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Lauridsen Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Lauridsen 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
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$5.0MEducation$1.6MReligion$432kRecreation & Sports$430kEnvironment$410kHuman Services$300kFood & Nutrition$250kHealth$150kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $5k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $215k
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $1.3M
  • $250k+4 grants · $2.0M
$50,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BALLET DES MOINES$1,000,000
DES MOINES METRO OPERA$400,000
PLYMOUTH CHURCH$382,000
WORLD FOOD PROGRAM USA$250,000
IOWA CONFLUENCE WATER TRAILS$200,000
CMA FOUNDATION$200,000
DES MOINES CHILDREN'S MUSEUM$200,000
MET OPERA$100,000
UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA$100,000
DES MOINES SYMPHONY$100,000
HOPE MINISTRIES$100,000
CIVIC DES MOINES PERFORMING ARTS$75,000
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN$50,000
CITIZENS FOR SCHOOL BETTERMENT$50,000
NORMANDY FUND$50,000
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 (FY24–25, $550k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 45% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%WORLD FOOD PROGRAM USA: $250k → 14%HOPE MINISTRIES: $200k → 10%HOPE MINISTRIES: $100k → 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

IL
WI
NY
IA
IN
OH
AZ
TN
DC
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.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.6M · 20 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

20 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
13

Total granted

$6.6M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+30%

Still filing today

65%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.0M 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
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • BD
    BALLET DES MOINES
    2× · 2024–2025 · $2.0M · revenue +10% · 35% of their budget
  • DM
    DES MOINES METRO OPERA INC
    3× · 2023–2025 · $1.2M · revenue +5%
  • Culver Educational Foundation
    2× · 2019–2021 · $550k · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • CF
    COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER DSM
    one grant, 2017 · $300k
  • MS
    MAINFRAME STUDIOS
    one grant, 2022 · $220k · revenue -49%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
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
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

To excite, engage and educate through the arts.

Arts & Culture
2
Opera Omaha Inc

Enriching the quality of life in the community by creating professional opera and music theater, which uniquely combine the visual and performing arts to express humanity's deepest emotions and highest aspirations.

Arts & Culture
3
Arts Midwest Incorporated

Arts Midwest works collaboratively with private and public arts supporters to support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities across the Midwest. Our mission is to build unprecedented opportunity across the…

Arts & Culture
4
Minnesota Orchestral Association

The minnesota orchestra mission is to enrich, inspire and serve our community as an enduring symphony orchestra internationally recognized for its artistic excellence.

Arts & Culture
5
Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago opera theater expands the tradition of opera as a living art form by engaging lovers of music and storytelling through innovative experiences, predominantly of new and rarely performed works.

Arts & Culture
6
Cleveland Institute of Music

The cleveland institute of music's mission is to empower the world's most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential.

Education
7
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Inc

Strengthen communities by providing high-quality and innovative artistic experiences that entertain, inspire, and unite diverse audiences.

Arts & Culture
8
Madison Opera Inc

The mission of madison opera is to produce operas of the highest artistic standards.

Arts & Culture
9
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
10
Kansas City Ballet Association

To inspire and engage through the beauty, power and passion of dance

Arts & Culture
11
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
12
Dubuque Museum of Art

To excite, engage & educate constituents through the presentation of collections, exhibitions, and programming; to form mutually beneficial partnerships that will enhance the role of the arts within the community.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Des Moines Metro Opera Inc; the most unlike its peers is National Canine Cancer 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

27 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. 27 of the 44 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
16/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BALLET DES MOINES: $2,000,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET DES MOINESDES MOINES METRO OPERA INC: $1,200,000 · Arts & CultureDES MOINES METRO OPERA INCDES MOINES SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $225,000 · Arts & CultureMAINFRAME STUDIOS: $220,000 · Arts & CultureLyric Opera of Chicago: $210,000 · Arts & CultureDES MOINES CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $200,000 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $400,000 · Arts & Culture+7 moreCULVER EDUCATIONAL FUND: $581,980 · OtherCULVER EDUCATIONAL FUNDPLYMOUTH CHURCH: $432,000 · OtherPLYMOUTH CHURCHCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER DSM: $300,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATE…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: $150,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSINUNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $100,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $100,000 · OtherMET OPERA: $100,000 · OtherUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA: $100,000 · OtherPRINCIPAL CHARITY CLASSIC: $100,000 · OtherNational Canine Cancer Foundation Inc: $100,000 · Other+11 more: $295,000 · Other+11 moreCulver Educational Foundation: $550,000 · EducationCulver Ed…UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationUNIVERSIT…Simpson College: $90,000 · EducationSimpson C…HOPE MINISTRIES: $300,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $250,000 · Human ServicesIOWA CONFLUENCE WATER TRAILS: $400,000 · Environment+1 more: $10,000 · EnvironmentTHE CMA FOUNDATION: $200,000 · PhilanthropyDES MOINES PERFORMING ARTS: $150,000 · Community ImprovementCENTER AT SIXTH: $25,000 · Community Improvement
Arts & Culture$4,455,000Other$2,358,980Education$740,000Human Services$550,000Environment$410,000Philanthropy$200,000Community Improvement$175,000

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 budgetBALLET DES MOINES: $2,000,000 over 2y, 35% of budgetDES MOINES METRO OPERA INC: $1,200,000 over 3y, 6.9% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $550,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetIOWA CONFLUENCE WATER TRAILS: $400,000 over 2y, 8.7% of budgetHOPE MINISTRIES: $300,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM INC: $250,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDES MOINES SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $225,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetMAINFRAME STUDIOS: $220,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetLyric Opera of Chicago: $210,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetDES MOINES CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $200,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTHE CMA FOUNDATION: $200,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetDES MOINES PERFORMING ARTS: $150,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNational Canine Cancer Foundation Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 24% of budgetEdmundson Art Foundation Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetUNITED WAY OF CENTRAL IOWA: $100,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMETROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSimpson College: $90,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC: $70,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetMIND AND SPIRIT COUNSELING CENTER: $50,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetOPERA AMERICA INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNorthwestern University: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCIVIC MUSIC ASSOCIATION DES MOINES: $30,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetNEW YORK CITY BALLET INC: $30,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

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.

Bookey Family Foundat…The West Bancorporati…Meredith Corporation …John Ruan Foundation …Gartner Family Founda…Fred Maytag Family Fo…EMC Insurance Foundat…Thomas & Linda Koehn …Prairie Meadows Race …Community Fdn of Grea…The Merchants Bonding…The Independent Chari…
Bookey Family FoundationIA32.6× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Bookey Family Foundation · The West Bancorporation Foundation Inc · Meredith Corporation Foundation · John Ruan Foundation Trust · Gartner Family Foundation % Michael G Gartner · Fred Maytag Family Foundation · EMC Insurance Foundation · Thomas & Linda Koehn Foundation · Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino Inc · Community Fdn of Greater Des Moines F/K/A Greater Des Moines Community Fdn · The Merchants Bonding Company Foundation · The Independent 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 Lauridsen Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lauridsen Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 44 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 Lauridsen 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