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Johnson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Johnson 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.

$3.5M
Granted FY2025still arriving
47
Grants FY2025still arriving
14
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$10MHealth$874kAnimals$818kInternational$713kReligion$668kPhilanthropy$430kEnvironment$358kHuman Services$195kOther$0
02FY2025 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k23 grants · $82k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $354k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $221k
  • $250k+5 grants · $2.9M
$10,000
Median grant
14
States reached
$68M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INC$1,467,500
THE EXUMA FOUNDATION$400,000
THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INC$350,000
THE JOHNSON FOUNDATION INC$350,000
JOURNEY TO LIVING FREE$300,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF RACINE & KENOSHA COUNTIES$100,000
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH$70,677
CORNELL UNIVERSITY$50,000
Individual grant recipient$49,000
LEAHS HOPES AND DREAMS ORGANIZATION$35,000
HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION$30,000
KATIE FLOWERS ENDOWMENT INC$25,000
RACINE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$25,000
CABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC$25,000
VOLUNTEER CENTER OF RACINE INC$25,000
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, $206k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 22% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Wounded Warrior Project: $7k → 14%VOLUNTEER CENTER OF RACINE INC: $25k → 10%MEMPHIS ROX: $3k → 17%LEAHS HOPES AND DREAMS ORGANIZATION: $35k → 9%LEAH'S HOPES & DREAMS: $20k → 10%St Marys Home for Children: $3k → 14%Saint Francis Service Dogs: $2k → 8%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $4k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $3k → 14%Wounded Warrior Project: $18k → 14%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $5k → 14%VETERANS OUTREACH OF WISCONSIN: $30k → 10%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $5k → 14%VETERANS OUTREACH OF WISCONSIN: $4k → 10%Halo Inc: $40k → 10%SAFE HAVEN OF RACINE INC: $5k → 10%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

NH
MN
IL
WI
NY
MA
OR
IA
OH
CT
RI
CA
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
TN
NC
SC
DC
GA
TX
FL
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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 59 repeat orgs$2.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +21% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

59 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2025, 34 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

59
54

Total granted

$13M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+7%

Still filing today

76%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.1M 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
HealthEducationHuman ServicesAnimalsEnvironmentFood & NutritionOther
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

  • TP
    THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $9.2M · revenue +60%
  • TE
    THE EXUMA FOUNDATION
    7× · 2018–2024 · $685k · revenue +19% · 98% of their budget
  • JT
    JOURNEY TO LIVING FREE INC CO CURT JOHNSON
    7× · 2018–2025 · $590k · revenue +249% · 78% of their budget

Funded once

  • NC
    NORTHLAND COLLEGE
    one grant, 2021 · $290k · revenue -22%
  • AB
    American Birkbeiner Foundation
    one grant, 2017 · $125k
  • AB
    AMERICAN BIRKEBEINER SKI FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $100k · revenue +104%
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 Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
2
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.

—
3
The Humane Society for Seattleking County

Seattle humane promotes the human-animal bond by saving and serving pets in need, regardless of age, ability, circumstance or geography.

Animals
4
Rainforest Trust

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

International
5
Worldwide Vets Incorporated

Our goal is to sustainably improve animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and improve veterinary education globally. in order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 5 continents, supporting local people and animals,…

Animals
6
Cancer Research and Biostatistics

To help conquer cancer and other diseases through the application of biostatistical principles and innovative data management methods.

Health
7
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
8
MRIGlobal

To improve the lives of people through innovative scientific and engineering research.

Science & Tech
9
International Biomedical Research Alliance

Our mission is to invest in and accelerate the development of the most promising future leaders in biomedical research with global impact.

Health
10
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
11
Riverview Healthcare Association

We deliver a healthcare experience that consistently exceeds patients' expectations through exceptional people - our people are our foundation. we employ trusted, dedicated professionals who serve with compassion, empathy and respect.…

Health
12
Reedsburg Area Medical Center

Reedsburg area medical center, always there, going beyond the expected to provide compassionate, quality, and efficient health care.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Meals On Wheels America; the most unlike its peers is One Family Memphis. 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

