Skip to content
Marbrook Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Marbrook Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$685k
Granted FY2024still arriving
86
Grants FY2024still arriving
13
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$798kArts & Culture$590kHuman Services$305kCivil Rights$243kEducation$238kYouth Development$235kCrime & Legal$162kInternational$123kOther$0
02FY2024 · 86 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k48 grants · $113k
  • $10k–50k38 grants · $573k
$5,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT$40,000
METRO BLOOMS$40,000
MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY$20,000
FRESH ENERGY$20,000
IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MN$20,000
DAILY WORK$20,000
GREEN CARD VOICES$20,000
LA OPORTUNIDAD INC$20,000
CLIMATE GENERATION A WILL STEGER LEGACY$20,000
PROJECT SUCCESS$19,500
CENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN$15,000
WORLD SAVVY$15,000
LITERACY MINNESOTA$15,000
SOMALI YOUTH AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT CENTER$15,000
EAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBRARY$15,000
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 (FY20–24, $258k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FREEDOM FARM: $1k → 5%BIG ISLAND MEDITATION: $4k → 15%INTERCAMBIO UNITING COMMUNITIES: $2k → 12%INTERCAMBIO UNITING COMMUNITIES: $2k → 12%INTERCAMBIO UNITING COMMUNITIES: $1k → 12%NORTH HAWAII HOSPICE INC: $2k → 15%INTERCAMBIO UNITING COMMUNITIES: $1k → 12%NORTH HAWAII HOSPICE INC: $1k → 15%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION: $2k → 12%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION: $1k → 12%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION: $1k → 12%EMERGENCY FAMILY ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION: $1k → 12%CENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $15k → 11%CENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $15k → 11%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $15k → 14%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $15k → 14%INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $15k → 14%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MN: $10k → 14%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MN: $10k → 14%KAREN ORGANIZATION OF MINNESOTA: $15k → 14%KAREN ORGANIZATION OF MINNESOTA: $10k → 14%ISUROON: $15k → 11%ISUROON: $15k → 11%DAILY WORK: $20k → 14%DAILY WORK: $20k → 14%DAILY WORK: $15k → 14%DAILY WORK: $15k → 14%AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $10k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $3k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $3k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $3k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $2k → 11%APPETITE FOR CHANGE: $1k → 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

VT
WA
MN
WI
NY
MA
OR
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
CO
VA
MD
AZ
NC
DC
HI
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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.7M · 95 repeat orgs$469k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +21% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

95 repeat relationships: 64 still active in FY2024, 31 since wound down; 21 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

95
63

Total granted

$2.7M
$333k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+18%

Still filing today

81%
67%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 80% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $136k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationEnvironmentInternationalCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • LP
    LOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT
    5× · 2020–2024 · $123k · revenue +323%
  • GC
    GREEN CARD VOICES
    4× · 2021–2024 · $100k · revenue +48%
  • MC
    MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
    4× · 2020–2024 · $99k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • GR
    GREAT RIVER GREENING
    one grant, 2023 · $30k · revenue +17%
  • F
    FRESHWATER
    one grant, 2020 · $20k
  • CL
    COMMUNIDADES LATINAS UNIDAS EN SERVICIO
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
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
Mixed Blood Theatre Company

Mixed Blood Theatre Company uses theater to disrupt injustice. We are a social justice organization catalyzing action and change through art. Our work is guided by deep community engagement and rooted in radical hospitality.

—
2
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…

—
3
Minnesota Voice

Minnesota Voice is a collaboration of organizations working toward permanent change in social, racial, and economic justice by increasing civic engagement and voter participation across the state.

Public Benefit
4
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
5
St Paul Transportation Management Organization

Move minnesota leads the movement for an equitable and sustainable transportation system that puts people first. we are passionate about connecting communities, ending the climate crisis, expanding access to jobs and resources, and…

Environment
6
Wonderlust Productions

Wonderlust Productions is a multicultural, multi-disciplinary arts ensemble that illuminates a community's story through performance, mixing community members from across generations, ethnicities, and perspectives, alongside an ensemble of…

Arts & Culture
7
Minnesota Fringe Festival

Minnesota fringe connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression.

