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Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$116k
Granted FY2025still arriving
41
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$27k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$769kArts & Culture$161kHealth$61kRecreation & Sports$54kPhilanthropy$40kEnvironment$32kHousing & Shelter$23kReligion$17kOther$0
02FY2025 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k38 grants · $57k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $58k
$1,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$470k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DOOR COUNTY YMCA$27,000
NORTHERN SKY THEATER$20,000
THIRD AVENUE PLAYWORKS$11,260
CHILDREN FIRST DEVELOPMENT CENTER$7,500
DOOR COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$5,000
DOOR COUNTY HOUSING PARTNERSHIP$5,000
USMMA ALUMNI ASSOC & FOUNDATION$3,000
DOOR COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATI$3,000
DOOR COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM$2,500
MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH$2,000
DOOR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY$2,000
PARKER SCHOOL FUND$2,000
Individual grant recipient$1,600
COLIN AND FRIENDS CONCERT$1,500
MONTANA FREE PRESS$1,500
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 (FY18–25, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, 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%NORTHERN DOOR CHILD CARE CENTER: $6k → 8%NORTHERN DOOR CHILD CARE CENTER: $1k → 8%NORTHERN DOOR CHILD CARE CENTER: $1k → 8%NORTHERN DOOR CHILD CARE CENTER: $1k → 8%NORTHERN DOOR CHILD CARE CENTER: $500 → 8%CHILDREN FIRST DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $11k → 8%CHILDREN FIRST DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $8k → 8%SUNSHINE HOUSE INC: $1k → 8%DOOR-TRAN: $1k → 8%SUNSHINE HOUSE INC: $700 → 8%SUNSHINE HOUSE INC: $200 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

MT
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
CT
MD
KS
DC
HI
LA
TX
FL
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.0M · 57 repeat orgs$168k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +8% for those funded once.

57 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2025, 25 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

57
45

Total granted

$1.0M
$159k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+8%

Still filing today

61%
27%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $9k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHealthHuman ServicesEducationEnvironmentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • DC
    Door County YMCA INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $609k · revenue +30%
  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC
    6× · 2017–2024 · $39k · revenue +247%
  • CROSSROADS AT BIG CREEK INC
    5× · 2017–2024 · $24k · revenue +118%

Funded once

  • DC
    DOOR COUNTY YMCA ENDOWMENT FD
    one grant, 2024 · $100k
  • Y
    YMCA
    one grant, 2022 · $26k
  • EH
    EGG HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC
    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
Door County Economic Development Corporation

Dcedc is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. dcedc has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs…

Community Improvement
2
Door County Community Foundation Inc

To receive and administer charitable endowment funds, to award grants to social, educational, scientific, religious and other charitable organizations in door county, wisconsin.

Philanthropy
3
Hawaii Public Radio

The mission of hawai'i public radio is to serve the people of hawai'i by informing with essential news, inspiring through the power of music and the arts, and connecting through conversations and convenings.

—
4
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
5
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
6
National Public Radio Inc

National public radio, inc. ("npr") works collaboratively with member public radio station licensees ("member stations") to create a more informed public, one that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of…

Arts & Culture
7
Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce

To be a catalyst for economic and community progress within the great lakes bay region.

—
8
Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc

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

—
9
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
10
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.

—
11
Portal Inc

To enhance opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (i/dd) to participate fully in their community as valued neighbors, productive workers and respected citizens. portal, inc. assists more than 200 adults…

Employment
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is United Way of Door County Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mission Partners for Christ Aka Community Health Initiatives. 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

