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James & Karen Frisell Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

James & Karen Frisell Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$10k
Granted FY2025still arriving
5
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$3k
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 2025.

Food & Nutrition$27kEducation$11kRecreation & Sports$7kEnvironment$7kHuman Services$6kHealth$3kReligion$2kHousing & Shelter$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 5 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$362k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF$3,000
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - WELLSTONE CENTER$2,780
MILLER-DWAN FOUNDATION NORTHLAND ADAPTIVE RECREATION$2,000
ST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL$1,500
CLEAN WATER ACTION$1,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $1k → 8%SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 9%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $4k → 11%ST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL: $2k → 14%MILLER-DWAN FOUNDATION NORTHLAND ADAPTIVE RECREATION: $2k → 15%ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE: $500 → 10%TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE: $1k → 11%SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $1k → 8%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $4k → 11%ST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL: $1k → 14%MILLER-DWAN FOUNDATION: $2k → 15%ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE: $250 → 10%SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $1k → 8%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $3k → 11%ST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL: $1k → 14%BENTLEYVILLE TOUR OF LIGHTS: $2k → 15%MARCO ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $500 → 10%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $3k → 11%LAKE PHALEN CREEK PROJECT: $500 → 14%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $3k → 11%MISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION: $1k → 14%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $3k → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - WELLSTONE CENTER: $3k → 14%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $2k → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $2k → 14%JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $1k → 11%WELLSTONE CENTER: $1k → 14%RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES: $2k → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - WELLSTONE CENTER: $1k → 14%CLEAN WATER ACTION: $1k → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $1k → 14%ALLINA HEALTH ASSOCIATED FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%GREAT RIVER GREENING: $1k → 14%COFFEE HOUSE PRESS: $250 → 11%GREAT RIVER GREENING: $1k → 14%COFFEE HOUSE PRESS: $250 → 11%NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $1k → 14%COFFEE HOUSE PRESS: $250 → 11%ST PAUL ACADEMY: $2k → 14%ST PAUL ACADEMY: $2k → 14%ST PAUL ACADEMY: $1k → 14%ST PAUL ACADEMY: $1k → 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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$56k · 12 repeat orgs$10k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +33% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 8 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
8

Total granted

$56k
$9k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+33%

Still filing today

75%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1k 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
EnvironmentEducationFood & NutritionArts & CultureRecreation & SportsReligionOther
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

  • JU
    JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF
    8× · 2018–2025 · $23k · revenue +236%
  • SH
    SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $5k · revenue +55%
  • ST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL
    3× · 2023–2025 · $4k · revenue +66%

Funded once

  • RM
    RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES
    one grant, 2022 · $2k
  • BT
    BENTLEYVILLE TOUR OF LIGHTS INC
    one grant, 2023 · $2k · revenue +24%
  • WC
    WELLSTONE CENTER
    one grant, 2023 · $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
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
2
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…

—
3
Minnesota State University Student Association Inc

Led by minnesota state university students, we are the inclusive voice for all future, current, and former students. we actively work to represent and support minnesota state university students and advocate at a campus, state, and federal…

Education
4
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
5
Conservation Minnesota

Conservation minnesota's mission is to turn our shared conservation values into state priorities and provide you with the information you need to make decisions for your family, community and future.

Environment
6
Mn Community Measurement

Mn community measurement empowers stakeholders with meaningful information to drive improvement.

Health
7
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
8
University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors

To provide the highest level of stewardship for university donors through professional management and oversight of the university of minnesota foundation's assets by creating a focused investment environment with clarity of purpose,…

Education
9
The Saint Paul Parks Conservancy

To create community vibrancy by making strong parks superb. our vision is that everyone has equitable access to truly great green spaces where they feel welcomed, pursue wellness and find joy.

Environment
10
Minneapolis Downtown Council

To create an extraordinary downtown minneapolis, applying the core values of leadership, collaboration, advocacy and innovation.

—
11
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mississippi Park Connection; the most unlike its peers is Coffee House Press 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

12 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. 12 of the 21 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
10/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $23,000 · Food & NutritionJOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELFST PAUL ACADEMY: $5,250 · OtherST PAUL ACADEMYNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - WELLSTONE CENTER: $4,080 · OtherNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - WELLSTONE CENTERRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES: $2,000 · OtherRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIESWELLSTONE CENTER: $1,300 · OtherWELLSTONE CENTERALLINA HEALTH ASSOCIATED FOUNDATION: $1,000 · OtherTURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE: $1,000 · OtherCLEAN WATER ACTION: $1,000 · OtherCOFFEE HOUSE PRESS INC: $750 · OtherROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE: $750 · OtherBENTLEYVILLE TOUR OF LIGHTS INC: $2,000 · OtherBENTLEYVILLE TOUR OF LIGHTS INCGREAT RIVER GREENING: $2,000 · OtherGREAT RIVER GREENING+2 more: $1,000 · OtherST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL: $4,300 · EducationST PAUL AC…Trustees of Tufts College: $1,750 · EducationTrustees o…SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $5,100 · Recreation & SportsMILLER-DWAN FOUNDATION AND SUBSIDIARIES: $4,000 · HealthNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $3,800 · Community ImprovementCollier County Audubon Society Inc Audubon Western Everglades: $1,400 · EnvironmentMISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION: $1,000 · Environment
Food & Nutrition$23,000Other$22,130Education$6,050Recreation & Sports$5,100Health$4,000Community Improvement$3,800Environment$2,400

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 budgetJOYCE UPTOWN FOODSHELF: $23,000 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetSUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $5,100 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetST PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL: $4,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMILLER-DWAN FOUNDATION AND SUBSIDIARIES: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $3,800 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBENTLEYVILLE TOUR OF LIGHTS INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGREAT RIVER GREENING: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Tufts College: $1,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCollier County Audubon Society Inc Audubon Western Everglades: $1,400 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOFFEE HOUSE PRESS INC: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMARCO ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $500 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.

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.

The Minneapolis Found…Mightycause Charitabl…Saint Paul & Minnesot…The McKnight Foundati…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…American Online Givin…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
The Minneapolis FoundationMN16.8× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Minneapolis Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 James & Karen Frisell Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James & Karen Frisell Family 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Trustees of Tufts College: 13% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report 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 21 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 James & Karen Frisell 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