Skip to content
Plinth

· Public charity

Lakes Media Collaborative

To provide educational opportunities to individuals related to the production and distribution of broadcast media.

$413k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$78k
Largest
01What you fund
01FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k9 grants · $165k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $248k
$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION$78,000
THE BRAINERD BAXTER YOUTH CENTER$60,000
BRAINERD FAMILY YMCA$60,000
CENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE FOUNDATION$50,000
LAKES AREA UNITED WAY$30,000
LAKELAND PBS$30,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$15,000
WEST CENTRAL MN YOUTH FOR CHRIST$15,000
PAUL BUNYAN ARBORETUM$15,000
BRIDGES OF HOPE$15,000
BRAINERD AREA SERTOMA CLUB INC$15,000
BRAINERD ROTARY FOUNDATION$15,000
LAKES AREA SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER$15,000
02The need
02

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY24–24, $60k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BRAINERD FAMILY YMCA: $60k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce

To advance the general welfare and prosperity of the brainerd lakes area so that its citizens and all areas of its business community shall prosper. all necessary means of promotion shall be provided and particular attention and emphasis…

2
Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corp

Attracting new industry, retaining present industry, and general economic development activities including workforce development in brainerd and the surrounding area.

Community Improvement
3
Burnett Medical Center Inc

The mission of burnett medical center is to provide compassionate, comprehensive, community healthcare that exceeds our customer's expectations. our mission, as well as our vision and values, serves as a guideline for daily decision making…

Health
4
Arrowhead Library System

Arrowhead library system enhances the value of all types of libraries to their communities by cultivating collaboration, technological innovation, and professional development; and enriches the quality of life by providing direct services…

Education
5
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities

To enable young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. for more information visit www.boysandgirls.org.

Youth Development
6
Lad Lake Inc

The mission of lad lake, inc. is to guide the growth of at-risk youth so that they reach their potential and live responsibly.

7
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Bay and Lakes Region Inc

To provide all young people with opportunities to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible individuals.

Youth Development
8
Itasca County Family Ymca Inc

The itasca county family ymca (ymca) is a charitable, community service organization founded in 1979 with a mission to strengthen ourselves, families and communities by promoting growth in spirit, mind and body. the ymca includes men,…

Human Services
9
Bridges Care Center

We are a catholic, faith-based organization entrusted with advancing the life-enhancing senior care ministry of the benedictine sisters of duluth, minnesota. we witness to god's love by creating inclusive communities, supporting those we…

Housing & Shelter
10
Brainerd Baptist School

The mission of brainerd baptist school is to provide a high quality, comprehensive academic program in a loving christian enviornment. the school is dedicated to the belief that young people need both strong educational and spiritual…

Education
11
Bay-Lakes Council #635 Boy Scouts of America

To instill in young people; values, develop leadership skills, and ethical character as expressed in the scout oath and law.

Youth Development
12
Lake Area United Way Inc

Uniting people and resources to advance the health, education, and financial stability of our communities.

Philanthropy

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lakes Area Senior Activity Center Inc and the most unlike its peers is Aitkin County Habitat for Humanity. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

03the grantee network

13 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 20172025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/13
Grantees still filing
10/13
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

CENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE FOUNDATION — $50,000 · OtherCENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE FOUNDATI…AITKIN COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY — $15,000 · OtherAITKIN COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMA…LAKES AREA SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER INC — $15,000 · OtherLAKES AREA SENIOR ACTIVITY CEN…BRIDGES OF HOPE — $15,000 · OtherBRIDGES OF HOPEWEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA YOUTH FOR CHRIST — $15,000 · OtherWEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA YOUTH F…BRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION — $78,000 · EducationBRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOO…YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF BRAINERD — $60,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG MEN'S CHRI…THE BRAINERD BAXTER YOUTH CENTER — $60,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE BRAINERD BAX…LAKES AREA UNITED WAY — $30,000 · PhilanthropyLAKES AREA UNITE…BRAINERD ROTARY FOUNDATION — $15,000 · PhilanthropyBRAINERD ROTARY …BRAINERD AREA SERTOMA CLUB INC — $15,000 · PhilanthropyBRAINERD AREA SE…NORTHERN MINNESOTA PUBLIC TELEVISION INC — $30,000 · Arts & CulturePAUL BUNYAN ARBORETUM — $15,000 · Environment
Other$110,000Education$78,000Human Services$60,000Recreation & Sports$60,000Philanthropy$60,000Arts & Culture$30,000Environment$15,000

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetBRAINERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION — $78,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetYOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF BRAINERD — $60,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetTHE BRAINERD BAXTER YOUTH CENTER — $60,000 over 1y, 80% of budgetCENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE FOUNDATION — $50,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetNORTHERN MINNESOTA PUBLIC TELEVISION INC — $30,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetLAKES AREA UNITED WAY — $30,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetAITKIN COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY — $15,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetBRAINERD ROTARY FOUNDATION — $15,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetPAUL BUNYAN ARBORETUM — $15,000 over 1y, 2.7% of budgetBRAINERD AREA SERTOMA CLUB INC — $15,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetLAKES AREA SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER INC — $15,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetBRIDGES OF HOPE — $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetWEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA YOUTH FOR CHRIST — $15,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

CommunitygivingMN21.6× affinity8 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Communitygiving · Initiative Foundation · R R & Clara J Gould Foundation · Smdc Medical Center · Otto Bremer Trust · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Lakes Media Collaborative funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2025
202122232425
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%your share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get 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
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    typical government reliance, FY2025

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Lakes Media Collaborative?

    Find your warmest path to Lakes Media Collaborative 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 13 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    More from the funding graph