53 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. 53 of the 114 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)
17
Early backer (in before they grew)
53/53
Grantees still filing
37/53
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Door County YMCA INC: $609,325 · EducationDoor County YMCA INC+2 more: $7,300 · EducationDOOR COUNTY YMCA ENDOWMENT FD: $100,000 · OtherDOOR COUNTY YMCA ENDOWMENT FDYMCA: $26,100 · OtherYMCAPENINSULA PLAYERS THEATRE: $26,000 · OtherPENINSULA PLAYERS THEATRETHIRD AVENUE PLAYWORKS: $21,610 · OtherTHIRD AVENUE PLAYWORKSSAIL TRAINING FOUNDATION: $18,500 · OtherSAIL TRAINING FOUNDATIONDOOR COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LTD: $16,000 · Other+69 more: $122,441 · Other+69 moreNORTHERN SKY THEATER INC: $71,200 · Arts & CultureNORTHERN S…DOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureDOOR COUNT…PENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC: $5,200 · Arts & CultureHAWAII THEATRE CENTER: $4,500 · Arts & CultureMONTANA FREE PRESS: $4,500 · Arts & CultureHONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART: $4,500 · Arts & Culture+12 more: $13,875 · Arts & Culture+12 moreStraub Foundation: $17,100 · HealthMAYO CLINIC: $14,500 · HealthHELP OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $5,200 · HealthHAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Health+3 more: $2,400 · HealthUNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $38,500 · PhilanthropyDOOR CANCER INC: $2,825 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyCROSSROADS AT BIG CREEK INC: $24,100 · EnvironmentDOOR COUNTY LAND TRUST INC: $5,200 · EnvironmentINLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $3,000 · EnvironmentDoorway to Learning Inc: $18,000 · Human ServicesNORTHERN DOOR CHILDRENS CENTER INC: $9,500 · Human ServicesSUNSHINE HOUSE INC: $1,900 · Human Services+2 more: $1,025 · Human Services
Education$616,625Other$330,651Arts & Culture$109,775Health$44,200Philanthropy$42,325Environment$32,300Human Services$30,425

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 budgetDoor County YMCA INC: $609,325 over 8y, 9.3% of budgetNORTHERN SKY THEATER INC: $71,200 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetUNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $38,500 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetCROSSROADS AT BIG CREEK INC: $24,100 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetDoorway to Learning Inc: $18,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetStraub Foundation: $17,100 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetDOOR COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LTD: $16,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetMAYO CLINIC: $14,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN DOOR CHILDRENS CENTER INC: $9,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetDOOR COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM CORP: $7,100 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetDOOR COUNTY HOUSING PARTNERSHIP INC: $7,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetDOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC: $6,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC: $5,200 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetLAKESHORE CAP INC OF WISCONSIN: $5,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDOOR COUNTY LAND TRUST INC: $5,200 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHELP OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $5,200 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetHAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII THEATRE CENTER: $4,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMONTANA FREE PRESS: $4,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART: $4,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDOOR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $4,300 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $3,400 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAZOM INC: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCE CENTER INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetINLAND SEAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetDOOR CANCER INC: $2,825 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMISSION PARTNERS FOR CHRIST AKA COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVES: $2,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMIDSUMMER'S MUSIC LTD: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSUNSHINE HOUSE INC: $1,900 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDIAMOND HEAD THEATRE: $1,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPARENTS AND CHILDREN TOGETHER: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPENINSULA MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDOR-TRAN INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWISE WOMEN GATHERING PLACE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDOOR COUNTY BOOKMOBILE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetHAWAII PUBLIC TELEVISION FOUNDATION DBA PBS HAWAII: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetLEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MILWAUKEE CO SUB LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF WISCONSIN: $500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDOOR SHAKESPEARE INC: $250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGEREADY INC: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMercy Ships International: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETY: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $25 over 1y, 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 Door County YMCA INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN SKY THEATER INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds CROSSROADS AT BIG CREEK INC ↗
  • Who funds Doorway to Learning Inc ↗
  • Who funds Straub Foundation ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LTD ↗
  • Who funds MAYO CLINIC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN DOOR CHILDRENS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM CORP ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COUNTY HOUSING PARTNERSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM & LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds PENINSULA SCHOOL OF ART INC ↗
  • Who funds LAKESHORE CAP INC OF WISCONSIN ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COUNTY LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds HELP OF DOOR COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HAWAII THEATRE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MONTANA FREE PRESS ↗
  • Who funds HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART ↗
  • Who funds DOOR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds RAZOM 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.

Door County Community…Greater Green Bay Com…Green Bay Packers Fou…Mmg Foundation IncLutsey Family Foundat…Charles & Marcia Lars…Wisconsin Public Serv…United Way of Door Co…Hislop Family Foundat…Robert a and Lynn I D…Herbert H Kohl Charit…Greater Milwaukee Fou…
Door County Community Foundation IncWI55.1× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Door County Community Foundation Inc · Greater Green Bay Community Foundation Inc · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Mmg Foundation Inc · Lutsey Family Foundation · Charles & Marcia Larsenanthony & Priscilla Beadell Foundation · Wisconsin Public Service Foundation · United Way of Door County Inc · Hislop Family Foundation · Robert a and Lynn I Doneff Foundation · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Greater Milwaukee 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 Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable 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%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
14report 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.

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 114 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 Ellsworth and Carla Peterson’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