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Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative's mission is to create and provide partners with support to increase the accessibility of early educational resources for vulnerable children in Grand Rapids, MI.

$2.4M
Granted FY2021
10
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$743k
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 2021.

Education$6.3MCivil Rights$1.7MHuman Services$876kCommunity Improvement$345k
02FY2021 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2021

  • $10k–50k3 grants · $79k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $555k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.7M
$189,536
Median grant
1
States reached
$19M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Refugee Education Center$743,452
The Other Way Ministries$430,345
YMCA$292,457
Secom Resource Center$252,472
Hispanic Center of West Michigan$189,536
GRCC$186,900
Catching the Dream Learning Center$178,800
New Level Sports Ministry$30,000
Sugar and Spice$25,600
Pre K International Child Care Center$23,700
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 (FY17–21, $4.2M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Secom Resource Center: $252k → 11%Secom Resource Center: $246k → 11%Secom Resource Center: $237k → 11%Secom Resource Center: $210k → 11%Secom Resource Center: $209k → 11%Baxter Community Center: $148k → 11%Baxter Community Center: $121k → 11%Baxter Community Center: $73k → 11%The Other Way Ministries: $497k → 11%The Other Way Ministries: $430k → 11%The Other Way Ministries: $423k → 11%YMCA: $292k → 11%YMCA: $201k → 11%The Other Way Ministries: $25k → 11%Hispanic Center of West Michigan: $190k → 11%Hispanic Center of West Michigan: $124k → 11%Hispanic Center of West Michigan: $121k → 11%Hispanic Center of West Michigan: $119k → 11%Grand Rapids Early Discovery Center: $105k → 11%Hispanic Center of West Michigan: $94k → 11%Grand Rapids Early Discovery Center: $52k → 11%Grand Rapids Early Discovery Center: $23k → 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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.9M · 12 repeat orgs$323k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +118% since the first grant, against +109% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2021, 4 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
3

Total granted

$8.9M
$120k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+118%
+109%

Still filing today

83%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $203k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21
Human ServicesCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsYouth DevelopmentHealthEducationOther
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

  • TR
    The Refugee Education Center
    3× · 2019–2021 · $1.7M · revenue +140% · 39% of their budget
  • SN
    STEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC
    4× · 2017–2020 · $1.5M · revenue +38% · 28% of their budget
  • TO
    THE OTHER WAY MINISTRIES
    4× · 2017–2021 · $1.4M · revenue +107% · 37% of their budget

Funded once

  • A
    AnchoRRagraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue +109%
  • CT
    Catching the Dream
    one grant, 2020 · $40k
  • GRACE HEALTH INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $30k · revenue +67%
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
Giggles & Grace Early Learning Center

Giggles & grace early learning center, inc., with community, parents and teachers, is committed to providing a safe, nurturing christian environment emphasizing the total development of each child; spiritual, intellectual, emotional,…

Human Services
2
Small People Child Development Center

The Small People Child Development Center is organized to provide early childhood education, care, and developmental services to infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. The organization supports working families by offering a safe,…

Human Services
3
The Children's Center

To meet the needs of the community by providing quality child care that encourages individual development in a safe, nuturing environment

Human Services
4
Thrive Family Resource Center

Thrive family resource center's mission is to help break the cycle of poverty by offering high quality child care and family support. we are building community, one family at a time.

Human Services
5
Joyful Learning Edc

In 2001, Joyful Learning Educational Development Center (Joyful Learning EDC) was founded with a clear vision to provide accessible, high-quality childcare that meets the diverse needs of every child.

Education
6
Child Care Center of the Common Ground Foundation

Provide child care services to the community for children ages 16 weeks to 12 years.

Human Services
7
Community Child Care Center

To promote each child's development by providing high quality early childhood education.

—
8
Little Thinkers Inc

Our mission is to prepare the children of our community for the road ahead. We take a whole-child approach that blends personalized care plans with physical play, social development, and academic readiness.

Human Services
9
Kids Community Learning Center

The mission of Kids Community Learning Center is to provide a nurturing environment in which kids grow together outside of school time through creative exploration, meaningful relationships, and fun. After-school and summer programs…

Education
10
East Side Early Learning Center

The center provides quality care and education to children of working parents and is licensed to care for 44 children from ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.

Human Services
11
Diamond Street Early Childhood Cent

Provide a nurturing, safe environment where children can explore and learn about their world. by recognizing each child as a unique individual, children will learn to respect others, be kind, cooperate, and share while developing a strong…

Education
12
Newaygo Child Development Center - Croton

Head start, preschool

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Other Way Ministries; the most unlike its peers is New Level Sports. 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

13 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. 13 of the 17 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
12/13
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE OTHER WAY MINISTRIES: $1,376,060 · Human ServicesTHE OTHER WAY MINISTRIESSOUTH END COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES: $1,153,757 · Human ServicesSOUTH END COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIESHISPANIC CENTER OF WESTERN MICHIGAN INC: $648,117 · Human ServicesHISPANIC CENTER OF WESTERN MICHIGAN INCThe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019): $493,612 · Human ServicesThe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Gr…BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $342,056 · Human ServicesBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTERGRAND RAPIDS EARLY DISCOVERY CENTER: $180,616 · Human ServicesThe Refugee Education Center: $1,652,407 · Civil RightsThe Refugee Educatio…STEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $1,463,566 · Community ImprovementSTEEPLETOWN NEIGHB…+1 more: $50,000 · Community ImprovementUNITED METHODIST COMMUNITY HOUSE: $730,659 · OtherUNITED METHODIST C…GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $624,665 · OtherGRAND RAPIDS COMMU…Sugar and Spice: $67,600 · Other+2 more: $63,700 · OtherCATCHING THE DREAM LEARNING CENTER: $178,800 · EducationNEW LEVEL SPORTS: $120,511 · Youth DevelopmentGRACE HEALTH INC: $30,000 · Health
Human Services$4,194,218Civil Rights$1,652,407Community Improvement$1,513,566Other$1,486,624Education$178,800Youth Development$120,511Health$30,000

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 budgetThe Refugee Education Center: $1,652,407 over 3y, 39% of budgetSTEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $1,463,566 over 4y, 28% of budgetTHE OTHER WAY MINISTRIES: $1,376,060 over 4y, 37% of budgetSOUTH END COMMUNITY OUTREACH MINISTRIES: $1,153,757 over 5y, 34% of budgetUNITED METHODIST COMMUNITY HOUSE: $730,659 over 4y, 22% of budgetHISPANIC CENTER OF WESTERN MICHIGAN INC: $648,117 over 5y, 11% of budgetThe Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019): $493,612 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $342,056 over 3y, 9.7% of budgetCATCHING THE DREAM LEARNING CENTER: $178,800 over 1y, 87% of budgetNEW LEVEL SPORTS: $120,511 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetAnchoRRa: $50,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetGRACE HEALTH INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

WK Kellogg FoundationHeart of West Michiga…The Wege FoundationGrand Rapids Communit…The Young Men's Chris…Corewell Health Group…Feeding America West …Consumers Energy Foun…Steelcase FoundationDouglas & Maria Devos…Frey FoundationKrw Foundation
WK Kellogg FoundationMI25.8× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: WK Kellogg Foundation · Heart of West Michigan United Way · The Wege Foundation · Grand Rapids Community Foundation · The Young Men's Christian Association of Greater Grand Rapids (3019) · Corewell Health Group Return · Feeding America West Michigan · Consumers Energy Foundation · Steelcase Foundation · Douglas & Maria Devos Foundation · Frey Foundation · Krw 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 Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative?

    Find your warmest path to Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative 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 17 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative’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