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Charles and Carolyn Russell Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Charles and Carolyn Russell Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$23k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$5k
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, FY2021 to 2025.

Animals$28kRecreation & Sports$20kHousing & Shelter$15kEducation$10kHealth$10kArts & Culture$6kYouth Development$5kCrime & Legal$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,860
Median grant
1
States reached
$413k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TRUE FRIENDS$5,000
CHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRY$5,000
JUSTICE NORTH$5,000
LAKE SUPERIOR ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$2,860
JAM CONCERT SERIES INC$2,500
DULUTH-SUPERIOR EDUCATIONAL TV CORP$2,000
DULUTH ROBOTICS INC$1,000
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 (FY21–24, $15k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $10k → 6%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $2k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $2k → 8%LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $2k → 8%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.
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.

36%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$40k · 3 repeat orgs$70k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +52% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
10

Total granted

$40k
$52k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+52%
+34%

Still filing today

100%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 21% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsHuman ServicesEducationRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • TF
    TRUE FRIENDS
    4× · 2022–2025 · $20k · revenue +52%
  • SH
    SIMPSON HOUSING SERVICES INC
    3× · 2021–2024 · $15k · revenue +96%
  • LD
    LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND
    3× · 2021–2024 · $5k · revenue +6%

Funded once

  • PP
    PAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue -27%
  • VF
    VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS
    one grant, 2022 · $8k · revenue -45%
  • NP
    NATALIES PLACE
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
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
Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota (Ragom) Inc

Retrieve a golden of the midwest (ragom) rescues, fosters, and rehomes golden retrievers and golden mixes that can no longer remain in their current environments. the organization ensures each dog receives necessary veterinary care and…

Animals
2
Minnesota Guide Dog Breeding Center Ltd

Provide guide dog training dogs

Human Services
3
Voyageur Outward Bound School

We bring young people together for group learning adventures in wilderness and urban settings in minnesota. we invite teens and young adults to identify, practice and grow leadership skills through shared experiences. we also offer the…

Environment
4
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
5
Pawsitivity

Train and place service dogs at no cost with U.S. military veterans with PTSD and other disabilities to increase independence.

Human Services
6
Can Do Canines

Can do canines transforms people's lives by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with specially trained dogs.

—
7
Dakotabilities Inc

Together, we create a warm and welcoming community enriching the lives of those we support.

Human Services
8
Homeward Bound Inc

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

Human Services
9
Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc

Dogs Inc mission is to transform lives by creating and nurturing extraordinary partnerships between people and dogs.

Human Services
10
Patriot Paws Service Dogs

To train and provide service dogs of the highest quality at no cost to disabled american veterans and others with mobile disabilities in order to help restore their physical and emotional independence.

Human Services
11
Compassionate Action for Animals

Compassionate action for animals encourages minnesotans to embrace their empathy for animals and move towards a plant-based diet. caa envisions a world where all animals, human and non-human can thrive.

Animals
12
Tri-County Humane Society

We believe in the human-animal bond and exist to support the animals and people of central minnesota by practicing and promoting quality animal care, offering compassionate customer service, and providing humane education.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Occupaws Guide Dog Association; the most unlike its peers is The Matinee Musicale 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

14 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. 14 of the 19 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/14
Grantees still filing
8/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SIMPSON HOUSING SERVICES INC: $15,000 · OtherSIMPSON HOUSING SERVICES INCNATALIES PLACE: $5,000 · OtherNATALIES PLACEBOOKS 4 KIDS PROGRAM: $5,000 · OtherBOOKS 4 KIDS PROGRAMLITERACY MATTERS FOUNDATION: $5,000 · OtherLITERACY MATTERS FOUNDATIONJUSTICE NORTH: $5,000 · OtherJUSTICE NORTHCHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRY: $5,000 · OtherCHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRYBRAVEHOODS: $5,000 · OtherBRAVEHOODSJAM CONCERT SERIES INC: $2,500 · OtherDULUTH-SUPERIOR EDUCATIONAL TV CORP: $2,000 · Other+1 more: $1,500 · OtherTRUE FRIENDS: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsTRUE FRIENDSPAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $10,000 · Human ServicesPAWSITIVE PERSPECT…LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $4,500 · Human ServicesLEADER DOGS FOR TH…OCCUPAWS GUIDE DOG ASSOCIATION: $3,000 · Human ServicesOCCUPAWS GUIDE DOG…VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS: $8,000 · AnimalsVOICE FOR THE A…WILDWOODS: $4,000 · AnimalsWILDWOODSARROWHEAD ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $2,860 · AnimalsARROWHEAD ZOOLO…DULUTH COMMUNITY SCHOOL COLLABORATIVE: $5,000 · EducationDULUTH ROBOTICS INC: $1,000 · Education
Other$51,000Recreation & Sports$20,000Human Services$17,500Animals$14,860Education$6,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTRUE FRIENDS: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSIMPSON HOUSING SERVICES INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPAWSITIVE PERSPECTIVES ASSISTANCE DOGS: $10,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetVOICE FOR THE ANIMALS: $8,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetLITERACY MATTERS FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBRAVEHOODS: $5,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetDULUTH COMMUNITY SCHOOL COLLABORATIVE: $5,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetLEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILDWOODS: $4,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetOCCUPAWS GUIDE DOG ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetThe Matinee Musicale Inc: $1,500 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetDULUTH ROBOTICS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% 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.

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.

Lloyd K Johnson Found…Minnesota Power Found…Mightycause Charitabl…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Lloyd K Johnson FoundationMN15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lloyd K Johnson Foundation · Minnesota Power Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Charles and Carolyn Russell Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Charles and Carolyn Russell Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 19 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 Charles and Carolyn Russell 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