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Cummings-Christensen Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cummings-Christensen Family Foundation

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.

$702k
Granted FY2024still arriving
46
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$174k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0190% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Health$1.6MPhilanthropy$1.6MArts & Culture$620kHuman Services$343kEnvironment$226kEmployment$130kEducation$120kInternational$120kOther$0
02FY2024 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k32 grants · $117k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $226k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $359k
$5,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$5.1M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FIDELITY CHARITABLE GIFT$174,350
JUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH$125,000
SONOMA COUNTY VINTNERS FOUNDATION$60,000
CHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON$40,000
MERITER FOUNDATION$36,000
OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS$25,000
THE GOODMAN CENTER$25,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WI$21,000
ROUTT COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY$20,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS$15,000
OPERTION FRESH START$12,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$11,000
NATIONAL RESOURCE DEFENSE COUNCIL$11,000
COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE$10,000
FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN$7,000
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 (FY17–24, $91k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 92% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%LIFTUP ROUTT COUNTY: $5k → 6%LIFTUP ROUTT COUNTY: $2k → 6%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $50k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $8k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $7k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $7k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $6k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $3k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $2k → 10%ONE CITY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $2k → 10%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

MT
WI
MI
NY
MA
WY
OH
CA
CO
DC
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.

99%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.1M · 52 repeat orgs$53k to everyone else

52 repeat relationships: 43 still active in FY2024, 9 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
4

Total granted

$5.1M
$27k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+62%
+198%

Still filing today

54%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $26k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentArts & CultureInternationalHuman ServicesEducationHealthOther
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

  • MF
    MERITER FOUNDATION INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $338k · revenue +101%
  • CT
    CHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON INC
    6× · 2017–2024 · $231k · revenue +238%
  • OF
    OPERATION FRESH START INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $130k · revenue +134%

Funded once

  • PC
    PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUNDgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +32%
  • CA
    COMMUNITY AFRICULTURE ALLIANCE
    one grant, 2019 · $10k
  • RB
    ROGERS BEHAVIOR HEALTH FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $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
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
2
Landmark Conservancy Inc

Landmark conservancy is a nationally accredited, nonprofit conservation organization serving 20 counties across northwest wisconsin. their mission is to conserve wisconsin's natural legacy for everyone...forever.

Environment
3
Wisconsin Waterfowl Association Inc

The purpose of the association shall be to restore and conserve wisconsin's waterfowl and wetland resources; to educate state waterfowlers during their progression from natural resource consumer to steward; and to promote governmental…

Environment
4
Climate Leadership Council Inc

To develop and promote a carbon dividends framework - based on carbon fees whose revenues are rebated to citizens through dividends - as the most cost-effective, equitable, and politically viable climate solution.

Environment
5
Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc

Legal protection and advocacy to protect the rights of people with disabilities in wisconsin.

—
6
Gathering Waters Inc

Gathering waters (wisconsin's alliance for land trusts) strengthens land trusts to protect wisconsin's special places and grow healthy, vibrant communities. the stronger the alliance between gathering waters' staff and board members, land…

Environment
7
Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association Inc

To protect, conserve, and enhance wisconsin's natural resources by advocating for and supporting county conservation efforts, for current and future generations.

Environment
8
Wisconsin Policy Forum Inc

We conduct impartial public policy research and analysis to drive informed debate and effective decision-making in the state of wisconsin.

Public Benefit
9
Rogue Climate

Rogue Climate's mission is to empower Southern Oregon communities most impacted by climate change including low-income, rural, youth, seniors & communities of color, to win climate justice by organizing for clean energy, sustainable jobs &…

Education
10
Door County Land Trust Inc

The door county land trust is a local, non-governmental non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve door county's exceptional lands and waters forever.

