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Gillett Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Gillett Family Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$293k
Granted FY2024still arriving
37
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$40k
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 2024.

Health$648kArts & Culture$346kHuman Services$315kEnvironment$295kEducation$204kAnimals$125kPublic Benefit$115kCrime & Legal$109kOther$0
02FY2024 · 37 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k22 grants · $80k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $213k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$4.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BLANDFORD NATURE CENTER$40,000
NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY$25,000
GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM$20,000
EVERYBODY PLAYS$18,000
ST MARY FOUNDATION (LACKS CANCER CENTER)$10,000
GERALD R FORD PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION$10,000
FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY$10,000
CASA OF KENT COUNTY$10,000
CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER$10,000
JOHN BALL ZOO$10,000
YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN$10,000
FREDERICK MEIJER GARDENS$10,000
GRAND VALLEY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$10,000
MARY FREE BED FOUNDATION$10,000
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM$10,000
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 (FY17–24, $203k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 95% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%ACT FOUNDATION USA INC: $5k → 6%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%ACT FOUNDATION USA INC: $5k → 6%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $2k → 10%PAWS WITH A CAUSE: $1k → 10%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRY: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $15k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $15k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $10k → 11%HQGR: $5k → 11%HQGR: $5k → 11%ARTISTS CREATING TOGETHER: $5k → 11%ARTISTS CREATING TOGETHER: $4k → 11%HQGR: $4k → 11%HQGR: $4k → 11%HQGR: $4k → 11%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.
$2.4M · 49 repeat orgs$12k to everyone else

49 repeat relationships: 34 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

49
3

Total granted

$2.4M
$6k

Still filing today

61%
0%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesHealthEducationArts & CultureAnimalsCivil RightsOther
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

  • GR
    GERALD R FORD PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $115k · revenue +176%
  • CH
    CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER
    8× · 2017–2024 · $115k · revenue +84%
  • YW
    YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN
    8× · 2017–2024 · $90k · revenue +18%

Funded once

  • KD
    KENT DISTRICT LIBRARY
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • JB
    JOHN BALL ZOO SCHOOL
    one grant, 2023 · $2k
  • ML
    MAMRELUND LUTHERAN CHURCH FOOD BANK
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
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
Grand Rapids Public Museum Foundation

The primary role of the grand rapids public museum foundation is fundraising for the grand rapids public museum, but it also has overall responsibility for the current and long-term viability of the organization.

Arts & Culture
2
Grand Rapids Children's Museum

Provides a hands-on environment that celebrates childhood, inspires learning and encourages self-directed exploration for children.

Arts & Culture
3
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
4
Family Outreach Center

Leading the way in promoting healthy family living by reaching out to underserved populations and those who are in our community.

—
5
Michigan Legacy Art Park

Inspire awareness, appreciation and passion for michigan's history and stories, culture and environment through the arts.

Arts & Culture
6
Grand Rapids Ballet

To lift the human spirit through the art of dance by providing: exceptional and diverse programming; high quality dance education; outreach to inspire and enrich the community; family-friendly programming including newly commissioned…

Arts & Culture
7
Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

The mission of gtrlc is to protect significant natural, scenic and farm lands and advance land stewardship now and for future generations.

Environment
8
Michigan Family Resources

Michigan Family Resources mission is to deliver holistic family-centered services to children that promote their well-being and development.

Education
9
Great Lakes Center for the Arts

The Center's mission is to inspire, entertain, educate, and serve all in Northern Michigan year-round by presenting exceptional experiences across the full spectrum of the performing arts and offering impactful educational opportunities.

Arts & Culture
10
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership

The mission of great lakes community action partnership is to create partnerships and opportunites to help individuals, families and communities thrive.

Human Services
11
Great River Childrens Museum

Great river children's museum (grcm) shines a bright light on the power of play to spark children's learning, strengthen families, and build community connections. its dynamic, interactive environments and experiences are a gateway to the…

Arts & Culture
12
Lake Michigan Bird Observatory

Bird research and conservation in the western lake michigan region of the united states.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kids' Food Basket Inc; the most unlike its peers is Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary 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

