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Nelson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Nelson 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.

$141k
Granted FY2025still arriving
16
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$35k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0195% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$292kArts & Culture$141kEnvironment$88kHealth$64kPhilanthropy$64kHousing & Shelter$52kHuman Services$25kAnimals$25kOther$0
02FY2025 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $106k
$5,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
STANFORD UNIVERSITY BOSP$35,000
PADRINO CHILDRENS FOUNDATION$25,000
HOOVER INSTITUTION$25,000
Individual grant recipient$10,500
CHARLESTON LIBRARY FOUNDATION$10,000
ONE80 PLACE$6,000
ALIANZA CERO BASURA BCS$5,000
CHARLESTON JAZZ$5,000
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$5,000
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION$3,000
TETON RAPTOR CENTER$3,000
THE METRO MUSEUM OF ART$2,500
GOOD FRIENDS OF THE LOW COUNTRY$2,500
EAGLE MOUNT FOUNDATION$1,000
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION$1,000
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 (FY18–25, $40k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $10k → 14%PADRINO CHILDRENS FOUNDATION: $25k → 11%ONE22: $4k → 5%DRAYTON HALL PRESERVATION TRUST: $1k → 12%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

ID
MT
NY
WY
CA
CO
MD
SC
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.

75%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$493k · 19 repeat orgs$160k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +82% since the first grant, against +30% for those funded once.

19 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 9 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
23

Total granted

$493k
$127k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+82%
+30%

Still filing today

79%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $34k 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 & CultureEnvironmentHuman ServicesPhilanthropyHealthHousing & 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

  • WW
    WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECTS INC
    4× · 2021–2024 · $65k · revenue +57%
  • NM
    NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES
    4× · 2017–2023 · $35k · revenue +83%
  • OP
    One-Eighty Place
    6× · 2020–2025 · $35k · revenue +81%

Funded once

  • TP
    The Preservation Society of Charleston Inc
    one grant, 2020 · $15k · revenue -5%
  • KP
    KHOL PUBLIC MEDIA JACKSON HOLE
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • TS
    TETON SCIENCE SCHOOLS INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +30%
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
Teton Regional Land Trust Inc

The mission of the teton regional land trust is to conserve working farms and ranches, fish and wildlife habitat, and scenic open spaces in eastern idaho for this and future generations.

Environment
2
Wyoming Outdoor Council

The wyoming outdoor council's mission is to protect wyoming's environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

Environment
3
Greater Yellowstone Coalition

Greater yellowstone coalition works with all people to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the greater yellowstone ecosystem, now and for future generations.

Environment
4
Wyoming Wilderness Association

The wyoming wilderness association works to protect wyoming's public wild lands to ensure a future of wild places for people and wildlife.

Animals
5
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
6
Wyoming Wildlife Federation

Wyoming wildlife federation delivers leadership in conservation for the state's wildlife, hunters, anglers, and conservationists through policy, education, advocacy, and habitat.

Animals
7
Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources

The organization pursues higher standards of news coverage of natural resources and the environment -- standards of accuracy, fairness, balance, depth and context.

Arts & Culture
8
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
9
Cowboy State Daily

Cowboy state daily's mission is to provide high-quality local and statewide reporting on the issues that impact wyoming, featuring stories that capture wyoming's wonderful "small town with long streets" vibe.

Arts & Culture
10
Property and Environment Research Center

Perc is dedicated to advancing conservation through markets, incentives, property rights, and partnerships.

