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Gardner Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Gardner Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.4M
Granted FY2025still arriving
21
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$764k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$7.0MHealth$1.3MRecreation & Sports$1.3MHuman Services$955kArts & Culture$699kReligion$485kPublic Safety & Disaster$259kYouth Development$228kOther$0
02FY2025 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $183k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $422k
  • $250k+1 grant · $764k
$15,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WAYNE STATE FOUNDATION$764,194
WAYNE STATE FOUNDATION$171,946
ST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH$100,000
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY$75,000
LITTLE RED HEN THEATRE$75,000
Individual grant recipient$38,210
Individual grant recipient$35,000
STANTON COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY$27,595
HOMER VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT$19,550
Individual grant recipient$17,104
PROJECT PINKD INC$15,000
EMERSON VETERANS MEMORIALPOST 60$10,250
HARRISON'S PLAYMAKERS$10,000
LINDSAY AREA DEVELOPMENT$10,000
LAUREL-CONCORD-COLERIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL$8,294
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 (FY18–24, $51k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%QUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION: $10k → 7%CAMP HIGH HOPES: $24k → 13%BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $7k → 8%QUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION: $10k → 7%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$12M · 23 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

23 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 13 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
33

Total granted

$12M
$878k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
+21%

Still filing today

35%
24%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $183k 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
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentReligionRecreation & SportsHealthOther
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

  • LR
    LITTLE RED HEN THEATRE
    9× · 2017–2025 · $618k · revenue +127% · 83% of their budget
  • NW
    NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
    3× · 2020–2025 · $175k · revenue +11%
  • HH
    HOPEFUL HORIZONS
    5× · 2017–2021 · $55k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • DC
    DIXON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2024 · $100k · revenue -4% · 37% of their budget
  • AF
    ALLEN-WATERBURY FIRE & RESCUE
    one grant, 2019 · $76k
  • HH
    HAVEN HOUSE
    one grant, 2018 · $75k
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
North Dakota State Fair Foundation

The mission of the north dakota state fair foundation is to develop lifelong relationships with donors to secure the philanthropic gifts that will enhance and support the work of the north dakota state fair.

—
2
Northland Foundation

The northland foundation supports northeastern minnesota people and communities working toward a future where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.

Philanthropy
3
NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center Inc

Our mission is "Partnering to Create a Healthier Community." NorthPoint seeks to reduce health disparities, improve health outcomes, and enhance the overall quality of life for all residents of North Minneapolis

Health
4
Northeast State Community College Foundation

To promote the cause of higher education and the mission of northeast state community college; to expand educational opportunities; and to acquire, manage, and administer foundation funds to achieve those objectives.

Education
5
North Dakota University System Foundation

The function of the north dakota university system foundation is to support, enrich, advance and improve higher education in the state of north dakota, and to assist its students, faculty and staff.

Philanthropy
6
North Dakota News Cooperative
Arts & Culture
7
Northwestern Oklahoma State University Foundation Inc and Alumni Association

To provide support to NWOSU and scholarships to NWOSU students

Education
8
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
9
Northampton County Area Community College Foundation

The Northampton Community College Foundation, raises, invests and manages private resources for Northampton Community College, it's students, and it's staff.

Education
10
Great Plains Food Bank

End hunger together.

Food & Nutrition
11
Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio

To grow hope in our region by creating pathways to nutritious food.

Food & Nutrition
12
Northland Health Partners Community Health Center

Northland community health center is committed to providing access to affordable and quality health services.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Food Bank for the Heartland; the most unlike its peers is Little Red Hen Theatre. 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

20 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. 20 of the 67 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/20
Grantees still filing
10/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WAKEFIELD COMMUNITY SCHOOL: $2,378,319 · OtherWAKEFIELD COMMUNITY SCHOOLProvidence Medical Center Foundation: $1,000,001 · OtherProvidence Medical Center FoundationIndividual grant recipient: $800,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH: $660,000 · OtherST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCHLITTLE RED HEN THEATRE: $617,900 · OtherLITTLE RED HEN THEATREDIOCESE OF CHARLESTONCATHOLIC COMM FDTN: $250,000 · Other+49 more: $1,619,758 · Other+49 moreWAYNE STATE FOUNDATION: $4,910,374 · EducationWAYNE STATE FOUNDATIONNEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $175,000 · Education+1 more: $50,000 · EducationDIXON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentHARRISONS PLAYMAKERS: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentEpic Youth Ministry Inc: $5,000 · Youth DevelopmentHOPEFUL HORIZONS: $55,000 · ReligionCAMP HIGH HOPES: $23,750 · Human ServicesQUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Human ServicesBUILDERS INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $7,000 · Human ServicesProject Pinkd Inc: $15,000 · HealthWEST POINT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $12,750 · Philanthropy
Other$7,325,978Education$5,135,374Youth Development$125,000Religion$55,000Human Services$50,750Health$15,000Philanthropy$12,750

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetWAYNE STATE FOUNDATION: $4,910,374 over 9y, 18% of budgetProvidence Medical Center Foundation: $1,000,001 over 4y, 67% of budgetLITTLE RED HEN THEATRE: $617,900 over 9y, 83% of budgetNEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $175,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDIXON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY: $100,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetHOPEFUL HORIZONS: $55,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetNORTHEAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetCAMP HIGH HOPES: $23,750 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetQUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetHARRISONS PLAYMAKERS: $20,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetProject Pinkd Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetWEST POINT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $12,750 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE LOWCOUNTRY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBUILDERS INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Arc of Norfolk: $2,000 over 1y, 2.9% 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 WAYNE STATE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Providence Medical Center Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE RED HEN THEATRE ↗
  • Who funds NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DIXON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds HOPEFUL HORIZONS ↗
  • Who funds NORTHEAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CAMP HIGH HOPES ↗
  • Who funds WAKEFIELD HEALTH CARE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds QUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HARRISONS PLAYMAKERS ↗

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.

Edward Jones Foundati…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Paypal Charitable Giv…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Edward Jones FoundationMO9.7× affinity4 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Edward Jones Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Gardner Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gardner Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 67 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 Gardner’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