Environment
11
Waterstep Inc

Waterstep focuses on providing safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions to communities in need around the world. its mission is rooted in the belief that safe water is a basic human right and a critical foundation for health,…

Youth Development
12
Wisconsin School Counselor Association Inc

Our vision is for wisconsin to be the model for excellence in equitable school counseling practice, exemplified by the advocacy, leadership, and expertise of the members of the wsca.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Clean Lakes Alliance Inc; the most unlike its peers is Natural Resources Defense Council 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

32 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. 32 of the 59 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
32/32
Grantees still filing
27/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY CHARITABLE GIFT: $1,204,601 · OtherFIDELITY CHARITABLE GIFTJUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCH: $1,000,000 · OtherJUVENILE DIABETES RESEARCHUNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INC: $352,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INCCHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON INC: $231,300 · OtherCHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON INCTHE GOODMAN CENTER: $226,500 · OtherTHE GOODMAN CENTEROVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $225,000 · OtherOVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS+35 more: $923,050 · Other+35 moreMERITER FOUNDATION INC: $338,000 · PhilanthropyNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $88,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $88,000 · EnvironmentLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $22,400 · EnvironmentCLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE INC: $10,800 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $10,000 · Environment+2 more: $6,500 · EnvironmentOPERATION FRESH START INC: $130,000 · EmploymentMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $110,000 · InternationalPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $10,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $7,500 · InternationalMADISON MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC: $46,000 · Arts & CultureWISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION INC: $35,350 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $27,000 · Arts & CultureWISCONSIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $14,300 · Arts & CultureONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $84,000 · Human ServicesLift Up of Routt County: $7,000 · Human Services
Other$4,162,451Philanthropy$338,000Environment$225,700Employment$130,000International$127,500Arts & Culture$122,650Human Services$91,000

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 budgetUNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INC: $352,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetMERITER FOUNDATION INC: $338,000 over 8y, 1.8% of budgetCHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON INC: $231,300 over 6y, 4.5% of budgetOPERATION FRESH START INC: $130,000 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $122,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $110,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $88,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $88,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetONE CITY SCHOOLS INC: $84,000 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetSONOMA COUNTY VINTNERS FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE INC: $50,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetMADISON MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC: $46,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetWISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION INC: $35,350 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetPORCHLIGHT INC: $35,100 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $27,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $22,400 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRoutt County Humane Society: $20,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSOUTHWESTERN DIABETIC FOUNDATION INC: $18,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWISCONSIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $14,300 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetMADISON COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC: $11,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE INC: $10,800 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN AUTOIMMUNE RELATED DISEASES ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLift Up of Routt County: $7,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBOOK TRAILS INC: $6,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetYAMPATIKA: $5,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetRIDING ON INSULIN: $5,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE YAMPA VALLEY: $4,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetLITTLE JOHN'S RESTAURANT INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetYAMPA VALLEY SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL: $1,000 over 2y, 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 UNITED WAY OF DANE COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds MERITER FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S THEATER OF MADISON INC ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION FRESH START INC ↗
  • Who funds SMILE TRAIN INC ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds ONE CITY SCHOOLS INC ↗
  • Who funds SONOMA COUNTY VINTNERS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds MADISON MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART INC ↗
  • Who funds WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds PORCHLIGHT INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds LEELANAU CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds Routt County Humane Society ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWESTERN DIABETIC FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WISCONSIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC ↗
  • Who funds MADISON COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds CLEAN LAKES ALLIANCE INC ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN AUTOIMMUNE RELATED DISEASES ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds PALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND ↗

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.

Madison Community Fou…Madison Gas and Elect…The Evjue Foundation …Alliant Energy Founda…Craig-Scheckman Famil…Pleasant T Rowland Fo…The Simmons FoundationTrustage Foundation I…Colorado Gives Founda…Gates Family Foundati…Hooper Corp FoundationNimick Forbesway Foun…
Madison Community FoundationWI25.9× affinity10 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Madison Community Foundation · Madison Gas and Electric Foundation Inc · The Evjue Foundation Inc · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation · Pleasant T Rowland Foundation Inc · The Simmons Foundation · Trustage Foundation Inc · Colorado Gives Foundation · Gates Family Foundation · Hooper Corp Foundation · Nimick Forbesway 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 Cummings-Christensen Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cummings-Christensen Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 Cummings-Christensen Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Cummings-Christensen Family 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 59 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

    Play a game based on Cummings-Christensen 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