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Nafzger Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nafzger Family 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.

$56k
Granted FY2024still arriving
11
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$33k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0192% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Religion$97kInternational$74kHealth$33kPhilanthropy$31kHuman Services$26kRecreation & Sports$25kArts & Culture$18kFood & Nutrition$13kOther$0
02FY2024 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $23k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $33k
$1,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$244k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAMARITAN'S PURSE$33,000
ST PATRICK CATHOLIC SCHOOL$6,826
FOOD FOR THE POOR$5,241
HERITAGE HOUSE INC$5,000
SDSU FOUNDATION$3,000
KENTUCKY RACETRACK CHAPLAINCY$1,000
RD CARE CENTER$500
SAYRE SCHOOL$300
CHRIST CHURCH UNITED METHODIST$300
OLTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ASSN$250
Individual grant recipient$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 (FY18–20, $800) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 38% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BELMONT CHILD CARE ASSOCIATION INC: $500 → 6%FAITH PRESBYTERIAN COMMUNITIES & SERVICE FOUNDATION: $300 → 14%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

ND
MN
IL
NY
SD
OH
CO
MO
KY
MD
KS
TN
NC
OK
TX
FL
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.
$321k · 35 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +56% since the first grant, against +41% for those funded once.

35 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 29 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
34

Total granted

$321k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+56%
+41%

Still filing today

57%
35%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $13k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthReligionHuman ServicesArts & CultureEducationAnimalsOther
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

  • SP
    SAMARITAN'S PURSE
    6× · 2019–2024 · $74k · revenue +151%
  • SD
    SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2024 · $30k · revenue +78%
  • TB
    THE BACKSIDE LEARNING CENTER INC
    6× · 2018–2023 · $24k · revenue +284%

Funded once

  • PJ
    PAUL JEREMY SPECIAL ACCOUNT
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
  • SP
    ST PETER CLAVER CATHOLIC CHURCH
    one grant, 2018 · $2k
  • SJ
    ST JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $1k
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
Horse Country Inc

Horse country, inc. is a coordinated equine industry initiative to connect guests to the horse, land, and people of kentucky's signature equine industry through immerserive experiences at unique member locations. horse country, inc.…

Membership Benefit
2
Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund Inc

To provide exclusively for the benefit, aid, relief, and assistance of the racing personnel employed in connection with horse racing who can demonstrate their need for financial assistance.

—
3
The Jockey Club

The organization is dedicated to the improvement of thoroughbred breeding and racing. It fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its subsidiary companies and by providing support to a wide range of industry…

Recreation & Sports
4
Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame

The harness racing museum & hall of fame is dedicated to comprehensive, active and authoritative support and promotion of the standardbred racing through documentation and preservation of the history and traditions of this american-born…

Arts & Culture
5
Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Foundation Inc

Kentucky thoroughbred owners & breeders foundation, inc. (ktob foundation) supports and funds equine research, in particular research to study and find a prevention or cure to the condition in horses commonly known as mare reproductive…

Animals
6
Southern California Equine Foundation Inc

Providing equine veterinary hospital facilities and support services in the care of injured or sick race horses

Animals
7
Kentucky Thoroughbred Association Inc

To advertise, foster and promote the thoroughbred horse industry in the commonwealth of kentucky

—
8
The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation

Established in 1943, the foundation is a charitable trust that provides, on a confidential basis, financial relief and assistance to members of the thoroughbred industry who are in need. assistance is available nationwide, and includes…

—
9
California Thoroughbred Horsemen's Foundation Inc

The organization provides health and welfare benefits to individuals and their families who work in occupations directly related to the care of thoroughbred horses in california.

Membership Benefit
10
Gateway Horseworks

Gateway horseworks incorporates horses for the mental health treatment of people

Health
11
American Saddle Horse Museum Association Inc

To preserve the traditions and promote the heritage of our beautiful athletic horses, through active engagement of the general public and equine community by expanding interest and appeal in our breed.

Arts & Culture
12
Kentucky Horse Park Foundation Inc

The kentucky horse park foundation's sole purpose is to provide support for the kentucky horse park.