32 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. 32 of the 55 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
32/32
Grantees still filing
23/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MARY FREE BED FOUNDATION: $130,000 · OtherMARY FREE BED FOUNDATIONFREDERICK MEIJER GARDENS: $110,000 · OtherFREDERICK MEIJER GARDENSHELEN DEVOS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $106,000 · OtherHELEN DEVOS CHILDREN'S HOSPITALGILDA'S CLUB: $77,500 · OtherGILDA'S CLUBDA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'S: $65,000 · OtherDA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'SST MARY FOUNDATION (LACK CANCER CENTER): $60,000 · OtherST MARY FOUNDATION (LACK CANCER CENTER)GRAND VALLEY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherCANNONSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: $40,000 · OtherMULTIPLY NETWORK CHURCH: $39,000 · OtherGRAND RAPIDS POLICE FOUNDATION: $62,500 · OtherGRAND RAPIDS POLICE FOUNDATION+24 more: $367,500 · Other+24 moreBLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $295,000 · EducationBLANDFORD NATURE CENT…GERALD R FORD PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION: $115,000 · EducationGERALD R FORD PRESIDE…GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $55,000 · EducationGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC S…CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $115,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S H…NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $75,000 · HealthNATIONAL MUL…Faith Hospice: $57,000 · HealthFaith Hospic…Ronald McDonald House Global: $12,500 · HealthYWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $90,000 · Human ServicesYWCA WEST…FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRIES INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesFLAT RIVE…THE PLAYGROUNDGR: $20,500 · Human ServicesTHE PLAYG…Paws With A Cause: $13,000 · Human ServicesPaws With…ACT FOUNDATION USA INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesARTISTS CREATING TOGETHER: $9,000 · Human ServicesGRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $105,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAP…GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $77,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND RAP…Opera Grand Rapids: $10,000 · Arts & CultureHUMANE SOCIETY OF WEST MICHIGAN: $44,500 · AnimalsJOHN BALL ZOO: $40,000 · AnimalsMACKENZIE'S ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $5,500 · AnimalsCASA of Kent County Inc: $79,000 · Civil Rights+1 more: $2,500 · Civil Rights
Other$1,107,500Education$465,000Health$259,500Human Services$202,500Arts & Culture$192,000Animals$90,000Civil Rights$81,500

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetBLANDFORD NATURE CENTER: $295,000 over 8y, 2.0% of budgetGERALD R FORD PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION: $115,000 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetCHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER: $115,000 over 8y, 2.3% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM: $105,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetYWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $90,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetCASA of Kent County Inc: $79,000 over 8y, 1.5% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM: $77,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $75,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'S: $65,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS POLICE FOUNDATION: $62,500 over 6y, 19% of budgetFLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRIES INC: $60,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetFaith Hospice: $57,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetGRAND VALLEY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF WEST MICHIGAN: $44,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetJOHN BALL ZOO: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSENIOR NEIGHBORS INC: $35,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetBROADWAY GRAND RAPIDS: $23,500 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetTHE PLAYGROUNDGR: $20,500 over 5y, 11% of budgetKIDS' FOOD BASKET INC: $19,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF GRAND RAPIDS PARKS: $16,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetNORTH END COMMUNITY MINISTRY: $15,500 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetPaws With A Cause: $13,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetRonald McDonald House Global: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetACT FOUNDATION USA INC: $10,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOpera Grand Rapids: $10,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetARTISTS CREATING TOGETHER: $9,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetMACKENZIE'S ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $5,500 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GRAND RAPIDS: $4,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMOMSBLOOM INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCity High Middle School PTSA: $2,000 over 1y, 0.9% 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 BLANDFORD NATURE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds GERALD R FORD PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S HEALING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds GRAND RAPIDS ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds YWCA WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds CASA of Kent County Inc ↗
  • Who funds GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds DA BLODGETT - ST JOHN'S ↗
  • Who funds GRAND RAPIDS POLICE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FLAT RIVER OUTREACH MINISTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds Faith Hospice ↗
  • Who funds GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GRAND VALLEY UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HUMANE SOCIETY OF WEST MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds JOHN BALL ZOO ↗
  • Who funds SENIOR NEIGHBORS INC ↗
  • Who funds BROADWAY GRAND RAPIDS ↗
  • Who funds THE PLAYGROUNDGR ↗
  • Who funds KIDS' FOOD BASKET INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF GRAND RAPIDS PARKS ↗
  • Who funds NORTH END COMMUNITY MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds Paws With A Cause ↗
  • Who funds Ronald McDonald House Global ↗

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…Frey FoundationThe Meijer FoundationSteve & Amy Van Andel…Peter C & Emajean Coo…The Sebastian Foundat…Ufp Industries Founda…The Mercantile Bank F…Edp FoundationCdv5 FoundationDick and Betsy Devos …Leslie Tassell Founda…
Grand Rapids Community FoundationMI49.7× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Grand Rapids Community Foundation · Frey Foundation · The Meijer Foundation · Steve & Amy Van Andel Foundation · Peter C & Emajean Cook Foundation · The Sebastian Foundation · Ufp Industries Foundation · The Mercantile Bank Foundation · Edp Foundation · Cdv5 Foundation · Dick and Betsy Devos Family Foundation · Leslie Tassell Foundation Dba Tassell-Wisner-Bottrall Fdn

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 Gillett Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gillett Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%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
    9report 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 55 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Gillett Family’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