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Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Dwight and Linda Davis 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.

$3.3M
Granted FY2024still arriving
41
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2024.

Human Services$5.3MArts & Culture$2.3MEducation$1.4MEnvironment$1.2MPublic Benefit$724kPhilanthropy$581kRecreation & Sports$573kHealth$420kOther$0
02FY2024 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k16 grants · $67k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $296k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $476k
  • $250k+4 grants · $2.5M
$15,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$117M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MONK BOTANICAL GARDENS$1,000,000
WOODSON YMCA FOUNDATION$900,000
WOODSON YMCA$359,894
BRIDGE STREET MISSION$250,000
GREATER WAUSAU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE$125,000
GREATER WAUSAU PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP LTD$100,500
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE WAUSAU AREA INC$50,600
WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND LIBERTY$50,000
CITY OF CHIPPEWA FALLS$50,000
NORTHERN DOOR CHILDREN'S CENTER$50,000
BADGER INSTITUTE INC$50,000
CHILDREN'S IMAGINARIUM INC$40,575
INSTITUTE FOR REFORMING GOVERNMENT$35,000
LIBERTAS INSTITUTE$30,000
UNITED WAY OF MARATHON COUNTY$28,000
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 (FY22–24, $113k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 56% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%NORTHERN DOOR CHILDREN'S CENTER: $50k → 8%THE HAGAR HOUSE: $50k → 11%THE HAGAR HOUSE: $5k → 11%FAITH IN ACTION MARATHON COUNTY: $8k → 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.
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$12M · 48 repeat orgs$2.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +13% since the first grant, against -2% for those funded once.

48 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

48
31

Total granted

$12M
$2.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+13%
-2%

Still filing today

65%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $293k 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
Arts & CultureEducationPublic BenefitHuman ServicesAnimalsRecreation & 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

  • WY
    WAUSAU YMCA FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2022–2024 · $1.5M · revenue ×114
  • WY
    WOODSON YMCA INC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $1.0M · revenue +80%
  • DC
    Door County YMCA INC
    3× · 2018–2023 · $528k · revenue +35%

Funded once

  • DE
    DC EVEREST EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $1.0M · revenue -15% · 91% of their budget
  • NC
    NORTH CENTRAL HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $250k
  • NW
    NORTHERN WISCONSIN STATE FAIRGROUNDS
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
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
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
2
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks Inc

To preserve, promote, protect, and enhance wisconsin state parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas.

Recreation & Sports
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
Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum Inc

The museum is an educational institution dedicated to preserving the history and culture of waukesha county.

—
5
West Wisconsin Land Trust Inc

The mission of the west wisconsin land trust, inc. is to preserve western wisconsin's natural character by informing, facilitating, and partnering with private landowners, communities, and local governments to protect valuable land.

—
6
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Inc

The wisconsin wildlife federation has a dual mission to engage in conservation education and to advocate for sound conservation policy.

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
United Way of Wisconsin Inc

United way of wisconsin is dedicated to supporting and enriching a strong statewide united way network that maximizes the capacity of local united ways to address human needs, improve lives and create lasting positive change across…

Philanthropy
9
Wisconsin Principles Inc

Wisconsin principles (wp) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving conservative values in the state of wisconsin. committed to fiscal conservatism, educational choice, and individual liberty, we strive to empower…

Civil Rights
10
Wisconsin Progress Inc

Wisconsin progress recruits, trains, elects, and develops progressive candidates and leaders at the local and state legislative levels.

Civil Rights
11
Wisconsin's Green Fire Incorporated

Advance science-informed analysis and policy solutions that address wisconsin's greatest conservation challenges.

Environment
12
Wisconsin Maritime Museum Inc

The wisconsin maritime museum connects all people with wisconsin's waterways, by engaging and educating the public about wisconsin's maritime history, wisconsin's world war ii submarines, uss cobia, and the great lakes. the wisconsin…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Friends of Pbs Wisconsin Inc; the most unlike its peers is Farming for the Future 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

