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Pachel Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Pachel Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$81k
Granted FY2026still arriving
25
Grants FY2026still arriving
3
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2025.

Arts & Culture$228kEducation$112kHuman Services$92kInternational$30kEnvironment$29kAnimals$28kHealth$26kYouth Development$22kOther$0
02FY2026 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k24 grants · $65k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $16k
$2,105
Median grant
3
States reached
$896k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
DULUTH PLAYHOUSE$15,500
DULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$8,000
MINNEAPOLIS HOC INC$5,000
UNIVERSITY OF WI SUPERIOR ALUMNI &$5,000
STARBASE MINNESOTA INC$3,500
DENFELD HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH TEAM$3,500
BOREALIS CHAMBER ARTISTS$3,400
LOAVES AND FISHES$3,144
MATINEE MUSICALE INC$3,000
Individual grant recipient$3,000
CHEQUAMEGON HUMANE ASSOCIATION$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,105
ANIMAL ALLIES HUMANE SOCIETY$2,000
THE DEPOT FOUNDATION$2,000
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 (FY17–23, $34k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%FAMILY FREEDOM CENTER: $3k → 15%KIDS CLOSET OF DULUTH: $3k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $3k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $2k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $2k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $2k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $2k → 15%DAMIANO CENTER: $1k → 15%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $4k → 15%DULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA: $4k → 15%DULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA: $3k → 15%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $2k → 15%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $2k → 15%DULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA: $1k → 15%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.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$657k · 46 repeat orgs$166k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 14 still active in FY2026, 32 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
39

Total granted

$657k
$139k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
0%

Still filing today

57%
41%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 67% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $27k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
EducationArts & CultureHuman ServicesEnvironmentYouth DevelopmentAnimalsOther
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

  • LS
    LAKE SUPERIOR CENTER
    3× · 2019–2025 · $17k · revenue +55%
  • TM
    The Matinee Musicale Inc
    4× · 2020–2026 · $13k · revenue +126%
  • DO
    DAMIANO OF DULUTH INC
    6× · 2017–2022 · $12k · revenue +330%

Funded once

  • FR
    FM Rotary Foundation
    one grant, 2023 · $30k · revenue -73%
  • CU
    CHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRYgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +32%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2021 · $7k · revenue -12%
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
The Great Northern Winter Festival

The great northern celebrates our cold, creative winters through ten days of diverse programming that invigorate mind and body. in an era of changing climate that threatens our signature season, we seek to create community, inspire action,…

Arts & Culture
2
Park Square Theatre

To enrich the community by producing and presenting exceptional live theatre that touches the heart, engages the mind and delights the spirit.

—
3
Duluth Community School Collaborative

Duluth community school collaborative promotes wellbeing and success for duluth public schools students and families by co-creating, celebrating, and mobilizing for equitable educational experiences.

Education
4
St Marys University of Minnesota

Enriched by the lasallian catholic heritage, saint mary's university of minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.

Education
5
University Nursery Schools Inc

The mission of the university nursery school is to prepare the children in our community for a successful and fulfilling future throughout their education and beyond. we strive daily to provide loving care, as well as high quality and…

—
6
Science Museum of Minnesota

The museum's mission statement is "turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. improve lives."

Arts & Culture
7
Friends School of Minnesota

To prepare children to embrace life, learning, and community with hope, skill, understanding and creativity. we are committed to the quaker values of peace, justice, simplicity and integrity.

Education
8
Circus of the Star

A performing arts circus school dedicated to inspiring artistry and confidence.

Youth Development
9
Northland College

Northland college's mission is to integrate undergraduate liberal arts studies with an environmental emphasis, enabling those it serves to address the challenges of the future.

Education
10
Duluth Art Institute Assoc

Recognize, validate and support the creation of art in all forms and encourage participation and appreciation for arts in duluth, mn

Arts & Culture
11
Duluth Heritage Sports Center

The organizations's mission is to provide significant recreational opportunities to the citizens of duluth, mn. specifically the center's programs are directed to the youth of the city and the boys and girls club that utilizes a…

Recreation & Sports
12
Duluth Children's Museum Inc

The duluth children's museum's mission is to engage children in hands-on learning through creative play and interactive exhibits.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Chester Bowl Improvement Club; the most unlike its peers is The Depot Foundation. 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

