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Hiawatha Education Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Hiawatha Education Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$3.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
34
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$1.4M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Education$16MArts & Culture$700kEmployment$597kHealth$100kHuman Services$33k
02FY2024 · 34 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $382k
  • $50k–250k14 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.4M
$48,600
Median grant
3
States reached
$61M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
COTTER SCHOOLS$1,350,000
CORNERSTONE MONTESSORI SCHOOL$119,000
Individual grant recipient$115,500
ST ELIZABETH'S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION$100,000
SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF MN$100,000
MN CONSERVATORY FOR THE ARTS$100,000
ACACIA MONTESSORI$99,550
Individual grant recipient$96,000
WATER LILY MONTESSORI SCHOOL$95,700
CREEKSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL$86,100
MONTESSORI AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDRENS' CENTER$73,000
OVERBROOK SCHOOL$60,000
WHITE BEAR MONTESSORI SCHOOL$52,150
TRINITY EPISCOPAL SCHOOL$50,000
HOPE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL$50,000
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 (FY18–24, $54k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%CATHEDRAL HILL MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $1k → 14%CENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $33k → 11%COMMON ROOTS MONTESSORI: $19k → 14%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.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$17M · 39 repeat orgs$533k to everyone else

39 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2024, 10 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
6

Total granted

$17M
$223k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+58%
+131%

Still filing today

49%
17%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $310k 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
EducationHuman ServicesEmploymentPhilanthropyOther
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

  • CS
    COTTER SCHOOLS
    7× · 2017–2024 · $6.4M · revenue ×17
  • CM
    CREEKSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL
    8× · 2017–2024 · $720k · revenue +77%
  • MA
    MONTESSORI AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDCARE CENTER INCORPORATED
    8× · 2017–2024 · $600k · revenue +179%

Funded once

  • SM
    ST MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF MN
    one grant, 2017 · $100k
  • SL
    ST LOUISE PARISH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2022 · $60k
  • CT
    CENTRO TYRONE GUZMANgraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $33k · revenue +131%
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
The Montessori School

The Montessori School educates children from 18 months-6th grade. Our program is rooted in the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori faithful to her method. In our caring environment, sustained by freedom peace, the school…

—
2
Morningside Montessori School Association

Morningside montessori school blends the philosophy and methods of dr. maria montessori with today's best practices in child development. together, we nurture children into compassionate, independent, lifelong learners.

Education
3
Montessori Childrens House of Nantucket Inc

MONTESSORI SCHOOL that works to create an environment that inspires children to develop inner discipline, self assurance, and a love of learning

Education
4
Northwest Montessori School

To provide an individualized learning environment, based on the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori, that is designed to help students become independent, life-long learners who are academically grounded and socially confident about their…

Education
5
Dakota Montessori School

To nurture children to become lifelong learners and citizens of the world using the montessori method of education.

Education
6
Montessori Academy

Montessori academy is a not-for-profit, educational institution serving children preschoool through eighth grade.

—
7
Sullivan Montessori Inc

Preschool for children ages 18 months and up. Provide a well rounded program including a variety of classes such as cooking, art and yoga.

Education
8
The Westmont Montessori School Inc

Preschool Education following the Montessori Method for children from age 18 months to 6 years.

Education
9
Mount Hope Montessori School Inc

The school offers a carefully prepared safe and nurturing environment in which children age 2 to 6 actively engaged in a variety of work areas to encourage their fullest development. inspired by dr. maria montessori. the school endeavors…

Human Services
10
Lupine Montessori School

To nurture confident, independent, lifelong learning by providing holistic montessori education to children, families and our community.

Education
11
Montessori Community School

Montessori community school is an independent, non-sectarian school providing a montessori education for children ages two through twelve years.

