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Isora Wells Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Isora Wells Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$395k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$80k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0185% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Recreation & Sports$225kEducation$205kHuman Services$85kHealth$85kFood & Nutrition$80kPhilanthropy$80kCrime & Legal$63kEnvironment$61kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k14 grants · $315k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $80k
$25,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$7.4M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRED WELLS TENNIS & EDUCATION CENTER$80,000
NEW MEXICO IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER$30,000
COMMUNITY ACCESS$30,000
LA PLAZA DE ENCUENTRO GATHERING PLACE (ENCUENTRO)$30,000
FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS$30,000
MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION$30,000
ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION$25,000
THE FACE-TO-FACE PROJECT$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$25,000
INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTER$20,000
SANTA FE DREAMERS PROJECT$20,000
ACLU OF NEW MEXICO FOUNDATION$15,000
FAMILY FORUM$15,000
ACLU FOUNDATION INC$10,000
COMO FRIENDS$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 (FY25–25, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%LA PLAZA DE ENCUENTRO GATHERING PLACE (ENCUENTRO): $30k → 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.

63%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$614k · 9 repeat orgs$362k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
16

Total granted

$614k
$232k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+7%
+32%

Still filing today

100%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $130k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’23’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’23’25
EducationHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyCivil RightsRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • FW
    FRED WELLS TENNIS AND EDUCATION CENTER INC
    3× · 2020–2025 · $225k · revenue +64%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION
    3× · 2020–2025 · $75k · revenue +137%
  • TF
    The Face To Face Project Inc
    3× · 2020–2025 · $65k · revenue +7%

Funded once

  • FO
    Friends Of The Boundary Waters Wilderness
    one grant, 2023 · $31k
  • MC
    Mpls Community and Technical College Foundation
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
  • LM
    Literacy Matters Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $30k
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
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
2
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
3
Cuenca Los Ojos

Cuenca los ojos works to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the us/mexican borderlands through land protection, habitat restoration and wildlife reintroduction.

Environment
4
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

To promote philanthropy to make santa cruz county a better place to live, now and in the future.we bring together people, ideas, and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.

Philanthropy
5
The San Diego Foundation

The san diego foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.

Philanthropy
6
Site Santa Fe

Guided by artists, rooted in new mexico, site santa fe celebrates contemporary creative expression.

Arts & Culture
7
Colorado Center On Law and Policy

Colorado center on law and policy is an antipoverty organization advancing the rights of every coloradan.

Crime & Legal
8
Northern New Mexicans Protecting Land Water and Rights Inc

Northern new mexicans protecting land water and rights strives to lessen the stress of neighborhood tensions due to lack of information and fair representation. by providing an organization whose main goal is to unite and empower the…

—
9
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
10
Npr Foundation

The npr foundation ("foundation") is organized and operated exclusively for the benefit of its sole supported organization, national public radio, inc. ("npr inc."). the foundation supports npr inc. through various activities such as…

—
11
Conservation Voters New Mexico Education Fund

Cvnm education fund is a statewide, nonpartisan nonprofit committed to engaging the people of new mexico in our long-standing shared values of protecting our air, land, water, and the health of our communities. we do this by mobilizing…

Civil Rights
12
Ufw Foundation

The ufw foundation's mission is to empower communities to ensure human dignity.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Mexico Immigrant Law Center; the most unlike its peers is The Face to Face Project 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

24 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. 24 of the 34 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
24/24
Grantees still filing
10/24
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRED WELLS TENNIS AND EDUCATION CENTER INC: $225,000 · Recreation & SportsFRED WELLS TENNIS AND EDU…Friends Of The Boundary Waters Wilderness: $31,000 · OtherFriends Of The Boundary Water…Mpls Community and Technical College Foundation: $30,000 · OtherMpls Community and Technical …Literacy Matters Foundation: $30,000 · OtherLiteracy Matters FoundationFriends of the BWCA: $25,000 · OtherFriends of the BWCAEncuentro: $15,000 · OtherEncuentroAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NEW MEXICO FOUNDATION: $15,000 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNIO…Southwest Creative Communications Collaborative (SCC): $10,000 · OtherSanta Fe Dreamers Project: $10,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $30,000 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATER…INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTER: $20,000 · OtherINDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTERLA SEMILLA FOOD CENTER: $15,000 · OtherLA SEMILLA FOOD CENTERAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · OtherCOMO FRIENDS: $10,000 · Other+4 more: $11,400 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $75,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINN…MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 · EducationMINNEAPOLIS COMMUN…FAMILY FORUM INC: $15,000 · EducationFAMILY FORUM INC+2 more: $10,000 · Education+2 moreThe Face To Face Project Inc: $65,000 · HealthThe Face To Face…COMMUNITY ACCESS INC: $60,000 · HealthCOMMUNITY ACCESS…WILDERWOOD EQUINE THERAPY AND RESCUE: $18,850 · HealthWILDERWOOD EQUIN…LA PLAZA DE ENCUENTRO GATHERING PLACE: $45,000 · Human ServicesLA PLAZA D…NEW MEXICO IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER: $30,000 · Human ServicesNEW MEXICO…EL CENTRO DE IGUALDAD Y DERECHOS: $20,000 · Human ServicesEL CENTRO …ROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $35,000 · PhilanthropyROBIN HOO…NORTHLAND FOUNDATION: $25,000 · PhilanthropyNORTHLAND…SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropySAINT PAU…SANTA FE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropySANTA FE …CONTIGO IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: $30,000 · Crime & Legal
Recreation & Sports$225,000Other$262,400Education$160,000Health$143,850Human Services$95,000Philanthropy$80,000Crime & Legal$30,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFRED WELLS TENNIS AND EDUCATION CENTER INC: $225,000 over 3y, 3.2% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Face To Face Project Inc: $65,000 over 3y, 10% of budgetCOMMUNITY ACCESS INC: $60,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetLA PLAZA DE ENCUENTRO GATHERING PLACE: $45,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetROBIN HOOD FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW MEXICO IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCONTIGO IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: $30,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetNORTHLAND FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEL CENTRO DE IGUALDAD Y DERECHOS: $20,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetWILDERWOOD EQUINE THERAPY AND RESCUE: $18,850 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetFAMILY FORUM INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NEW MEXICO FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLA SEMILLA FOOD CENTER: $15,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetCOMO FRIENDS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSANTA FE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBridges Project for Education: $5,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetEthos Literacy: $5,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $2,500 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.

Santa Fe Community Fo…Albuquerque Community…Con Alma Health Found…New Mexico Community …Nusenda FoundationMarshall L and Perrin…Saint Paul & Minnesot…WK Kellogg FoundationThe Minneapolis Found…Hanuman FoundationThornburg FoundationPentair Foundation
Santa Fe Community FoundationNM21.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Santa Fe Community Foundation · Albuquerque Community Foundation · Con Alma Health Foundation Inc · New Mexico Community Foundation · Nusenda Foundation · Marshall L and Perrine D McCune Charitable Foundation Inc · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Hanuman Foundation · Thornburg Foundation · Pentair 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 Isora Wells Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Isora Wells Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%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
    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 34 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 Isora Wells’ 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