Arts & Culture
8
Minneapolis Climate Action

Minneapolis Climate Action is a 501c(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 by a group of dedicated individuals committed to addressing climate change in their community. After almost 10 years of working at the neighborhood level and piloting the…

Environment
9
Minnesota Women Lawyers

To advance the success of women attorneys and strive for a just society.

—
10
Women's Foundation of Minnesota

Women's Foundation of Minnesota is a statewide community foundation investing in ending systemic inequities and driving innovation for gender and racial justice. WFM applies an Intersectional Equity Framework inclusive of gender, race,…

Philanthropy
11
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Inc

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits informs, promotes, connects and strengthens individual nonprofits and the nonprofit sector.

Philanthropy
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Hmong American Partnership; the most unlike its peers is Tigerlion Arts. 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

141 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. 141 of the 182 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)
27
Early backer (in before they grew)
136/141
Grantees still filing
84/141
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GREEN CARD VOICES: $100,000 · Arts & CultureGREEN CARD VOICESTHEATER MU INCORPORATED: $56,500 · Arts & CultureTHEATER MU INCORPORATE…TIGERLION ARTS: $55,500 · Arts & CultureTIGERLION ARTSIllusion Theater and School Inc: $42,000 · Arts & CultureIllusion Theater and S…EAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBRARY: $40,000 · Arts & CultureEAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBR…RAGAMALA DANCE: $35,000 · Arts & CultureRAGAMALA DANCETAIKOARTS MIDWEST: $30,000 · Arts & CultureThe Cedar Cultural Center Inc: $30,000 · Arts & CultureARCATA PRESS: $25,000 · Arts & CultureIN BLACK INK: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTen Thousand Things Theater: $22,500 · Arts & Culture+19 more: $178,000 · Arts & Culture+19 moreCENTER FOR THE VICTIMS OF TORTURE: $107,000 · OtherCENTER FOR THE VICTIMS OF TORTURELA OPORTUNIDAD INC: $57,500 · OtherLA OPORTUNIDAD INCIMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC: $50,000 · OtherACHIEVE TWIN CITIES: $65,000 · OtherACHIEVE TWIN CITIESHMONG AMERICAN FARMERS ASSOCIATION: $65,000 · OtherHMONG AMERICAN FARMERS ASSOCIATIONSEAD PROJECT: $40,000 · Other+86 more: $618,750 · Other+86 moreLOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT: $123,000 · EnvironmentLOWER PHALEN CREEK P…GREEN CITIES ACCORD: $105,000 · EnvironmentGREEN CITIES ACCORDMINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY: $99,000 · EnvironmentMINNESOTA CENTER FOR…FRESH ENERGY: $95,000 · EnvironmentFRESH ENERGYCONSERVATION MINNESOTA: $81,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION MINNESO…METRO BLOOMS: $40,000 · EnvironmentMETRO BLOOMSWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $20,000 · Environment+5 more: $20,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE GENERATION: $136,000 · EducationCLIMATE GENE…PROJECT SUCCESS: $73,500 · EducationPROJECT SUCC…AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY: $37,500 · EducationAUGSBURG UNI…Sahan Journal: $30,000 · EducationSahan Journa…LITERACY MINNESOTA: $15,000 · EducationUCLA FOUNDATION: $14,000 · EducationBreck School: $12,000 · Education+8 more: $29,000 · Education+8 moreDaily Work: $70,000 · Human ServicesDaily Wor…INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $45,000 · Human ServicesINTERNATI…Isuroon: $30,000 · Human ServicesIsuroonCENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $30,000 · Human ServicesCENTRO TY…KAREN ORGANIZATION OF MINNESOTA: $25,000 · Human ServicesKAREN ORG…LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $20,000 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN …APPETITE FOR CHANGE INC: $10,500 · Human ServicesAFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $10,000 · Human Services+8 more: $21,500 · Human Services+8 moreWorld Savvy: $60,000 · InternationalThe Advocates For Human Rights: $55,000 · InternationalCAPI USA: $55,000 · InternationalWELLSHARE INTERNATIONAL: $44,000 · International+6 more: $13,000 · InternationalThe Banyan Foundation: $45,000 · Community ImprovementNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $35,000 · Community ImprovementLATINO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $30,000 · Community ImprovementCHARLOTTESVILLE TOMORROW: $23,000 · Community ImprovementLake Street Council: $21,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $3,500 · Community Improvement
Arts & Culture$639,500Other$1,003,250Environment$583,000Education$347,000Human Services$262,000International$227,000Community Improvement$157,500