82 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. 82 of the 132 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
14
Early backer (in before they grew)
82/82
Grantees still filing
55/82
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INC: $9,167,500 · EducationTHE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INCCornell University: $360,000 · Education+9 more: $456,500 · EducationTHE EXUMA FOUNDATION: $405,000 · OtherTHE EXUMA FOUN…American Birkbeiner Foundation: $125,000 · OtherAmerican Birkb…Individual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherFIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: $70,677 · OtherAMERICAN BIRKEBEINER SKI FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES: $100,000 · Other+80 more: $1,041,250 · Other+80 moreWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $414,000 · AnimalsRACINE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $330,000 · Animals+6 more: $59,250 · AnimalsJOURNEY TO LIVING FREE INC CO CURT JOHNSON: $590,000 · HealthHAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $65,000 · HealthCANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $36,000 · Health+9 more: $65,000 · HealthTHE EXUMA FOUNDATION: $684,664 · International+3 more: $30,250 · InternationalTHE JOHNSON FOUNDATION INC: $350,000 · PhilanthropyRISEVB: $34,500 · PhilanthropyDAVID LYNCH FOUNDATION FOR CONSCIOUSNESS -BASED EDUCATION AND WORLD PEACE: $20,000 · PhilanthropyLAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION INC: $250,000 · EnvironmentLANDMARK CONSERVANCY INC: $50,000 · EnvironmentRIVER BEND NATURE CENTER INC: $20,000 · Environment+5 more: $28,500 · Environment
Education$9,984,000Other$1,941,927Animals$803,250Health$756,000International$714,914Philanthropy$404,500Environment$348,500

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 budgetTHE PRAIRIE SCHOOL INC: $9,167,500 over 9y, 10% of budgetTHE EXUMA FOUNDATION: $684,664 over 7y, 98% of budgetJOURNEY TO LIVING FREE INC CO CURT JOHNSON: $590,000 over 7y, 78% of budgetWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $414,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetCornell University: $360,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JOHNSON FOUNDATION INC: $350,000 over 1y, 6.6% of budgetRACINE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY INC: $330,000 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetNORTHLAND COLLEGE: $290,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetLAKE OWEN ASSOCIATION INC: $250,000 over 2y, 92% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES: $100,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetAMERICAN BIRKEBEINER SKI FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetHAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMOTE MARINE LABORATORY INC: $62,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NORFOLK ACADEMY: $57,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLeahs Hopes and Dreams Organization: $55,000 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetRACINE COUNTY PROJECT EMERGENCY INC: $52,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetLANDMARK CONSERVANCY INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetMINNESOTA WILD FOUNDATION: $48,500 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $40,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCABLE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM INC: $40,500 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetHOMELESS ASSISTANCE LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION INC: $40,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetCANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $36,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetRISEVB: $34,500 over 5y, 24% of budgetVeterans Outreach of Wisconsin: $33,750 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCARTHAGE COLLEGE: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN: $27,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetKATIE FLOWERS ENDOWMENT INC: $25,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetDAVID LYNCH FOUNDATION FOR CONSCIOUSNESS -BASED EDUCATION AND WORLD PEACE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetChildren's Hospital of the King's Daughters: $19,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOCO'S HEART DOG RESCUE: $19,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetDisabled American Veterans: $17,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetAFTER THE RACES INC: $15,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetWATERORG: $14,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNAVY SEAL FOUNDATION INC: $14,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $14,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLees Friends: $13,500 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetTEAM RUBICON INC: $13,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHOATE ROSEMARY HALL FOUNDATION INCORPORATED: $12,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $12,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS INC: $10,500 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetTHE FILMMAKERS COLLABORATIVE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMEALS OF VIRGINIA BEACH INC: $10,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetRACINE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSouthern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOODBANK OF SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA: $10,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetKIND CAMPAIGN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetINTERNATIONAL WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION INC: $9,000 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.

Racine Community Foun…Lang Family Foundatio…AbbVie FoundationRuffo Family Foundati…United Way of Racine …Green Bay Packers Fou…Ec Styberg Foundation…Baird Foundation IncHerbert H Kohl Charit…Educators Credit UnionUnited Way of South H…Hampton Roads Communi…
Racine Community Foundation IncWI26× affinity10 shared granteesties to 9 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Racine Community Foundation Inc · Lang Family Foundation Inc · AbbVie Foundation · Ruffo Family Foundation Inc · United Way of Racine County Inc · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Ec Styberg Foundation Inc · Baird Foundation Inc · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Educators Credit Union · United Way of South Hampton Roads · Hampton Roads Community 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 Johnson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Johnson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: 21% of income from government
  • Mote Marine Laboratory Inc: 4% of income from government
  • The Filmmakers Collaborative Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Choate Rosemary Hall Foundation Incorporated: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
21report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Johnson Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Johnson Family 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 132 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 Johnson 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