57 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 57 of the 91 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/57
Grantees still filing
37/57
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YMCA FOUNDATION: $2,040,000 · OtherYMCA FOUNDATIONWAUSAU YMCA FOUNDATION INC: $1,540,000 · OtherWAUSAU YMCA FOUNDATION INCMONK BOTANICAL GARDENS: $1,093,000 · OtherMONK BOTANICAL GARDENSWOODSON YMCA INC: $1,033,198 · OtherWOODSON YMCA INCLEIGH YAWKEY WOODSON ART MUSEUM INC: $371,700 · OtherGREATER WAUSAU PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP L PARTNERSHIP LTD: $337,500 · Other+53 more: $2,774,749 · Other+53 moreDC EVEREST EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 · EducationDC EVEREST EDUC…Door County YMCA INC: $528,299 · EducationDoor County YMC…UW-STOUT FOUNDATION AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $155,200 · EducationUW-STOUT FOUNDA…INSTITUTE FOR REFORMING GOVERNMENT INC: $150,000 · EducationINSTITUTE FOR R…WAUSAU SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · Education+2 more: $42,500 · EducationDOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $425,000 · Arts & CultureDOOR COUNTY M…CHILDREN'S IMAGINARIUM INC: $340,575 · Arts & CultureCHILDREN'S IM…PENINSULA PLAYERS THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $308,700 · Arts & CulturePENINSULA PLA…PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION INC: $294,200 · Arts & CulturePERFORMING AR…Friends of Plum & Pilot Islands Inc: $100,000 · Arts & CultureFriends of Pl…BIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCE CENTER INC: $90,207 · Arts & CultureGRAND THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureCHIPPEWA AREA HISTORY CENTER INC: $75,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $93,805 · Arts & CultureFARMING FOR THE FUTURE FOUNDATION: $250,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF MARATHON COUNTY INC: $230,198 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN INC: $215,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CHIPPEWA CO: $104,750 · Philanthropy+1 more: $10,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY PARTNERS CAMPUS INC: $210,000 · Public BenefitBADGER INSTITUTE INC: $145,000 · Public BenefitFOUNDATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY INC: $125,000 · Public BenefitLibertas Network: $30,000 · Public BenefitBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE WAUSAU AREA INC: $245,600 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE GREATER CHIPPEWA VALLEY INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentWAUSAU KAYAKCANOE CORPORATION: $91,500 · Recreation & SportsFRIENDS OF PENINSULA STATE PARK INC: $90,000 · Recreation & SportsWAUSAU CURLING CLUB: $20,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$9,190,147Education$1,975,999Arts & Culture$1,807,487Philanthropy$809,948Public Benefit$510,000Youth Development$295,600Recreation & Sports$201,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetWOODSON YMCA INC: $1,033,198 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetDC EVEREST EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 91% of budgetDoor County YMCA INC: $528,299 over 3y, 6.2% of budgetDOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $425,000 over 5y, 6.7% of budgetLEIGH YAWKEY WOODSON ART MUSEUM INC: $371,700 over 8y, 3.7% of budgetCHILDREN'S IMAGINARIUM INC: $340,575 over 2y, 32% of budgetGREATER WAUSAU PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP L PARTNERSHIP LTD: $337,500 over 4y, 90% of budgetPENINSULA PLAYERS THEATRE FOUNDATION INC: $308,700 over 3y, 9.9% of budgetPERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION INC: $294,200 over 8y, 6.7% of budgetFARMING FOR THE FUTURE FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE WAUSAU AREA INC: $245,600 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF MARATHON COUNTY INC: $230,198 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN INC: $215,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY PARTNERS CAMPUS INC: $210,000 over 2y, 8.1% of budgetWISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW & LIBERTY: $180,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetUW-STOUT FOUNDATION AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $155,200 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetASPIRUS HEALTH FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR REFORMING GOVERNMENT INC: $150,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetBADGER INSTITUTE INC: $145,000 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY INC: $125,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF CHIPPEWA CO: $104,750 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetWAUSAU SCHOOL FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetWAUSAU KAYAKCANOE CORPORATION: $91,500 over 3y, 69% of budgetBIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCE CENTER INC: $90,207 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetTHE HAGAR HOUSE INC: $55,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE GREATER CHIPPEWA VALLEY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetGOOD NEWS PROJECT INC: $50,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetNORTHERN DOOR CHILDRENS CENTER INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF WISCONSIN INC: $50,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTHE WAUSAU CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC INC: $38,955 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetMARATHON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $34,850 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetLibertas Network: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters of Northcentral Wisconsin Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetDOOR COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $22,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWAUSAU CURLING CLUB: $20,000 over 1y, 7.2% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF MARATHON COUNTY INC: $18,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCASA OF MARATHON COUNTY INC: $15,000 over 1y, 9.9% of budgetWAUSAU HOMES SCOUT CENTER INC: $15,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetCROSSROADS AT BIG CREEK INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAPTOR EDUCATION GROUP INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetDOOR COUNTY LAND TRUST INC: $9,700 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCHIPPEWA COUNTY HUMANE ASSOCIATION: $8,400 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetWAUSAU NORDIC SKI CLUB INC: $8,000 over 1y, 9.8% 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.

Ba & Esther Greenheck…Judd S Alexander Foun…Community Foundation …Dudley Foundation IncIncrediblebank Founda…Wisconsin Public Serv…George Kress Foundati…Bell Family Charitabl…Green Bay Packers Fou…Abbybank Foundation I…Greater Green Bay Com…Dan Storey Foundation…
Ba & Esther Greenheck FoundationWI65.7× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ba & Esther Greenheck Foundation · Judd S Alexander Foundation · Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin Inc · Dudley Foundation Inc · Incrediblebank Foundation Inc · Wisconsin Public Service Foundation · George Kress Foundation Inc · Bell Family Charitable Foundation I · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Abbybank Foundation Inc · Greater Green Bay Community Foundation Inc · Dan Storey Foundation Inc

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 Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Dwight and Linda Davis 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%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    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 Dwight and Linda Davis Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Dwight and Linda Davis 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 91 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 Dwight and Linda Davis’ 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