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· Private foundation

Grotto Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$1.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$100k
Largest
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Youth Development$2.3MEducation$1.8MHuman Services$1.5MFood & Nutrition$530kEmployment$349kHousing & Shelter$335kArts & Culture$301kPublic Safety & Disaster$269kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $394k
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $675k
$40,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$32M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORMANDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION$100,000
THE SANNEH FOUNDATION$75,000
DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY$50,000
BREAKTHROUGH TWIN CITIES$50,000
APPETITE FOR CHANGE$50,000
MOBILE HOPE$50,000
Individual grant recipient$50,000
WALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERS$50,000
BOLDER OPTIONS$50,000
JEREMIAH PROGRAM$50,000
ELPIS ENTERPRISES$50,000
BIG IDEAS INC$50,000
UJAMAA PLACE$40,000
ISUROON$40,000
REACH FOR RESOURCES INC$35,000
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 (FY17–25, $2.1M) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%BRAVO ZULU HOUSE: $23k → 8%FOSTER ADVOCATES: $60k → 14%ELPIS ENTERPRISES: $60k → 14%ELPIS ENTERPRISES: $50k → 14%ELPIS ENTERPRISES: $50k → 14%FOSTER ADVOCATES: $35k → 14%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $25k → 11%BLACK MEN TEACH: $25k → 11%ELPIS ENTERPRISES: $30k → 14%ELPIS ENTERPRISES: $30k → 14%BLACK MEN TEACH: $20k → 11%PREPARE PROSPER: $15k → 14%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $15k → 11%ISUROON: $73k → 11%HALLIE Q BROWN COMMUNITY CENTER: $28k → 14%ISUROON: $50k → 11%isuroon: $50k → 11%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $50k → 14%HALLIE Q BROWN: $20k → 14%THE LINK: $60k → 11%THE LINK: $30k → 11%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $75k → 14%UJAMAA PLACE: $50k → 14%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING: $50k → 14%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $50k → 11%UJAMAA PLACE: $40k → 14%UJAMAA PLACE: $40k → 14%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $35k → 11%JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $28k → 11%UJAAMA PLACE: $30k → 14%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $100k → 11%THE URBAN VILLAGE INC: $30k → 14%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $75k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING: $25k → 14%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $75k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $50k → 11%BLACK MEN TEACH: $25k → 11%Way to Grow: $20k → 11%TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $78k → 11%tiwahe foundation: $51k → 11%ISUROON: $40k → 11%ISUROON: $30k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING: $75k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHTBORHOOD SERVICES: $50k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING: $50k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHTBORHOOD SERVICES: $28k → 11%YOUTHLINK: $50k → 11%YWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS: $25k → 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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.0M · 46 repeat orgs$1.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 27 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
26

Total granted

$7.0M
$962k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
0%

Still filing today

80%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 74% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $281k 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
Human ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • PS
    PROJECT SUCCESS
    6× · 2017–2024 · $399k · revenue +130%
  • WE
    WALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERS
    7× · 2017–2025 · $323k · revenue +72%
  • JP
    JEREMIAH PROGRAM
    6× · 2017–2025 · $315k · revenue +161%

Funded once

  • SP
    ST PAUL COLLEGE
    one grant, 2017 · $247k
  • Y
    YOUTHLINK
    one grant, 2023 · $50k · revenue -2%
  • THE BRANDLAB
    one grant, 2022 · $50k · revenue -27%
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
Youthprise

Youthprise is a nonprofit intermediary that invests in the future of Minnesota by investing in youth. Youthprise's mission is to increase equity with and for Minnesota's indigenous, low-income, and racially diverse youth.

