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Fahrney Education Fdtn Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Fahrney Education Fdtn Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$233k
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$53k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2025.

Education$2.0MHealth$3k
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k9 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $150k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $53k
$7,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$5.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA$52,500
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY$47,500
INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE$32,500
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA$22,500
CENTRAL COLLEGE$12,500
SIMPSON COLLEGE$12,500
WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY$12,500
WARTBURG COLLEGE$10,000
DRAKE UNIVERSITY$7,500
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE$5,000
NE IOWA COMMUNITY COLLEGE - PEOSTA$2,500
MARSHALLTOWN COMMUNITY COLLEGE$2,500
ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY$2,500
MERCY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES$2,500
LUTHER COLLEGE$2,500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–17) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 76% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SIMPSON COLLEGE: $8k → 6%WARTBURG COLLEGE: $8k → 7%NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE: $3k → 8%CENTRAL COLLEGE: $5k → 8%GRINNELL COLLEGE: $1k → 9%COE COLLEGE: $5k → 9%DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%LORAS COLLEGE: $3k → 11%IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 12%UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY: $3k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $61k → 15%INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $29k → 16%MOUNT MERCY UNIVERSITY: $3k → 9%GRANDVIEW UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%CORNELL COLLEGE: $3k → 9%DES MOINES UNIVERSITY: $3k → 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.
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.
$2.0M · 25 repeat orgs$19k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against -6% for those funded once.

25 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

25
4

Total granted

$2.0M
$11k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
-6%

Still filing today

76%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’21’22’23’24’25
EducationReligionOther
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

  • IH
    INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
    8× · 2017–2025 · $202k · revenue +28% · 56% of their budget
  • SC
    Simpson College
    8× · 2017–2025 · $108k · revenue +30%
  • CC
    CENTRAL COLLEGE
    8× · 2017–2025 · $106k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • WU
    WALDORF UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2023 · $3k
  • AC
    ALLEN COLLEGE
    one grant, 2022 · $3k · revenue -6%
  • UI
    UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue -13%
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
Union College

Union college is a seventh-day adventist community of higher education, inspired by jesus christ, and dedicated to empowering students to learn, serve, and lead.

Education
2
Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the reformed christian perspective, dordt university equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary…

Education
3
Clarke University of Dubuque Iowa

We are a Catholic, co-educational, liberal arts university founded in 1843 by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubuque, Iowa. Clarke educates students at the post-secondary level in the liberal arts and sciences, the…

Education
4
Augustana University Association

Inspired by lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world.

Education
5
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
6
Hilbert College

Hilbert college is an independent institution of higher learning that embraces its catholic franciscan heritage and values. students from diverse backgrounds are educated in liberal arts and professional programs to become informed…

Education
7
Columbia College

Columbia college improves lives by providing quality education to both traditional and nontraditional students, helping them achieve their true potential.

Education
8
LaGrange College

Education - lagrange college challenges the minds and inspires the souls of its students. founded in 1831 and committed to its relationship with the united methodist church and its wesleyan and liberal arts traditions, the college supports…

Education
9
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
10
Delaware Valley University

See schedule o.we are inspired by the ideals of our founder who, in 1896, emphasized respect for all people and ideas, who honored knowledge with practice, progress and the common good. our historical commitment to experiential learning…

—
11
University of Rio Grande

The university of rio grande/ rio grande community college is america's unique private/public institution of higher education designed to provide learners the opportunity to attain a high-quality, high-value education. our personalized,…

Education
12
Doane University

Doane university creates distinctive educational experiences, immersed in the liberal arts, to prepare our students for careers and lives grounded in inquiry, ethics, and a commitment to lead and serve in the global community.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Upper Iowa University; the most unlike its peers is Iowa Wesleyan University. 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

22 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. 22 of the 32 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/22
Grantees still filing
16/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $542,275 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF IOWAIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY: $413,350 · OtherIOWA STATE UNIVERSITYINDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $202,300 · OtherINDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGEUNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA: $148,900 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA+10 more: $81,600 · Other+10 moreSimpson College: $107,550 · EducationSimpson CollegeCENTRAL COLLEGE: $105,575 · EducationCENTRAL COLLEGEWILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY: $69,650 · EducationWILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITYCOE COLLEGE: $58,050 · EducationCOE COLLEGEWARTBURG COLLEGE: $47,700 · EducationWARTBURG COLLEGEBuena Vista University: $45,250 · EducationBuena Vista UniversityST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $43,450 · EducationST AMBROSE UNIVERSITYDRAKE UNIVERSITY: $35,775 · EducationDRAKE UNIVERSITYGRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY: $35,550 · EducationGRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY+8 more: $71,200 · Education+8 moreMERCY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES: $2,500 · Religion
Other$1,388,425Education$619,750Religion$2,500

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 budgetINDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $202,300 over 8y, 56% of budgetSimpson College: $107,550 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL COLLEGE: $105,575 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetWILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY: $69,650 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCOE COLLEGE: $58,050 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetWARTBURG COLLEGE: $47,700 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetBuena Vista University: $45,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $43,450 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDRAKE UNIVERSITY: $35,775 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY: $35,550 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetIowa Wesleyan University: $21,200 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFaith Baptist Bible College: $16,950 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMOUND FARM HOLDINGS INC: $14,950 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCORNELL COLLEGE: $11,200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLORAS COLLEGE: $10,300 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE: $7,800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBRIAR CLIFF UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHER COLLEGE: $5,300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHWESTERN COLLEGE: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALLEN COLLEGE: $2,850 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMERCY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY: $2,500 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 INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Simpson College ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds COE COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds WARTBURG COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Buena Vista University ↗
  • Who funds ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DRAKE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Iowa Wesleyan University ↗
  • Who funds Faith Baptist Bible College ↗
  • Who funds MOUND FARM HOLDINGS INC ↗
  • Who funds CORNELL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds LORAS COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE ↗
  • Who funds BRIAR CLIFF UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds LUTHER COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds ALLEN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MERCY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES ↗
  • Who funds UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY ↗

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.

Roy J Carver Charitab…Pella Rolscreen Found…Ottumwa Regional Lega…J Ralph And Gladys Me…Special Needs Foundat…W E Ruebush FoundationBestenlehner D and F …Iowa College Foundati…Willard E and Ella P …Marguerite V BrownCommunity Fdn of Grea…Ch& Helen Sheridan Tuw
Roy J Carver Charitable TrustIA26.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Roy J Carver Charitable Trust · Pella Rolscreen Foundation · Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation Inc · J Ralph And Gladys Meier Scholarship Trust · Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County · W E Ruebush Foundation · Bestenlehner D and F Educational Tr · Iowa College Foundation · Willard E and Ella P Thompson Educational Fund · Marguerite V Brown · Community Fdn of Greater Des Moines F/K/A Greater Des Moines Community Fdn · Ch& Helen Sheridan Tuw

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 Fahrney Education Fdtn Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Fahrney Education Fdtn Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 32 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 Fahrney Education Fdtn’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