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· Private foundation

James T Nystrom 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.

$340k
Granted FY2025still arriving
41
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$200k
Largest
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 2025.

Crime & Legal$674kEnvironment$309kAnimals$201kFood & Nutrition$155kHealth$109kInternational$73kScience & Tech$38kHousing & Shelter$36kOther$0
02FY2025 · 41 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k39 grants · $130k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $200k
$3,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$209k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW$200,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$10,000
Individual grant recipient$6,000
PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE$6,000
SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND$6,000
JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK$5,000
AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION$5,000
THE FOOD GROUP$5,000
SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST$5,000
EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE$5,000
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK$5,000
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY$5,000
BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA$4,000
PROMISES2KIDS$4,000
EARTHJUSTICE$3,000
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, $38k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 66% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $3k → 7%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $3k → 7%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $3k → 7%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $3k → 7%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $1k → 7%COMMUNITY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: $1k → 11%COMMUNITY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: $1k → 11%COMMUNITY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: $1k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING (PPL) INC: $1k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING (PPL) INC: $1k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $2k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $2k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $1k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $1k → 11%LITTLE BROTHERS - FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY: $1k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $2k → 11%YMCA OF MINNEAPOLIS: $3k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MN
WI
NY
MA
OR
SD
IA
CA
UT
VA
MD
AZ
AR
DC
GA
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.7M · 73 repeat orgs$30k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +56% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

73 repeat relationships: 38 still active in FY2025, 35 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

73
12

Total granted

$1.7M
$21k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+56%
+10%

Still filing today

74%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $9k 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
EnvironmentAnimalsHuman ServicesEducationFood & NutritionInternationalOther
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

  • CW
    CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW
    9× · 2017–2025 · $674k · revenue +10%
  • WC
    WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $46k · revenue +302%
  • AW
    AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $44k · revenue +54%

Funded once

  • EI
    EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE INC - SERENGETI WATCH
    one grant, 2020 · $4k
  • YO
    YWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS
    one grant, 2020 · $3k · revenue -21%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
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
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
2
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
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
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
5
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

The minnesota center for environmental advocacy is a nonprofit organization that uses law, science and research to protect minnesota's environment, its natural resources and the health of its people.

Environment
6
Wildlands Trust Inc

The wildlands trust works throughout southeastern massachusetts to conserve and permanently protect native habitats, farmland, and lands of high ecologic and scenic value that serve to keep our communities healthy and our residents…

Environment
7
Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy

Iatp works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.

Food & Nutrition
8
The Montana Land Reliance

The mission of the montana land reliance (mlr) is to partner with landowners to provide permanent protection for private lands that are significant for agricultural production, fish and wildlife habitat, and open space.

Environment
9
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation

This member-supported organization protects and restores iowa's land, water and wildlife for future generations. priorities include permanent land protection, promotion of improved land management and bringing new conservation…

Environment
10
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
11
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
12
Minnesota Zoo Foundation

The minnesota zoo foundation raises contributed income and supports conservation and animal care programs on behalf of the minnesota zoo. the mission of the minnesota zoo is to connect people, animals, and the natural world to save…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Minneapolis Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Top Dog Foundation 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