Public Benefit
11
Climate Conservation Dba Center for Large Landscape Conservation

We bring science, policy, and proven solutions directly to communities working to restore the integrity and natural connectivity of the landscapes in which they live. (see schedule o)

Environment
12
CalWild

The California Wilderness Coalition protects the natural landscapes that make California unique, providing clean air and water, a home to wildlife, and a place for recreation and spiritual renewal.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wyoming Untrapped Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Neue Galerie New York. 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

32 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. 32 of the 49 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)
32/32
Grantees still filing
20/32
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STANFORD UNIVERSITY BOSP: $114,500 · OtherSTANFORD UNIVERSITY BOSPIndividual grant recipient: $43,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCHARLESTON LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $32,500 · OtherCHARLESTON LIBRARY FOUNDATIONST JOHN'S HOSPITAL JACKSON WY: $25,500 · OtherST JOHN'S HOSPITAL JACKSON WYSTAR GOSPEL MISSION: $17,500 · OtherThe Preservation Society of Charleston Inc: $15,000 · OtherWYOMING WILDLIFE ADVOCATES: $15,000 · Other+21 more: $95,100 · Other+21 moreTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $135,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUST…NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES: $35,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL MUSEU…WYOFILE: $28,750 · Arts & CultureWYOFILECharleston Jazz: $22,500 · Arts & CultureCharleston Jaz…The Art Association of Jackson Hole: $15,000 · Arts & CultureThe Art Associ…JACKSON HOLE BOOK FESTIVAL: $5,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $1,000 · Arts & CultureWESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECTS INC: $65,000 · EnvironmentWESTERN WAT…CONSERVATION CONGRESS: $10,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATIO…TETON SCIENCE SCHOOLS INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentTETON SCIEN…+1 more: $2,000 · EnvironmentCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $38,000 · PhilanthropyCOMMUNITY…GOOD FRIENDS OF THE LOWCOUNTRY: $15,000 · PhilanthropyGOOD FRIE…GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $8,000 · PhilanthropyGRAND TET…INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · PhilanthropyINTERNATI…Eagle Mount: $3,000 · PhilanthropyPADRINO CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesOne22 Inc: $4,000 · Human Services+1 more: $1,000 · Human ServicesOne-Eighty Place: $34,500 · Housing & Shelter
Other$358,600Education$135,000Arts & Culture$107,250Environment$87,000Philanthropy$69,000Human Services$40,000Housing & Shelter$34,500

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 budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $135,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECTS INC: $65,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $38,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES: $35,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetOne-Eighty Place: $34,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetWYOFILE: $28,750 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetPADRINO CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetCharleston Jazz: $22,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetSTAR GOSPEL MISSION: $17,500 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetGOOD FRIENDS OF THE LOWCOUNTRY: $15,000 over 4y, 7.6% of budgetThe Preservation Society of Charleston Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWYOMING WILDLIFE ADVOCATES: $15,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetThe Art Association of Jackson Hole: $15,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCONSERVATION CONGRESS: $10,000 over 2y, 5.6% of budgetTETON SCIENCE SCHOOLS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED STATES OF AMERICA RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION LTD: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEPILEPSY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNorthern Rockies Conservation Cooperative: $5,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetWYOMING UNTRAPPED INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetJACKSON HOLE BOOK FESTIVAL: $5,000 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetTETON YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetINTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOne22 Inc: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTETON RAPTOR CENTER: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEagle Mount: $3,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BRIDGER BOWL FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 2y, 3.4% of budgetTETON COUNTY SHERIFF'S AUXILIARY: $2,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetTHE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDRAYTON HALL PRESERVATION TRUST: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NEUE GALERIE NEW YORK: $1,000 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.

Elbridge & Evelyn Stu…Community Foundation …The Brooks FoundationPanoram Foundation IncWyoming Community Fou…Speyer Family Foundat…Sts FoundationThe Andrew Allen Char…First Interstate Banc…Marin Community Found…The Portland Trust IIPhilip & Sandra Viney…
Elbridge & Evelyn Stuart FoundationWY26.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Elbridge & Evelyn Stuart Foundation · Community Foundation of Jackson Hole · The Brooks Foundation · Panoram Foundation Inc · Wyoming Community Foundation · Speyer Family Foundation · Sts Foundation · The Andrew Allen Charitable Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Marin Community Foundation · The Portland Trust II · Philip & Sandra Vineyard Fdn

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 22%
  • Epilepsy Foundation of America: 22% of income from government
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of 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
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 Nelson Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Nelson Family 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 49 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 Nelson 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