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Joy in Blue Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Joy in Blue 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.

$1.2M
Granted FY2025still arriving
30
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$160k
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, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$1.0MArts & Culture$585kCrime & Legal$554kHousing & Shelter$469kAnimals$345kCivil Rights$305kEnvironment$295kFood & Nutrition$250kOther$0
02FY2025 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $5k
  • $10k–50k22 grants · $602k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $565k
$30,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$29M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$160,000
NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDALS FOUNDATION$100,000
BOSTON COLLEGE TRUSTEES$100,000
SAVE THE CHILDREN FEDERATION INC$100,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC$55,000
FEEDING AMERICA$50,000
SOLID GROUND$41,000
WOMEN'S ADVOCATES$40,000
THE SANNEH FOUNDATION INC$35,000
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION$35,000
PENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY INC$35,000
HELPING PAWS INC$35,000
MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO$32,000
BABY2BABY$30,000
CROSSROADS FUND$30,000
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 (FY19–25, $798k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 65% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CHARTING CAREERS INC: $50k → 6%SOLID GROUND: $76k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $48k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $41k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $41k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $41k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $41k → 14%SOLID GROUND: $34k → 14%HELPING PAWS INC: $35k → 11%SOLID GROUND: $8k → 14%HELPING PAWS INC: $35k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $25k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%HELPING PAWS INC: $25k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%HELPING PAWS INC: $25k → 11%HELPING PAWS OF MINNESOTA INC: $20k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%HELPING PAWS OF MINNESOTA INC: $20k → 11%HELPING PAWS INC: $15k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $30k → 14%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $8k → 14%AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS: $30k → 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

MN
IL
NY
MA
CT
CA
CO
VA
MD
DC
GA
TX
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.7M · 36 repeat orgs$566k to everyone else

36 repeat relationships: 25 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
13

Total granted

$5.7M
$516k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+26%
+49%

Still filing today

97%
85%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesCivil RightsInternationalRecreation & 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

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION
    7× · 2019–2025 · $869k · revenue +111%
  • SG
    Solid Ground
    7× · 2019–2025 · $330k · revenue +349%
  • Feeding America
    6× · 2020–2025 · $300k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • AS
    ATHLETES SERVING ATHLETESgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $75k · revenue +50%
  • SI
    SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION OFFICE OF SPONSORED PROJECTS
    one grant, 2021 · $60k
  • SI
    SUSTAINAFEST INC
    one grant, 2024 · $50k
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
3
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all. the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its science family of journals,…

Science & Tech
4
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
5
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
6
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
7
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.

—
8
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…

—
9
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
10
The Common Application Inc

The common application is a not-for-profit membership organization of over 1,100 colleges and universities across the globe committed to access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. every year, over 1.5 million students…

Education
11
American Gas Association

American gas association's (the association) mission is to develop and advocate for informed, innovative, and durable policy that fulfills our nation's energy needs, environmental aspirations and economic potential. we are committed to…

—
12
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Inc; the most unlike its peers is National Science and Technology Medals 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