Education
2
Women's Foundation of Minnesota

Women's Foundation of Minnesota is a statewide community foundation investing in ending systemic inequities and driving innovation for gender and racial justice. WFM applies an Intersectional Equity Framework inclusive of gender, race,…

Philanthropy
3
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…

—
4
St Paul Transportation Management Organization

Move minnesota leads the movement for an equitable and sustainable transportation system that puts people first. we are passionate about connecting communities, ending the climate crisis, expanding access to jobs and resources, and…

Environment
5
Social Venture Partners Minnesota

SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS MINNESOTA accelerates the impact of youth - serving nonprofits in the Twin Cities by fostering a community of engaged philanthropists. Our vision is a future where every young person has the opportunity to pursue a…

Philanthropy
6
African Development Center

Grow businesses, build wealth and increase reinvestement in the african communities of minnesota

Human Services
7
United Way of Ne Minnesota

United way of northeastern minnesota invests in nonprofits, programs, and collaborations that equip and empower, creating opportunities for people to thrive in our communities.

—
8
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

Purpose: we inspire, advocate and invest to advance community visions. continued on sch o

Philanthropy
9
World Youth Connect

World Youth Connect builds communities across cultures and beyond borders. By creating and encouraging civic engagement opportunities we help young people gain the skills and experience they need to be successful. World Youth Connect…

Youth Development
10
Minnesota Voice

Minnesota Voice is a collaboration of organizations working toward permanent change in social, racial, and economic justice by increasing civic engagement and voter participation across the state.

Public Benefit
11
Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota

Mentoring partnership of minnesota (mpm) builds and elevates the capacity of programs, systems and policies to strengthen youth mentoring relationships. strategic priorities include: 1. support a statewide mentoring partner network2.…

Employment
12
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…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Sanneh Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Big Ideas 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

60 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. 60 of the 81 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
59/60
Grantees still filing
36/60
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

