· Private foundation
Edward & Hildegarde Schaefer Foundation
Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Where the money goes
Grants by size, and the largest recipients.
By grant size · FY2025
- Under $10k19 grants · $77k
- $10k–50k2 grants · $20k
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| WELLS COUNTY BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB | $10,000 |
| FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC | $10,000 |
| COMMUNITY HARVEST FOOD BANK | $8,000 |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF FORT WAYNE | $6,250 |
| ANIMAL RESCUE FUND | $5,000 |
| BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS | $5,000 |
| WELLS COUNTY FOUNDATION | $5,000 |
| FORT WAYNE CHILDREN'S ZOO | $5,000 |
| ACRES LAND TRUST | $5,000 |
| YWCA NORTHEAST INDIANA | $5,000 |
| MATTHEW 25 HEALTH CLINIC | $5,000 |
| TURNSTONE | $4,000 |
| NATIONAL AQUARIUM | $4,000 |
| SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE | $3,000 |
| SCIENCE CENTRAL | $3,000 |
Does the money reach high-need areas?
Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.
Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $23k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 14%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.
How this is measured
How this is measured
Who it funds again
Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.
Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.
23 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).
How the two cohorts compare
Organizations
Total granted
Median revenue growth · since first grant
Still filing today
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $12k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
Backed again, and grew
- WCWELLS COMMUNITY BOYS & GIRLS CLUB9× · 2017–2025 · $73k · revenue +98%
- CHCOMMUNITY HARVEST FOOD BANK OF NORTHEAST INDIANA INC9× · 2017–2025 · $53k · revenue +21%
- M2MATTHEW 25 INC9× · 2017–2025 · $49k · revenue +0%
Funded once
- LNLC NATURE PARK INCone grant, 2023 · $3k · revenue +9%
- YYMCAone grant, 2024 · $2k
- IGIndividual grant recipientone grant, 2021 · $2k
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.
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.
Lincoln park zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience in the heart of chicago and by advancing the highest quality of animal care, horticulture, education, science and…
The adirondack council ensures the ecological integrity (clean water and air, wildlife habitat, etc.), wild character (solitude, scenic beauty, etc.), and vibrant communities of new york's six-million-acre adirondack park. the adirondack…
Create relationships & experiences that welcome and inspire people to discover, enjoy, value, and care for nature. Kalamazoo Nature Center envisions a resilient community where all people have strong interconnections with the natural world.
Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…
Buffalo audubon society leads and inspires western new yorkers to connect with and protect the natural world through bird-focused activities, advocacy and habitat restoration.
The wilds is a conservation center and safari park operating as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization on nearly 10,000-acres in southeastern ohio. the wilds specializes in high-quality recreational opportunities that focus on connecting…
The central indiana land trust, inc. preserves the best of central indiana's natural areas, protecting plants and animals, so hoosiers can experience the wonder of the state's natural heritage.
The organization rescues, provides veterinary care, and rehabilitates injured, orphaned, and sick native wildlife with the goal of releasing them back into the wild. the organization monitors and controls wildlife disease and environmental…
Naples zoo is accredited by the american zoo & aquarium association (aza) and has numerous animal exhibits placed on its 45-acre site. (continued on schedule o)each exhibit is unique and designed to simulate typical conditions for the…
To preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern indiana's natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education.
Red-tail land conservancy preserves, protects, and restores natural areas and farm land in east central indiana while increasing awareness of our natural heritage.
Building community; creating connections; saving wildlife through a collaboration for change: the buffalo zoo will be a center of conservation excellence, providing leadership to secure a future where wildlife thrives. we embody our…
How this is measured
19 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. 19 of the 31 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.
Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee
Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing
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 WELLS COMMUNITY BOYS & GIRLS CLUB ↗
- Who funds COMMUNITY HARVEST FOOD BANK OF NORTHEAST INDIANA INC ↗
- Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST IND ↗
- Who funds MATTHEW 25 INC ↗
- Who funds ACRES Inc ↗
- Who funds HEALTHIER MOMS AND BABIES INC ↗
- Who funds TURNSTONE CENTER FOR CHILDREN & ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES INC ↗
- Who funds BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA ↗
- Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
- Who funds FORT WAYNE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC ↗
- Who funds SCIENCE CENTRAL INC ↗
- Who funds UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS INC ↗
- Who funds BRIDGE OF GRACE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES CENTER INC ↗
- Who funds BEREA COLLEGE ↗
- Who funds WELLS COUNTY FOUNDATION INC ↗
- Who funds YWCA NORTHEAST INDIANA INC ↗
- Who funds ANIMAL RESCUE FUND INC ↗
- Who funds PROFESSIONAL ANIMAL RETIREMENT CENTER INC ↗
- Who funds LC NATURE PARK INC ↗
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.
Open a dossier: The James Foundation Inc · McMillen Foundation Inc · Edward M Wilson Foundation · English-Bonter-Mitchell Fdn · Lincoln Financial Foundation Inc · M E Raker Foundation Inc · The Waterfield Foundation Inc · Aws Foundation Inc · Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne Inc · Nisource Charitable Foundation · Edward D & Ione Auer Foundation Monarch Capital David Meyer Trustee · Zollner Foundation
How this is measured
How much its grantees rely on government
Each dot is one organization Edward & Hildegarde Schaefer Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Edward & Hildegarde Schaefer Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.
How this is measured
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