48 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. 48 of the 96 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
47/48
Grantees still filing
30/48
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DSSO: $71,049 · OtherDSSOSALVATION ARMY OF DULUTH: $41,750 · OtherSALVATION ARMY OF DULUTHDENFELD HIGH SCHOOL: $34,500 · OtherDENFELD HIGH SCHOOLUDAC INC: $15,102 · OtherSECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK: $15,000 · OtherMINNEAPOLIS HOC INC: $15,000 · Other+59 more: $247,207 · Other+59 moreDULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIO: $101,000 · Arts & CultureDULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ASSOC…DULUTH PLAYHOUSE INC: $91,722 · Arts & CultureDULUTH PLAYHOUSE INCZEITGEIST CENTER FOR ARTS AND COMMUNITY: $11,500 · Arts & CultureLYRIC OPERA OF THE NORTH: $8,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $6,000 · Arts & CultureCOLLEGE OF ST SCHOLASTICA INC: $11,500 · EducationMANY RIVERS MONTESSORI: $8,226 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $6,750 · EducationMITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW: $4,600 · EducationHARBOR CITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $4,200 · EducationNORTH HOUSE FOLK SCHOOL: $4,000 · EducationSTARBASE MINNESOTA INC: $3,500 · EducationDULUTH FOLK SCHOOL: $2,000 · EducationSPIRIT OF THE LAKE COMMUNITY ARTS: $1,810 · Education+2 more: $1,870 · EducationLAKE SUPERIOR CENTER: $17,000 · EnvironmentHARTLEY NATURE CENTER: $8,691 · EnvironmentWOLF RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER: $6,500 · EnvironmentECOLIBRIUM3: $2,500 · EnvironmentDAMIANO OF DULUTH INC: $11,745 · Human ServicesDULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA: $8,200 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $7,896 · Human ServicesFamily Freedom Center: $3,337 · Human ServicesKIDS CLOSET OF DULUTH: $3,000 · Human ServicesFM Rotary Foundation: $30,000 · Community ImprovementBOYS' CLUB OF DULUTH: $8,069 · Youth DevelopmentMENTOR NORTH: $4,000 · Youth DevelopmentLIFE HOUSE INC: $3,500 · Youth DevelopmentDEVILDOGS DBA - 3D Robotics Duluth: $2,000 · Youth Development
Other$439,608Arts & Culture$218,222Education$48,456Environment$34,691Human Services$34,178Community Improvement$30,000Youth Development$17,569

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 budgetDULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIO: $101,000 over 5y, 2.5% of budgetDULUTH PLAYHOUSE INC: $91,722 over 10y, 0.6% of budgetFM Rotary Foundation: $30,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetLAKE SUPERIOR CENTER: $17,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetUDAC INC: $15,102 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetThe Matinee Musicale Inc: $13,000 over 4y, 5.5% of budgetDAMIANO OF DULUTH INC: $11,745 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetCOLLEGE OF ST SCHOLASTICA INC: $11,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHARTLEY NATURE CENTER: $8,691 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetANIMAL ALLIES HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $8,550 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMANY RIVERS MONTESSORI: $8,226 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetDULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA: $8,200 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBOYS' CLUB OF DULUTH: $8,069 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetLYRIC OPERA OF THE NORTH: $8,000 over 2y, 2.1% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $7,896 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPROGRAM FOR AID TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: $7,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCHESTER BOWL IMPROVEMENT CLUB: $7,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $6,750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWOLF RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER: $6,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetESSENTIA HEALTH FOUNDATION: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Minnesota Opera: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MARSHALL SCHOOL: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HILLS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES: $4,996 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW: $4,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE DEPOT FOUNDATION: $4,420 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHARBOR CITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: $4,200 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS MINNESOTA INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMENTOR NORTH: $4,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNORTH HOUSE FOLK SCHOOL: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLIFE HOUSE INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFamily Freedom Center: $3,337 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetECOLIBRIUM3: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTRUE NORTH GOODWILL NORTHERN MINNESOTA AND NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR ALUMNI ASSOC: $2,000 over 1y, 3.3% of budgetSPIRIT OF THE LAKE COMMUNITY ARTS: $1,810 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMUNITY ACTION DULUTH INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budget23RD VETERAN: $1,300 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGRAND MARAIS ARTS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDULUTH LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $870 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.

  • Who funds DULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ASSOCIATIO ↗
  • Who funds DULUTH PLAYHOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds FM Rotary Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LAKE SUPERIOR CENTER ↗
  • Who funds UDAC INC ↗
  • Who funds The Matinee Musicale Inc ↗
  • Who funds DAMIANO OF DULUTH INC ↗
  • Who funds ZEITGEIST CENTER FOR ARTS AND COMMUNITY ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE OF ST SCHOLASTICA INC ↗
  • Who funds CHURCHES UNITED IN MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds HARTLEY NATURE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds ANIMAL ALLIES HUMANE SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds MANY RIVERS MONTESSORI ↗
  • Who funds DULUTH AREA FAMILY YMCA ↗
  • Who funds BOYS' CLUB OF DULUTH ↗
  • Who funds LYRIC OPERA OF THE NORTH ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds PROGRAM FOR AID TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT ↗
  • Who funds CHESTER BOWL IMPROVEMENT CLUB ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WOLF RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds ESSENTIA HEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds The Minnesota Opera ↗
  • Who funds THE MARSHALL SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds THE HILLS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES ↗

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.

Lloyd K Johnson Found…Duluth-Superior Area …Northland FoundationMinnesota Power Found…Ordean FoundationSmdc Medical CenterMightycause Charitabl…Mardag FoundationWildey Mitchell Famil…Head of the Lakes Uni…Arrowhead Regional Ar…Saint Paul & Minnesot…
Lloyd K Johnson FoundationMN69.9× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Lloyd K Johnson Foundation · Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation · Northland Foundation · Minnesota Power Foundation · Ordean Foundation · Smdc Medical Center · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Mardag Foundation · Wildey Mitchell Family Foundation · Head of the Lakes United Way · Arrowhead Regional Arts Council · Saint Paul & Minnesota 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 Pachel Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pachel 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%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    22report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Pachel Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Pachel 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 96 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Pachel’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