PROJECT SUCCESS: $398,500 · EducationPROJECT SUCCESSOne2One: $360,000 · EducationOne2OneWALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERS: $323,000 · EducationWALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERSBolder Options: $299,000 · EducationBolder OptionsBreakthrough Twin Cities: $275,000 · EducationBreakthrough Twin CitiesHILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY: $218,000 · EducationHILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRA…DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY: $200,000 · EducationDUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY+5 more: $175,000 · Education+5 moreST PAUL COLLEGE: $246,807 · OtherST PAUL COLLEGERED CLOUD INDIAN SCHOOL: $225,000 · OtherRED CLOUD INDIAN SCHOOLALL SQUARE: $190,000 · OtherALL SQUAREPALISADE AREA COMMUNITY KIDS EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER: $145,000 · OtherPALISADE AREA COMMUNITY KIDS EDU…Youth Farm and Market Project: $115,000 · OtherNormandale Community College Foundation Inc: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $90,000 · OtherMINNESOTANS' MILITARY APPRECIATION FUND: $85,000 · OtherSECOND HARVEST: $85,000 · OtherKA JOOG NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION: $80,000 · OtherBIG IDEAS INC: $105,000 · OtherNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $87,500 · Other+26 more: $821,400 · Other+26 moreAPPETITE FOR CHANGE INC: $300,000 · Human ServicesAPPETITE FOR CHANGE INCIsuroon: $242,846 · Human ServicesIsuroonElpis Enterprises: $220,000 · Human ServicesElpis EnterprisesPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $200,000 · Human ServicesPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING …UJAMAA PLACE: $160,000 · Human ServicesUJAMAA PLACEJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF MINNEAPOLIS: $152,500 · Human ServicesJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S…THE TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $128,500 · Human ServicesTHE TIWAHE FOUNDATIONAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $125,000 · Human ServicesAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATIONFoster Advocates: $95,000 · Human ServicesTHE LINK: $90,000 · Human ServicesEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $77,500 · Human ServicesBlack Men Teach: $70,000 · Human Services+7 more: $210,500 · Human Services+7 moreTHE SANNEH FOUNDATION: $280,000 · Youth DevelopmentCommunity Partners with Youth: $173,000 · Youth DevelopmentURBAN BOATBUILDERS INC: $65,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE BRANDLAB: $50,000 · Youth Development+2 more: $40,000 · Youth DevelopmentJEREMIAH PROGRAM: $315,000 · Housing & ShelterWOMEN'S ADVOCATES INC: $120,000 · Housing & ShelterSAINT PAUL POLICE FOUNDATION: $258,500 · PhilanthropyPROPEL NONPROFITS: $50,000 · PhilanthropyMULTIPLYING GOOD INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyMobile Hope: $195,000 · Religion
Education$2,248,500Other$2,375,707Human Services$2,071,846Youth Development$608,000Housing & Shelter$435,000Philanthropy$358,500Religion$195,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPROJECT SUCCESS: $398,500 over 6y, 5.1% of budgetOne2One: $360,000 over 4y, 70% of budgetWALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERS: $323,000 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetJEREMIAH PROGRAM: $315,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetAPPETITE FOR CHANGE INC: $300,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetBolder Options: $299,000 over 7y, 4.6% of budgetTHE SANNEH FOUNDATION: $280,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetBreakthrough Twin Cities: $275,000 over 6y, 5.5% of budgetSAINT PAUL POLICE FOUNDATION: $258,500 over 3y, 47% of budgetIsuroon: $242,846 over 5y, 7.7% of budgetElpis Enterprises: $220,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetHILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY: $218,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $200,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetDUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY: $200,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMobile Hope: $195,000 over 4y, 16% of budgetALL SQUARE: $190,000 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetCommunity Partners with Youth: $173,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetUJAMAA PLACE: $160,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF MINNEAPOLIS: $152,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHE TIWAHE FOUNDATION: $128,500 over 2y, 11% of budgetAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $125,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetWOMEN'S ADVOCATES INC: $120,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetYouth Farm and Market Project: $115,000 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetBIG IDEAS INC: $105,000 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetNormandale Community College Foundation Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetFoster Advocates: $95,000 over 2y, 5.7% of budgetTHE LINK: $90,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $87,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMINNESOTANS' MILITARY APPRECIATION FUND: $85,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $77,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetPAGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetBlack Men Teach: $70,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF SAINT PAUL COLLEGE: $65,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetURBAN BOATBUILDERS INC: $65,000 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetTree Trust: $60,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPROPEL NONPROFITS: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetYOUTHLINK: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHE BRANDLAB: $50,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetMULTIPLYING GOOD INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetHALLIE Q BROWN COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $47,500 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetGoodwill Industries Inc: $43,900 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetREACH FOR RESOURCES INC: $35,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetURBAN ROOTS MN: $30,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetST PAUL YOUTH SERVICES: $25,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetSTUDIO-180: $25,000 over 1y, 4.9% of budgetST PAUL CITY SCHOOL: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWildflyer Coffee: $25,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetYWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 PROJECT SUCCESS ↗
  • Who funds One2One ↗
  • Who funds WALLIN EDUCATION PARTNERS ↗
  • Who funds JEREMIAH PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds APPETITE FOR CHANGE INC ↗
  • Who funds Bolder Options ↗
  • Who funds THE SANNEH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Breakthrough Twin Cities ↗
  • Who funds SAINT PAUL POLICE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Isuroon ↗
  • Who funds Elpis Enterprises ↗
  • Who funds HILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY ↗
  • Who funds Mobile Hope ↗
  • Who funds ALL SQUARE ↗
  • Who funds Community Partners with Youth ↗
  • Who funds UJAMAA PLACE ↗
  • Who funds JEWISH FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICE OF MINNEAPOLIS ↗
  • Who funds THE TIWAHE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN'S ADVOCATES INC ↗
  • Who funds Youth Farm and Market Project ↗
  • Who funds BIG IDEAS INC ↗
  • Who funds Normandale Community College Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds Foster Advocates ↗
  • Who funds THE LINK ↗
  • Who funds NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTANS' MILITARY APPRECIATION FUND ↗
  • Who funds KA JOOG NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION ↗
  • Who funds EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds PAGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Black Men Teach ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF SAINT PAUL COLLEGE ↗

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.

Saint Paul & Minnesota FoundationMN74.1× affinity43 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · The Minneapolis Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · Greater Twin Cities United Way · Mortenson Family Foundation · Youthprise · Pohlad Family Foundation · The Walser Foundation · Hardenbergh Foundation · Xcel Energy 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 Grotto Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Grotto Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    27report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Grotto Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Grotto Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    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 81 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 Grotto’s filings →

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