50 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 50 of the 53 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
50/50
Grantees still filing
34/50
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $868,708 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA…TRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $260,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLL…THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $80,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORG…BOOKS FOR KEEPS INC: $50,000 · Education+3 more: $75,000 · Education+3 moreSolid Ground: $330,000 · Human ServicesSolid GroundHELPING PAWS INC: $200,000 · Human ServicesHELPING PAWS IN…INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $188,000 · Human ServicesINTERNATIONAL I…CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesCANINE COMPANIO…CHARTING CAREERS INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCHARTING CAREER…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $30,000 · Human ServicesMINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA: $202,000 · Arts & CultureMINNESOTA PUB…PENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY INC: $185,000 · Arts & CulturePENUMBRA THEA…THE HISTORY THEATRE INC: $135,000 · Arts & CultureTHE HISTORY T…THE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION: $122,000 · Arts & CultureTHE BARACK OB…MARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureMARYLAND HALL…MinnPost: $45,124 · Arts & CultureMinnPost+2 more: $40,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDALS FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 · OtherNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDAL…TOGETHER RISING: $100,000 · OtherCROSSROADS FUND INC: $85,000 · OtherAnimal Humane Society: $150,000 · OtherAnimal Humane SocietyGREAT RIVER GREENING: $150,000 · OtherGREAT RIVER GREENINGPOLICING EQUITY: $100,000 · OtherBVM CAPACITY BUILDING INSTITUTE INC: $90,000 · OtherWOMEN'S ADVOCATES INC: $220,000 · OtherWOMEN'S ADVOCATES INCTHE SANNEH FOUNDATION: $135,000 · OtherTHE SANNEH FOUNDATIONTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER ATLANTA INC: $105,000 · OtherATHLETES SERVING ATHLETES: $75,000 · OtherCENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INC: $125,000 · OtherCENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INC+15 more: $581,262 · Other+15 moreTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $499,000 · Crime & LegalFor The Good: $190,000 · InternationalSave The Children Federation Inc: $140,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $135,000 · InternationalFeeding America: $300,000 · Food & Nutrition
Education$1,333,708Human Services$858,000Arts & Culture$779,124Other$2,116,262Crime & Legal$499,000International$465,000Food & Nutrition$300,000

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 budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $868,708 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $499,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetSolid Ground: $330,000 over 7y, 4.7% of budgetFeeding America: $300,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON COLLEGE: $260,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWOMEN'S ADVOCATES INC: $220,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetMINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA: $202,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEDALS FOUNDATION INC: $200,000 over 2y, 5.1% of budgetHELPING PAWS INC: $200,000 over 7y, 3.3% of budgetFor The Good: $190,000 over 7y, 20% of budgetINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $188,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetPENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY INC: $185,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetAnimal Humane Society: $150,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetGREAT RIVER GREENING: $150,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetSave The Children Federation Inc: $140,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SANNEH FOUNDATION: $135,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHE HISTORY THEATRE INC: $135,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $135,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INC: $125,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetTHE BARACK OBAMA FOUNDATION: $122,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR GREATER ATLANTA INC: $105,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTOGETHER RISING: $100,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetPOLICING EQUITY: $100,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetBVM CAPACITY BUILDING INSTITUTE INC: $90,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCROSSROADS FUND INC: $85,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION: $80,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetATHLETES SERVING ATHLETES: $75,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetBABY2BABY: $70,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVISION TO LEARN: $60,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE INC: $60,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetREFUGEE & IMMIGRANT CENTER FOR EDUCATION & LEGAL SERVICES: $55,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetACHIEVE TWIN CITIES: $53,112 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetBOOKS FOR KEEPS INC: $50,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetCHARTING CAREERS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetLIVE WATER CO: $50,000 over 1y, 33% of budgetTHE CONNECTION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetMARYLAND HALL FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS INC: $50,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetMinnPost: $45,124 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetEDUCATION FOUNDATION OF ANNE ARUNDEL: $40,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWYE RIVER UPPER SCHOOL INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetHISTORIC ANNAPOLIS INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHESAPEAKE REGION ACCESSIBLE BOATING INC: $20,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetANNAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetRED LAKE NATION COLLEGE: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASSOCIATION OF SMALL FOUNDATIONS: $7,150 over 5y, 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.

Hardenbergh FoundationFr Bigelow FoundationSaint Paul & Minnesot…Mightycause Charitabl…Otto Bremer TrustXcel Energy FoundationThe McKnight Foundati…Rathmann Family Found…Hugh J Andersen Found…The Minneapolis Found…The Keith Campbell Fo…Margaret a Cargill Fo…
Hardenbergh FoundationMN19.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Hardenbergh Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Xcel Energy Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · Rathmann Family Foundation · Hugh J Andersen Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Margaret a Cargill 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 Joy in Blue Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Joy in Blue Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Save the Children Federation Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Charting Careers Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • Center for Ecotechnology Inc: 9% of income from government
  • Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Trustees of Boston College: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
6report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Joy in Blue Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Joy in Blue 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 53 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 Joy in Blue’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