64 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. 64 of the 90 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)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
64/64
Grantees still filing
50/64
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW: $674,000 · EducationCALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAWNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $28,000 · Education+2 more: $5,500 · EducationPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $68,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOODIndividual grant recipient: $40,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientLOAVES & FISHES: $29,000 · OtherLOAVES & FISHESTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $21,000 · OtherHEIFER INTERNATIONAL: $18,000 · OtherSHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST: $17,000 · OtherANN BANCROFT FOUNDATION: $22,000 · OtherPEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE INC: $28,000 · OtherPEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE INC+42 more: $225,500 · Other+42 moreWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $46,000 · AnimalsWILDLIFE CON…AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $44,000 · AnimalsAFRICAN WILD…BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA: $41,000 · AnimalsBIG LIFE FOU…THE WILDCAT SANCTUARY: $17,000 · AnimalsTHE WILDCAT …WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA: $15,000 · AnimalsWILDLIFE REH…INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER: $14,500 · AnimalsINTERNATIONA…Animal Humane Society: $8,000 · Animals+3 more: $6,500 · AnimalsSouthern Utah Wilderness Alliance: $27,000 · EnvironmentSouthern Ut…THE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC: $27,000 · EnvironmentTHE GRAND C…Earth Island Institute Inc: $27,000 · EnvironmentEarth Islan…FRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: $17,500 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF …SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $15,500 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB…WILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $14,000 · EnvironmentWILDERNESS …Lake Minnetonka Association: $13,500 · EnvironmentLake Minnet…FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $12,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF …MINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $8,000 · Environment+3 more: $10,000 · Environment+3 moreSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $41,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD GROUP MINNESOTA INC THE: $40,000 · Food & NutritionJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $30,000 · Food & NutritionMETRO MEALS ON WHEELS INC: $15,000 · Food & NutritionMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $25,500 · InternationalSEVA FOUNDATION: $11,000 · InternationalINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $10,500 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $8,000 · InternationalALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $13,000 · Human ServicesHELPING PAWS INC: $10,500 · Human ServicesFriends & Co: $7,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesYWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS: $2,500 · Human ServicesPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $2,000 · Human Services
Education$707,500Other$469,000Animals$192,000Environment$171,500Food & Nutrition$126,000International$55,000Human Services$38,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW: $674,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $46,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $44,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $41,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetBIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA: $41,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD GROUP MINNESOTA INC THE: $40,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $30,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetPEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE INC: $28,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $28,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Utah Wilderness Alliance: $27,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC: $27,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetEarth Island Institute Inc: $27,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $25,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetANN BANCROFT FOUNDATION: $22,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $21,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: $17,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE WILDCAT SANCTUARY: $17,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $15,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA: $15,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetWILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA: $15,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMETRO MEALS ON WHEELS INC: $15,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER: $14,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $14,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetLake Minnetonka Association: $13,500 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $13,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNatures Edge Therapy Center Inc: $13,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetACRES FOR LIFE - THERAPY & WELLNESS CENTER: $12,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $12,000 over 8y, 0.2% of budgetDEL MAR FOUNDATION: $11,750 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetSEVA FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetPACER CENTER INC: $11,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetHELPING PAWS INC: $10,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: $10,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMinneapolis Parks Foundation: $9,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $8,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAnimal Humane Society: $8,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetEARTHWATCH INSTITUTE INC: $7,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFriends & Co: $7,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetALPHA NU TRUST FUND INC: $7,000 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetTOP DOG FOUNDATION INC: $5,500 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetRamsey Hill Association: $5,250 over 6y, 4.2% of budgetTWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS SOCIETY: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTREEHOUSE INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPROMISES2KIDS FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of the Parks and Trails of St Paul: $3,000 over 3y, 2.2% 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 CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND ↗
  • Who funds BIG LIFE FOUNDATION USA ↗
  • Who funds FOOD GROUP MINNESOTA INC THE ↗
  • Who funds JACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance ↗
  • Who funds THE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds Earth Island Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds ANN BANCROFT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ↗
  • Who funds THE WILDCAT SANCTUARY ↗
  • Who funds SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds METRO MEALS ON WHEELS INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER ↗
  • Who funds WILDERNESS INQUIRY INC ↗
  • Who funds Lake Minnetonka Association ↗
  • Who funds ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Natures Edge Therapy Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds ACRES FOR LIFE - THERAPY & WELLNESS CENTER ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS ↗
  • Who funds DEL MAR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds SEVA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PACER CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds HELPING PAWS INC ↗
  • Who funds INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS ↗

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.

Xcel Energy FoundationMN38.7× affinity20 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Xcel Energy Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation · Margaret a Cargill Foundation · The K Foundation · The Crosswols Foundation · Patrick and Aimee Butler Family · Longview Foundation · The Jamf Nation Global 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 James T Nystrom Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from James T Nystrom Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%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
    1get no government money at all
    13report 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 90 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

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