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 budgetCLIMATE GENERATION: $136,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetLOWER PHALEN CREEK PROJECT: $123,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetGREEN CITIES ACCORD: $105,000 over 3y, 5.6% of budgetGREEN CARD VOICES: $100,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetMINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY: $99,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetFRESH ENERGY: $95,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetCONSERVATION MINNESOTA: $81,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetPROJECT SUCCESS: $73,500 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetDaily Work: $70,000 over 4y, 6.1% of budgetACHIEVE TWIN CITIES: $65,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetHMONG AMERICAN FARMERS ASSOCIATION: $65,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetWorld Savvy: $60,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetLA OPORTUNIDAD INC: $57,500 over 4y, 6.5% of budgetTHEATER MU INCORPORATED: $56,500 over 4y, 1.7% of budgetTIGERLION ARTS: $55,500 over 4y, 13% of budgetThe Advocates For Human Rights: $55,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetCAPI USA: $55,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetIMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetINTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: $45,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetThe Banyan Foundation: $45,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetWELLSHARE INTERNATIONAL: $44,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetIllusion Theater and School Inc: $42,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetSEAD PROJECT: $40,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetEAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBRARY: $40,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetMETRO BLOOMS: $40,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetAUGSBURG UNIVERSITY: $37,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetRAGAMALA DANCE: $35,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetNEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE: $35,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTAIKOARTS MIDWEST: $30,000 over 2y, 6.8% of budgetIsuroon: $30,000 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetGREAT RIVER GREENING: $30,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetThe Cedar Cultural Center Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetSahan Journal: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetLATINO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetYOUTH LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE: $30,000 over 2y, 4.9% of budgetCENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN: $30,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetKAREN ORGANIZATION OF MINNESOTA: $25,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetARCATA PRESS: $25,000 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetIN BLACK INK: $25,000 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetCHARLOTTESVILLE TOMORROW: $23,000 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetTen Thousand Things Theater: $22,500 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetACCESS PHILANTHROPY CHARITIES: $21,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetLake Street Council: $21,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetCOMMONBOND COMMUNITIES: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNEXUS COMMUNITY PARTNERS: $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNEW NATIVE THEATRE: $20,000 over 2y, 1.3% 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.

Marbrook FoundationThe McKnight Foundati…Fr Bigelow FoundationThe Minneapolis Found…Saint Paul & Minnesot…Mortenson Family Foun…Propel NonprofitsHeadwaters Foundation…Target FoundationMinnesota Humanities …Otto Bremer TrustPohlad Family Foundat…
Marbrook FoundationMN121.4× affinity56 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Marbrook Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Mortenson Family Foundation · Propel Nonprofits · Headwaters Foundation for Justice · Target Foundation · Minnesota Humanities Center · Otto Bremer Trust · Pohlad Family 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 Marbrook Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Marbrook Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 9%
  • Deschutes Land Trust: 46% of income from government
  • Oregon Natural Desert Association: 9% of income from government
  • Think Wild: 7% of income from government
  • Amherst College Trustees: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
47report 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 Marbrook Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Marbrook 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 182 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Marbrook’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