
Northeast Itasca Rescue$65,0001n/a
City of Warren$65,0001n/a
City Of Henning$65,0001n/a
Pcs for People$62,09020%
Families and Communities Together$61,000256%
Buck Lake Improvement Club$61,0003n/a
Leech Lake Tribal College$60,20020%
Sprout Mn$60,00027%
Northwest Indian Community Development Center Nwicdc$60,0001n/a
Ashby Legacy Fund$60,000211%
City of la Crescent$60,0001n/a
Face It Together Bemidji$60,000148%
Madison Art Gallery$60,000160%
City of Hoyt Lakes$55,0001n/a
Itasca County Historical Society$54,000132%
Latino Economic Development Center$50,25010%
Twin Cities Public Television Inc$50,10020%
Nameless Coalition for the Homeless$50,025114%
Land Stewardship Project$50,00012%
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community$50,0001n/a
Community Integration Center$50,0002n/a
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe$50,0001n/a
New London Arts & Culture Alliance Inc$50,0002n/a
Kanabec County$50,0001n/a
Lakes Area Community Center$50,000140%
Wykoff Commons$50,0001n/a
Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development Inc$50,00011%
The Advocates For Human Rights$50,00012%
Amherst H Wilder Foundation$50,00010%
Greater Twin Cities United Way$50,00020%
Minnesota Seeds of Justice$50,00019%
Just for Nuts Inc$50,000123%
City of Pine City$50,0001n/a
Lighthouse Center for Vital Living$50,00013%
Food Group Minnesota Inc The$50,00020%
Philanthrofund Foundation Inc$50,00018%
City of Worthington$50,0001n/a
Friends of the Bandshell Park Inc$50,000146%
North Central Economic Development Association Inc$50,000131%
White Earth Land Recovery Project$50,00013%
Young Women's Christian Association of Duluth$49,98023%
Elys Historic State Theater$49,650112%
Kensington Area Heritage Society Inc$45,000188%
Conexiones$45,000317%
Itasca Water Legacy Partnership$42,642580%
Revive Virginia$41,9503n/a
Aitkin County$40,0001n/a
Hutchinson Chamber Foundation$40,0001n/a
City of Roseau$40,0001n/a
Creative Healing Space Inc$35,0001n/a
City of Longville$35,0001n/a
Friends of Finland and Community$32,40018%
North Central Minnesota Farm & Antique Association$30,000165%
Chatfield Center for the Arts Inc$30,00017%
Little Sand Group Homes$30,00012%
Grand Itasca Foundation$27,50044%
Kairos Alive$25,0001n/a
City of Pelican Rapids$25,0001n/a
City of Frazee$25,0001n/a
Manidoo Ogitigaan$25,00016%
The Gunflint Trail Historical Society$25,00018%
Crow River Players Inc$25,00019%
Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment Through Research$25,00013%
Clean Up the River Environment$25,00012%
The Minnesota Opera$23,75040%
Institute for Local Self Reliance$22,50011%
Filmnorth$21,00023%
Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability$20,759122%
City of Blue Earth$20,0001n/a
Ironworld Development Corporation$20,00011%
Grove City Area Care Living at Home Program$20,00028%
The Brainerd Baxter Youth Center$20,0001n/a
Southwest Regional Development Commission$20,0001n/a
Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies Inc$20,00012%
Area Partnership for Economic Expansion$20,00021%
Forward Health Foundation$17,80055%
Itasca Life Options$17,75042%
The Austin Area Commission for the Arts Inc$17,50051%
Theatre L'Homme Dieu$15,00012%
Blackduck Area Seniors$15,0002n/a
Great Minds Learning Center$13,10026%
Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center$13,000211%
Itasca Hospice Foundation$11,000219%
Hibbing Dylan Project$10,4001n/a
Cook County Community Radio$10,18031%
Salvation Army$10,1002n/a
City of Fosston$10,0001n/a
United Way of Otter Tail & Wadena Counties Inc$10,00012%
Greater Bemidji Inc$10,00010%
Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans$10,00010%
The Yes Network$10,00011%
Riverland Community College Foundation$10,00050%
Mesabi Community Orchestra$10,00016%
Stephen Arts Council$10,0001n/a
City of Fergus Falls$10,0002n/a
Grand Marais Arts Inc$10,00012%
Sleepy Eye Medical Center$10,0001n/a
West Central Mn Educ Television$10,00010%
Tofte Lake Center Inc$8,32041%
Minnesota Orchestral Association$7,80050%
Austin Symphony Orchestra Society$6,00051%
Itasca County Land Dept$6,0002n/a
City of Wadena$5,7001n/a
Hope Coalition$5,00010%
Kerkhoven Lions Club Foundation$5,0001n/a
Shepherds In$5,0001n/a
United Way of Ne Minnesota$5,00010%
Northern Lights Community School$5,00010%
Saluting Community Heroes$5,00012%
Minnesota Chamber Foundation$5,00010%
City of Madison$5,0001n/a
Owatonna Area Chamber Foundation$5,00012%
Leap Inc$5,00015%
True Friends$5,00010%
Wabasha Main Street$5,0001n/a
Destination Lake City Inc$5,0001n/a
Community Action Center Inc$5,00010%
Second Harvest Northland$4,02010%
Macphail Center for Music$4,00050%
Great Tails Animal Rescue$3,15022%
Pengilly Booster Club$3,00015%
United Way of Mower County Inc$3,00030%
Grand Rapids Players Inc$3,000110%
Austin Community Growth Ventures$3,00031%
Parenting Resource Center Inc$2,50030%
Senior Resources of Freeborn County$2,50011%
Grand Rapids Arts$2,2502n/a
Grand Rapids Summer Celebration Inc$2,2002n/a
Northern Itasca Emergency Food Shelf Inc$2,1003n/a
Itasca County Agricultural Association$2,00011%
St Paul Academy and Summit School$2,00010%
Bovey Farmers Day Association$2,0002n/a
Bemidji State University Alumni and Foundation$2,00010%
Childrens Mental Health Services /Reach Inc$1,50030%
Northern Lights Nordic Ski Club Incorporated$1,3504n/a
United Way of the Brown County Area$1,00010%
Center for Broadcast Journalism$1,00010%
Cass County Economic Development Corporation$1,00010%
Grand Rapids Yellow Ribbon Citizens Committee$1,0001n/a
Welcome Center Inc$1,00020%
Camp Mishawaka$1,00010%
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota$1,00010%
Grand Rapids-Greenway Swim Associates Inc$9003n/a
Cultural Wellness Center$65020%
Tusen Tack$65030%
New Beginnings Pregnancy Care Center Dba New Beginnings Pregnancy & Family Su$60020%
Walker West Music Academy$50010%
Ann Bancroft Foundation$50010%
Music St Croix$5001n/a
Essentia Health Foundation$50010%
Penumbra Theatre Company Inc$50010%
Mitchell Hamline School of Law$50010%
Nami-Grand Rapids Area$4003n/a
Deer Lake Association of Itasca County$40010%
Friends of Sax-Zim Bog$40020%
Longville Area Community Choir$3001n/a
Theater Latte Da$15010%
MinnPost$12510%
Minnesota Council of Churches$1001n/a
Northwoods Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers Program$10010%
Bi-County Community Action Programs Inc$10010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 1,162 recipients with no EIN on record ($20M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