—
12
Montessori Community School Inc

We are a vibrant montessori community where together, through our dynamic and relevant curriculum, we guide students toward self-discovery and the realization of their unique contributions to the world.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wildwood Montessori; the most unlike its peers is St Elizabeths Community Development Foundation. 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

21 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. 21 of the 50 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
17/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

COTTER SCHOOLS: $6,428,789 · OtherCOTTER SCHOOLSIndividual grant recipient: $1,067,275 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $901,200 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCORNERSTONE MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $855,550 · OtherCORNERSTONE MONTESSORI SCHOOLIndividual grant recipient: $641,400 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $537,500 · OtherSMU CONSERVATORY FOR THE ARTS: $500,000 · Other+28 more: $3,530,350 · Other+28 moreCREEKSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $720,450 · EducationCREEKSIDE MONTES…MONTESSORI AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDCARE CENTER INCORPORATED: $599,700 · EducationMONTESSORI AMERI…LITTLE VOYAGEURS' MONTESSORI SCHOOL INC: $463,150 · EducationLITTLE VOYAGEURS…SUNNY HOLLOW MONTESSORI: $142,200 · EducationSUNNY HOLLOW MON…BLUFFVIEW MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $132,900 · EducationAcacia Montessori: $130,950 · EducationJONATHAN MONTESSORI HOUSE OF CHILDREN INC: $105,400 · EducationMANY RIVERS MONTESSORI: $87,400 · Education+3 more: $145,600 · Education+3 moreHMONG AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP: $597,300 · EmploymentST ELIZABETHS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyCENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $33,400 · Human ServicesCommon Roots Montessori School: $20,800 · Human Services
Other$14,462,064Education$2,527,750Employment$597,300Philanthropy$100,000Human Services$54,200

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 budgetCOTTER SCHOOLS: $6,428,789 over 7y, 17% of budgetCREEKSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $720,450 over 8y, 9.4% of budgetMONTESSORI AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDCARE CENTER INCORPORATED: $599,700 over 8y, 24% of budgetHMONG AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP: $597,300 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetLITTLE VOYAGEURS' MONTESSORI SCHOOL INC: $463,150 over 8y, 16% of budgetWHITE BEAR MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $375,600 over 8y, 8.9% of budgetWILDWOOD MONTESSORI: $142,950 over 4y, 26% of budgetSUNNY HOLLOW MONTESSORI: $142,200 over 8y, 1.2% of budgetBLUFFVIEW MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $132,900 over 8y, 1.1% of budgetAcacia Montessori: $130,950 over 2y, 32% of budgetJONATHAN MONTESSORI HOUSE OF CHILDREN INC: $105,400 over 7y, 3.0% of budgetST ELIZABETHS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetMANY RIVERS MONTESSORI: $87,400 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetLAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL MONTESSORI LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: $86,450 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetCHILDREN'S WORKSHOP: $83,800 over 7y, 2.1% of budgetHODGSON ROAD PROPERTIES INC FKA OAK HILL MONTESSORI: $73,450 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetCENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $33,400 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetROSEBAY MONTESSORI: $32,600 over 2y, 13% of budgetSWEET PEA MONTESSORI: $29,200 over 4y, 3.6% of budgetCommon Roots Montessori School: $20,800 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetGARDEN OF HOPE MONTESSORI: $18,600 over 4y, 4.7% 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 COTTER SCHOOLS ↗
  • Who funds CREEKSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds MONTESSORI AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDCARE CENTER INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds HMONG AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE VOYAGEURS' MONTESSORI SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds WHITE BEAR MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds WILDWOOD MONTESSORI ↗
  • Who funds SUNNY HOLLOW MONTESSORI ↗
  • Who funds BLUFFVIEW MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Acacia Montessori ↗
  • Who funds JONATHAN MONTESSORI HOUSE OF CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds ST ELIZABETHS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MANY RIVERS MONTESSORI ↗
  • Who funds LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL MONTESSORI LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ↗
  • Who funds CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP ↗
  • Who funds HODGSON ROAD PROPERTIES INC FKA OAK HILL MONTESSORI ↗

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.

Think SmallFirst Children's Fina…Saint Paul & Minnesot…The Wildflower Founda…The Minneapolis Found…United Way WorldwideMightycause Charitabl…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …American Online Givin…Amazonsmile Foundation
Think SmallMN21.4× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Think Small · First Children's Finance · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The Wildflower Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · United Way Worldwide · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · 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 Hiawatha Education Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Hiawatha Education Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%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
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 Hiawatha Education Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Hiawatha Education 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 50 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 Hiawatha Education’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