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Gwg Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Gwg Foundation

Its FY2021 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$13k
Granted FY2020
2
Grants FY2020
2
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2020.

Philanthropy$2.3MInternational$132kYouth Development$75kReligion$70kArts & Culture$67kHuman Services$60kEducation$43kScience & Tech$25kOther$0
02FY2020 · 2 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2020

  • Under $10k1 grant · $3k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$454k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JH OUTBACK MINISTRIES INC$10,000
BROTHERHOOD OF THE FALLEN DALLAS INC$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 (FY17–20) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 19% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%BENJAMIN HARRY PEIKIN FOUNDATION: $2.3M → 8%THE JACK BREWER FOUNDATION: $72k → 11%SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $41k → 14%SERENGETI GENESIS: $25k → 15%THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $5k → 17%BROTHERHOOD OF THE FALLEN DALLAS INC: $3k → 14%URBAN YOUTH IMPACT: $75k → 11%THE JACK BREWER FOUNDATION: $30k → 13%JH OUTBACK: $50k → 16%GREATER GREEN BAY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $3k → 10%SPECIAL OLYMPICS MINNESOTA: $900 → 11%SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $6k → 14%THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $5k → 17%ALLIES IN SERVICE: $50k → 14%OUTBACK MINISTRIES INC: $50k → 11%THE JACK BREWER FOUNDATION: $30k → 13%JH OUTBACK MINISTRIES INC: $10k → 16%LITTLE EARTH NEIGHBORHOOD EARLY LEARNING CENTER CORPORATION: $2k → 11%THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $5k → 17%OUTBACK MINISTRIES INC: $10k → 16%GUTHRIE THEATER: $3k → 11%NORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE: $20k → 11%FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION: $25k → 11%FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION MINNESOTA: $16k → 11%WALKER ART CENTER: $2k → 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.

9%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$255k · 5 repeat orgs$2.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +68% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

5 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2020, 4 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2020 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
13

Total granted

$255k
$2.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+68%
+24%

Still filing today

80%
62%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2020, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20
Arts & CultureEducationReligionCrime & LegalOther
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

  • JB
    JACK BREWER FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2019 · $132k · revenue +805%
  • SF
    SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS
    2× · 2017–2018 · $47k · revenue +68%
  • FO
    FOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION MINNESOTA INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $41k · revenue +157%

Funded once

  • BH
    BENJAMIN HARRY PEIKIN FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $2.3M
  • UY
    Urban Youth Impact Inc
    one grant, 2019 · $75k · revenue +24%
  • AI
    ALLIES IN SERVICE
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue -83%
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
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
2
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

Building community and creating experiences inspired by norwegian-american stories and folk art.the museum is a national treasure that explores the diversity of american immigration through the lens of norwegian-american experience,…

Arts & Culture
3
Minnesota Fringe Festival

Minnesota fringe connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression.

Arts & Culture
4
American Legion Auxiliary Dept of Minnes

In the spirit of service, not self, the mission of the american legion auxiliary is to support the american legion and to honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at…

—
5
United States Telecom Association

See schedule oustelecom exists to ensure members can compete, grow and thrive to build a world where families, enterprises and communities are connected through the power of broadband.our member companies have committed a considerable…

—
6
Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota Inc

Habitat for humanity brings people together to build homes, community, and hope. through advocacy, collaboration, and leadership, hfh-mn advances the work of minnesota's habitat for humanity affiliates to create and preserve affordable…

—
7
United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation

To generate philanthropic support for the united states olympic and paralympic committee (usopc). the usopc's mission is: empowering the competitive excellence and well-being of team usa athletes, championing the power of sport, and…

Recreation & Sports
8
Batc Foundation

To work in partnership with others to provide safe, durable, affordable housing for minnesota's homeless, veterans and others in need. as the charitable arm of housing first minnesota, the foundation partners with local service providers…

Unclassified
9
The Minneapolis Foundation

The foundation cultivates generosity by taking action on the greatest civic, social, and economic needs partnering with nonprofits, facilitating grantmaking, driving research and advocacy, and providing services to donors seeking to make a…

Philanthropy
10
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…

—
11
Minnesota Land Trust

The minnesota land trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Environment
12
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts Dba Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The minneapolis institute of art (mia) enriches the community by collecting, preserving, and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world's diverse cultures.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Walker Art Center; the most unlike its peers is New York Historical Society. 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

16 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. 16 of the 19 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/16
Grantees still filing
10/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BENJAMIN HARRY PEIKIN FOUNDATION: $2,332,000 · OtherBENJAMIN HARRY PEIKIN FOUNDATION+7 more: $188,400 · Other+7 moreJACK BREWER FOUNDATION: $132,000 · EducationFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION MINNESOTA INC: $41,000 · Education+1 more: $2,000 · EducationUrban Youth Impact Inc: $75,000 · ReligionOUTBACK MINISTRIES INC: $20,000 · ReligionSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $46,500 · Arts & CultureNew York Historical Society: $15,000 · Arts & CultureGUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATION: $3,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureNORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE: $20,000 · Crime & LegalBROTHERHOOD FOR THE FALLEN DALLAS TX: $2,500 · Crime & Legal
Other$2,520,400Education$175,000Religion$95,000Arts & Culture$66,500Crime & Legal$22,500

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 budgetJACK BREWER FOUNDATION: $132,000 over 3y, 12% of budgetUrban Youth Impact Inc: $75,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetALLIES IN SERVICE: $50,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $46,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetFOLDS OF HONOR FOUNDATION MINNESOTA INC: $41,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetSERENGETI GENESIS: $25,000 over 1y, 65% of budgetOUTBACK MINISTRIES INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetNORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNew York Historical Society: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSUPPORT OUR TROOPS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER GREEN BAY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBROTHERHOOD FOR THE FALLEN DALLAS TX: $2,500 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetWALKER ART CENTER: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLITTLE EARTH NEIGHBORHOOD EARLY LEARNING CENTER CORPORATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS MINNESOTA INC: $900 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.

Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust IncIN8.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn 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 Gwg Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gwg Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get 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 · 0–10%
    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 Gwg Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Gwg Foundation 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 19 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 2020, released 2020. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2021) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2020, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Gwg’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