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Backside Learning Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame 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

34 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. 34 of the 74 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
34/34
Grantees still filing
27/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH: $48,000 · OtherST PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCHTHE BACKSIDE LEARNING CENTER INC: $23,550 · OtherTHE BACKSIDE LEARNING CENTER INCTRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH: $13,100 · OtherTRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCHRUNNING WATER DRAW CARE: $12,000 · OtherRUNNING WATER DRAW CAREST PATRICK CATHOLIC SCHOOL: $6,826 · OtherMIAMI PROJECT TO CURE PARALYSIS: $6,000 · OtherST JOHN'S LUTHERAN: $6,000 · OtherMONTANA HISTORY FOUNDATION: $6,000 · Other+43 more: $45,720 · Other+43 moreSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $74,000 · ReligionSAMARITAN'S PURSEKentucky Race Track Chaplaincy Inc: $20,100 · ReligionKentucky Race Track Chaplaincy …+3 more: $4,000 · ReligionSOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 · EducationSOUTH DAK…+2 more: $600 · EducationHeritage House Inc: $5,000 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $5,000 · HealthSOUTHWEST PARKINSON SOCIETY: $4,700 · HealthHOPE HEALTH CLINIC INC: $3,300 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $2,300 · HealthOLTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION INC: $2,250 · HealthSPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $1,500 · HealthFOOD FOR THE POOR INC: $13,041 · InternationalCAL FARLEY'S BOYS RANCH: $11,000 · Human ServicesBelmont Child Care Association Inc: $500 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $500 · Human Services+1 more: $300 · Human ServicesNATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INC: $6,000 · Arts & CultureTEXAS COWBOY HALL OF FAME INC: $1,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $150 · Arts & Culture
Other$167,196Religion$98,100Education$30,600Health$24,050International$13,041Human Services$12,300Arts & Culture$7,150

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 budgetSAMARITAN'S PURSE: $74,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BACKSIDE LEARNING CENTER INC: $23,550 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetKentucky Race Track Chaplaincy Inc: $20,100 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetFOOD FOR THE POOR INC: $13,041 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCAL FARLEY'S BOYS RANCH: $11,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHeritage House Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST PARKINSON SOCIETY: $4,700 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetOld Friends Inc: $4,300 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCENTRAL KENTUCKY RIDING FOR HOPE INC: $4,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetHOPE HEALTH CLINIC INC: $3,300 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetOCALA FARM MINISTRY INC: $3,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetNATIONAL COWBOY AND WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM: $2,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $2,300 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOLTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION INC: $2,250 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCHURCHILL DOWNS INCORPORATED FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTEXAS COWBOY HALL OF FAME INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBACKSTRETCH EMPLOYEE SERVICE TEAM OF NEW YORK INC: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCoral Ridge Ministries Media Inc: $700 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPERMANENTLY DISABLED JOCKEYS FUND INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBelmont Child Care Association Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKENTUCKY DERBY MUSEUM CORPORATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAYRE SCHOOL: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOREFRONT LIVING FOUNDATION: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBLUE GRASS FARMS CHARITIES INC: $300 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMaster The Possibilities Inc: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGOD'S PANTRY FOOD BANK INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA HALL OF FAME: $150 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLORIDA SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION INC: $100 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.

  • Who funds SAMARITAN'S PURSE ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BACKSIDE LEARNING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy Inc ↗
  • Who funds FOOD FOR THE POOR INC ↗
  • Who funds CAL FARLEY'S BOYS RANCH ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING INC ↗
  • Who funds Heritage House Inc ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHWEST PARKINSON SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds Old Friends Inc ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL KENTUCKY RIDING FOR HOPE INC ↗
  • Who funds HOPE HEALTH CLINIC INC ↗
  • Who funds OCALA FARM MINISTRY INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL COWBOY AND WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds OLTON VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SPECIAL EQUESTRIANS INC ↗
  • Who funds CHURCHILL DOWNS INCORPORATED FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds TEXAS COWBOY HALL OF FAME INC ↗

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.

Mary K Oxley Foundati…Thoroughbred Charitie…The Community Foundat…The Charles and Mary …Blue Grass Community …The Brian Ratner Foun…Honorable Order of Ke…The Jockey Club Safet…C F Pollard Foundatio…W L Lyons Brown Found…The Community Foundat…The Community Foundat…
Mary K Oxley FoundationOK24.2× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Mary K Oxley Foundation · Thoroughbred Charities of America Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Inc · The Charles and Mary Heider Family Foundation · Blue Grass Community Foundation Inc · The Brian Ratner Foundation · Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Inc · The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation · C F Pollard Foundation Inc · W L Lyons Brown Foundation · The Community Foundation of Louisville Corporate Depository Inc · The Community Foundation of Louisville Depository Inc

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 Nafzger Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nafzger Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Florida Sheriffs Association Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Special Equestrians Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Food for the Poor Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get 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 · 0–10%
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 74 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 Nafzger 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