C K Blandin Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 40 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 200 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetKootasca Community Action Inc: $2,681,240 over 5y, 7.4% of budgetItasca Community College Foundation: $1,790,500 over 5y, 54% of budgetItasca Economic Development Corpor: $1,485,000 over 4y, 42% of budgetItasca County Family YMCA Inc: $1,468,576 over 5y, 12% of budgetGreater Minnesota Housing Fund: $1,380,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetLeech Lake Financial Services Inc: $905,000 over 5y, 28% of budgetBigfork Valley Foundation: $806,300 over 5y, 85% of budgetNorthern Community Radio Inc: $752,114 over 5y, 22% of budgetItasca Community Television Inc: $750,120 over 5y, 43% of budgetReif Arts Council: $724,513 over 5y, 31% of budgetMinnesota Diversified Industries Inc: $675,650 over 4y, 6.8% of budgetUniversity of Minnesota Foundation: $651,600 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBoys' Club of Duluth: $633,900 over 5y, 9.5% of budgetArrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency Incorporated: $587,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetNative Governance Center: $540,650 over 5y, 7.1% of budgetMississippi Headwaters Area Dental Dba Northern Dental Access Center: $500,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetNorth Homes Inc: $500,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of the Leech Lake Area Inc: $495,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetNorthland Area Family Service Ctr: $482,500 over 5y, 28% of budgetEldercircle: $472,900 over 5y, 14% of budgetSecond Harvest North Central Food Bank: $447,506 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetFirst Call for Help of Itasca County: $385,000 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetRegional Native Public Defense Corp: $370,000 over 3y, 27% of budgetCenter For Rural Policy & Development: $370,000 over 5y, 17% of budgetNortheast Entrepreneur Fund Inc: $370,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetGrace House of Itasca County: $365,060 over 5y, 20% of budgetAdvocates for Family Peace: $354,600 over 5y, 18% of budgetUpper Midwest Film Office: $350,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetAnishinabe Legal Services: $350,000 over 4y, 9.2% of budgetMacrostie Art Center: $327,838 over 5y, 25% of budgetEdge of the Wilderness Community Center: $321,350 over 5y, 81% of budgetZeitgeist Center for Arts and Community: $320,000 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetItasca Orchestra & Strings Program: $318,700 over 5y, 48% of budgetSupport Within Reach: $300,500 over 5y, 12% of budgetVoices for Racial Justice: $300,000 over 3y, 9.1% of budgetNorthland Foundation: $297,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMinnesota Council of Nonprofits Inc: $282,100 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetUnited Way of 1000 Lakes: $279,263 over 5y, 29% of budgetItasca Youth for Christ: $277,200 over 5y, 50% of budgetImmigrant Law Center of Minnesota Inc: $275,000 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetPropel Nonprofits: $256,667 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetCommunity Cafe Inc: $242,650 over 5y, 44% of budgetDepartment of Public Transformation: $240,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetMarcell Family Center Foundation: $240,000 over 5y, 69% of budgetMinnesota Public Radio American Public Media: $220,400 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetJudy Garland Childrens Museum: $200,000 over 5y, 33% of budgetCommunidades Latinas Unidas En Servico Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetLakes Area Habitat for Humanity: $150,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 200.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

The McKnight FoundationMN86.3× affinity59 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The McKnight Foundation · Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation · Mardag Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Minnesota Power Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Northland Foundation · Minnesota Community Foundation · The Bush Foundation · Minnesota Historical Society · Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation · The Minneapolis 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.

Compare C K Blandin Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to C K Blandin Foundation?

Find your warmest path to C K Blandin 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.

About C K Blandin Foundation

How much does C K Blandin Foundation give?
C K Blandin Foundation reported 931 grants totaling $15,804,895 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 561 and 626 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
What does C K Blandin Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Education (33%), Community Improvement (16%), Human Services (10%).
Who are C K Blandin Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: Itasca Area Schools Collaborative ($11M), Kootasca Community Action Inc ($2.7M), Itasca Community College Foundation ($1.8M).
Does C K Blandin Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 39% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does C K Blandin Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
Which funders back the same organizations as C K Blandin Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include The McKnight Foundation, Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation, Mardag Foundation.
Where is C K Blandin Foundation based?
C K Blandin Foundation is based in MN.

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 1463 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

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