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Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$110k
Granted FY2023
15
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Grand Rapids Community Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 13 organizations, $110k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

16
’17
20
’18
18
’19
19
’20
12
’21
14
’22
13
’23
0
’24

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Philanthropy$1.5MCrime & Legal$116kHuman Services$103kHousing & Shelter$102kArts & Culture$88kCommunity Improvement$65kHealth$61kEducation$46kOther$0
02FY2023 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k8 grants · $30k
  • $10k–50k7 grants · $80k
$5,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OPERA GRAND RAPIDS$15,000
NC EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP CENTER$15,000
PISGAH LEGAL SERVICES$10,000
CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER$10,000
BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER$10,000
PLYMOUTH HEALING COMMUNITIES$10,000
STEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES$10,000
MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY$5,000
HB POLICE & COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$5,000
TRANSLATIN COALITION$5,000
CAROLINA ABORTION FUND$5,000
CHICAGO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS$2,500
BELOVED ASHVILLE$2,500
WE GIVE A SHARE INC$2,500
CHICAGO FREEDOM SCHOOL$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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–23, $118k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 69% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%HOSPICE OF MICHIGAN: $2k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $20k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 11%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $5k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $3k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $3k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $3k → 9%MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $3k → 9%YOUTH CARE: $5k → 9%YOUTH CARE: $3k → 9%CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE: $5k → 9%YOUTH CARE: $3k → 9%YOUTH CARE: $3k → 9%YOUTH CARE: $3k → 9%CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE: $1k → 9%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

WA
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
CA
VA
DE
AR
NC
DC
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.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$648k · 30 repeat orgs$85k to everyone else

30 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2023, 20 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call). Read against FY2023, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

30
22

Total granted

$648k
$68k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+37%
+67%

Still filing today

83%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
Human ServicesHealthEducationCivil RightsArts & CultureHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • BC
    BAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER
    7× · 2017–2023 · $80k · revenue +29%
  • PH
    PLYMOUTH HEALING COMMUNITIES
    7× · 2017–2023 · $70k · revenue +6%
  • SN
    STEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC
    6× · 2017–2023 · $60k · revenue +38%

Funded once

  • CA
    CHILDREN'S ASSESSMENT CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
  • RF
    REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -100%
  • J
    JUSTDANE
    one grant, 2022 · $8k · revenue -28%
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
Liberty Justice Center

To advance economic and social liberties and a free enterprise society through strategic litigation, training, communication, activism and research. in addition, the center will train law students, lawyers and policy activists in the…

Crime & Legal
2
Center for American Progress

The center for american progress (cap) is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. our aim is…

Civil Rights
3
Coop Careers Inc

Building a movement of diverse, upwardly mobile college grads overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.

Education
4
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
5
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Iowa

The foundation works to defend and promote the constitution of the united states, focusing especially on the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and 14th amendments. the foundation also works to defend and promote the constitution of the…

Civil Rights
6
Colorado Center On Law and Policy

Colorado center on law and policy is an antipoverty organization advancing the rights of every coloradan.

Crime & Legal
7
Council for Court Excellence

Council for court excellence's (cce's) mission is to bring people together to conduct research, educate, and advocate to make d.c.'s unique legal systems more just, equitable, and accountable to the community.

—
8
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
9
R Street Institute

The r street institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy research organization ("think tank"). our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. (continued on…

Education
10
Center for Constitutional Rights

Ccr is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the united states constitution the universal declaration of human rights. ccr stands with social justice movements…

Civil Rights
11
Institute for Public Accuracy

To teach and disseminate educational materials to the public.

Arts & Culture
12
The Campaign Legal Center Inc

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic…

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chicago Freedom School; the most unlike its peers is Reporters Without Borders Inc. 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

46 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. 46 of the 59 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
45/46
Grantees still filing
34/46
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,470,914 · PhilanthropyGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION+1 more: $2,500 · PhilanthropyCHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $60,000 · OtherCHILDREN'S ADVOCA…CHERRY HEALTH FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherCHERRY HEALTH FOU…GRAND RAPIDS CREATIVE YOUTH CENTER: $30,000 · OtherGRAND RAPIDS CREA…North Carolina Employee Ownership Center: $40,000 · OtherNorth Carolina Em…Downtown Emergency Service Center: $11,500 · OtherElizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund: $15,000 · Other+38 more: $145,500 · Other+38 moreBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $80,000 · Human ServicesTHE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $15,000 · Human ServicesYOUTHCARE: $15,000 · Human ServicesCHILDREN'S ALLIANCE: $6,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesOpera Grand Rapids: $86,500 · Arts & CultureCENTER FOR URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION: $4,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $1,000 · Arts & CulturePLYMOUTH HEALING COMMUNITIES: $70,000 · Housing & ShelterCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $2,500 · Housing & ShelterBELOVED ASHEVILLE: $2,500 · Housing & ShelterSTEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $60,000 · Community ImprovementPISGAH LEGAL SERVICES: $56,000 · Crime & Legal
Philanthropy$1,473,414Other$332,000Human Services$118,000Arts & Culture$91,500Housing & Shelter$75,000Community Improvement$60,000Crime & Legal$56,000

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 budgetGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $1,470,914 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetOpera Grand Rapids: $86,500 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetBAXTER COMMUNITY CENTER: $80,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetPLYMOUTH HEALING COMMUNITIES: $70,000 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetSTEEPLETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $60,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetPISGAH LEGAL SERVICES: $56,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNorth Carolina Employee Ownership Center: $40,000 over 3y, 9.6% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS CREATIVE YOUTH CENTER: $30,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetTHE MOCKINGBIRD SOCIETY: $15,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetElizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund: $15,000 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetYOUTHCARE: $15,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDowntown Emergency Service Center: $11,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTH INTERVENTION SERVICES: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE TRANSLATIN COALITION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $10,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUSTDANE: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHILDREN'S ALLIANCE: $6,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNATIONAL COALITION AGAINST CENSORSHIP INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCHICAGO FREEDOM SCHOOL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCAROLINA ABORTION FUND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTH CAROLINA LEGAL FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCENTER FOR URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION: $4,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFREEDOM HOUSE: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRECOVERY CAFE: $3,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFARESTART: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetASHLAND UNIVERSITY: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHICAGO COALITION TO END HOMELESSNESS: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAFFINITY MENTORING: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMOSES - WISDOM OF MADISON INC: $2,500 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF MICHIGAN: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBELOVED ASHEVILLE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetASHEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHEARTBEAT INTERNATIONAL INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWEGIVEASHARE Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCare Net: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CLAREMONT INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF STATESMANSHIP & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHospice of Michigan Inc: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLeadership Institute: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetReporters Without Borders Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetConservative Partnership Institute: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCLARE BOOTHE LUCE CENTER FOR CONSERVATIVE WOMEN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTATE POLICY NETWORK: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: $1,000 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.

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.

Grand Rapids Communit…WK Kellogg FoundationSeattle FoundationSteelcase FoundationCorewell Health Group…The Wege FoundationThe Mercantile Bank F…Medina FoundationAmalgamated Charitabl…Krw FoundationThe Sebastian Foundat…The J E Fehsenfeld Fa…
Grand Rapids Community FoundationMI21.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Grand Rapids Community Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · Seattle Foundation · Steelcase Foundation · Corewell Health Group Return · The Wege Foundation · The Mercantile Bank Foundation · Medina Foundation · Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc · Krw Foundation · The Sebastian Foundation · The J E Fehsenfeld Family 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 Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
13report 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 59 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Frank B and Virginia V Fehsenfeld’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