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Mark a and Jean M Elste Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Mark a and Jean M Elste Family Foundation Inc

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.

$13k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Philanthropy$11kHuman Services$6kHealth$5kArts & Culture$4kFood & Nutrition$3kYouth Development$3kReligion$2kRecreation & Sports$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$500
Median grant
3
States reached
$59k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DOORWAY TO LEARNING INC$5,000
FEED AND CLOTHE MY PEOPLE$3,000
DOOR COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC$1,000
FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN$575
DIOCESE OF LA CROSSE$500
WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC$500
Individual grant recipient$500
MIDSUMMER'S MUSIC$500
CATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF THE DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY INC$500
BIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCER CENTER INC$250
NEW LIFE CLINIC$250
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 (FY25–25, $5k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%DOORWAY TO LEARNING INC: $5k → 8%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.
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.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$17k · 11 repeat orgs$19k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
14

Total granted

$17k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-3%
0%

Still filing today

55%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 16% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k went to new ones.

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

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

’21’22’23’24’25
HealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • UW
    UNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $3k · revenue -5%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC
    5× · 2021–2025 · $3k · revenue +24%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DOOR COUNTY INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $3k · revenue -83%

Funded once

  • WF
    WOMEN'S FUND OF DOOR COUNTY
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC
    one grant, 2021 · $2k · revenue +16%
  • WV
    WISCONSIN VETERAN'S VILLAGE ASSOCIATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $1k · revenue 0%
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
Door County Land Trust Inc

The door county land trust is a local, non-governmental non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve door county's exceptional lands and waters forever.

Environment
2
Door County Economic Development Corporation

Dcedc is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. dcedc has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs…

Community Improvement
3
Door County Historical Society

The door county historical society strives to collect, maintain and share the history and heritage of door county through preservation, education and programming.

—
4
Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc

Legal protection and advocacy to protect the rights of people with disabilities in wisconsin.

—
5
Door County Community Child Development Center Inc

It is our mission to provide quality, developmentally appropriate experiences to the children and families of door county.

—
6
United Way Manitowoc County Inc

United way's mission is to improve lives.

Philanthropy
7
Door County Medical Corporation

The corporation is organized and shall be operated on a not-for-profit basis and exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, as amended,…

Health
8
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.

—
9
Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation

Wwbic opens the doors of opportunity by providing any individuals who are interested in starting, strengthening, or expanding businesses with access to resources such as financial products and quality business and personal financial…

—
10
Webster City Day Care

Child day care center

—
11
Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc

To promote oshkosh and winnebago county a premier destination for corporate, sports, and leisure groups and individual visitors.

—
12
Radio Milwaukee Inc

To reach a new generation of radio listeners on air, online and in the community with a compelling selection of music and public affairs programming. the corporation celebrates milwaukee music, arts, heritage, and culture by supporting and…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin Inc; the most unlike its peers is New Life Clinic. 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

16 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. 16 of the 32 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/16
Grantees still filing
6/16
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FEED AND CLOTHE MY PEOPLE: $3,000 · OtherFEED AND CLOTHE MY PEOPLEWOMEN'S FUND OF DOOR COUNTY: $2,500 · OtherWOMEN'S FUND OF DOOR COUNTYBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $2,500 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DOOR COUNTY INCIndividual grant recipient: $2,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCATHOLIC FOUNDATION: $1,500 · OtherCATHOLIC FOUNDATIONSAIL TRAINING FOUNDATION INC: $1,080 · OtherSAIL TRAINING FOUNDATION INCCATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF THE DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY INC: $1,000 · OtherCATHOLIC FOUNDATION OF THE DIOCESE OF GREEN BAY INC+12 more: $5,000 · Other+12 moreDOOR COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $3,500 · PhilanthropyDOOR COUNTY COMMUN…UNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $3,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF DOOR…Doorway to Learning Inc: $5,000 · Human ServicesDoorway to Lea…DOOR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 · HealthDOOR COUNTY…MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC: $1,500 · HealthMAKE-A-WISH…SUE BALDWIN FUND INC: $500 · HealthSUE BALDWIN…HELP OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $500 · HealthHELP OF DOO…FRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $2,515 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF…BIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCE CENTER INC: $750 · Arts & CultureBIRCH CREE…MIDSUMMER'S MUSIC LTD: $500 · Arts & CultureMIDSUMMER'…WISCONSIN VETERAN'S VILLAGE ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 · Housing & ShelterWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $500 · EducationMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $250 · Animals
Other$18,580Philanthropy$6,500Human Services$5,000Health$4,000Arts & Culture$3,765Housing & Shelter$1,000Education$500Animals$250

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 budgetDOOR COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $3,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED WAY OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $3,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF PBS WISCONSIN INC: $2,515 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetDOOR COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWISCONSIN VETERAN'S VILLAGE ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBIRCH CREEK MUSIC PERFORMANCE CENTER INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSUE BALDWIN FUND INC: $500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetBEJA SHRINERS: $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHELP OF DOOR COUNTY INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMICHIGAN ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE: $250 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Greater Green Bay Com…Door County Community…Ellsworth and Carla P…Mmg Foundation IncHerbert H Kohl Charit…Green Bay Packers Fou…Robert a and Lynn I D…Lutsey Family Foundat…Sunshine Charitable F…Renaissance Charitabl…The Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…
Greater Green Bay Community Foundation IncWI21.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Green Bay Community Foundation Inc · Door County Community Foundation Inc · Ellsworth and Carla Peterson Charitable Foundation · Mmg Foundation Inc · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · Green Bay Packers Foundation · Robert a and Lynn I Doneff Foundation · Lutsey Family Foundation · Sunshine Charitable Foundation · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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 Mark a and Jean M Elste Family Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mark a and Jean M Elste Family Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's 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
    5report 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, 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 32 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 Mark a and Jean M Elste 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