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· Private foundation

R J McElroy Trust

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$2.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
93
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$615k
Largest
01What it funds
0175% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.4MRecreation & Sports$866kHuman Services$817kYouth Development$469kReligion$150kArts & Culture$125kCommunity Improvement$116kEnvironment$101kOther$0
02FY2024 · 93 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k55 grants · $124k
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $485k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $843k
  • $250k+1 grant · $615k
$5,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$40M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WATERLOO LEISURE SERVICES$615,000
WATERLOO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS$216,900
HAWKEYE COMM COLLEGE FOUNDATION$160,500
UNI FOUNDATION$140,000
YOUTH ART TEAM$75,000
YWCA$50,500
Individual grant recipient$50,000
IOWA NATURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION$50,000
NASHUA PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT$50,000
RIYO$50,000
KEYSTONE AREA EDUCATION AGENCY$32,800
GROUT MUSEUM DISTRICT$30,000
LITTLE KNIGHTS LEARNING CENTER$25,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IA$25,000
ONE CEDAR VALLEY$25,000
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 (FY23–24, $533k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 38% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%LITTLE KNIGHTS LEARNING CENTER: $25k → 8%SUNFLOWER CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $200k → 10%KIDQUEST PRESCHOOL & DAYCARE: $3k → 10%WAVERLY CHILDCARE & PRESCHOOL: $100k → 7%SUCCESSLINK: $190k → 17%SUCCESSLINK: $15k → 17%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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$16M · 46 repeat orgs$1.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +17% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 45 still active in FY2024, 1 since wound down; 46 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
69

Total granted

$16M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
0%

Still filing today

24%
25%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 87% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $264k 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
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

  • IN
    IOWA NATURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $100k · revenue +38%
  • CV
    CEDAR VALLEY PRESCHOOL & CHILD CARE CENTER
    2× · 2023–2024 · $68k · revenue +17%
  • JA
    JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $50k · revenue +2%

Funded once

  • SC
    SUNFLOWER CHILDCARE CENTER INC
    one grant, 2023 · $200k · revenue -38%
  • WC
    WAVERLY CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOL
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +16%
  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUB CEDAR VALLEY
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
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
United Way of North Central Iowa

Seeking to build a stronger, more caring community by forming partnerships with businesses, community experts, education & health & human service agencies to achieve targeted outcomes & sustained changes in community conditions which will…

Philanthropy
2
Webster City Day Care

Child day care center

—
3
Iowa Center for Children's Justice

ICCJ assists children in custody disputes through child focused education and legal services. ICCJ provides education and legal services on a reduced fee or at no charge based on the ability to pay.

Civil Rights
4
Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center

To provide a highly structured environment which emphasizes a safety and security to all juveniles while serving as a deterrent to criminal and anti-social behaviors. Working youth in the center and communities.

—
5
Iowa Chapter of Children's Advocacy Centers

To promote the development, growth and utilization of childrens advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams to better serve Iowas abused and neglected children and their families.

Crime & Legal
6
West Central Community Action

In partnership with state and federal government, our mission is to administer programs designed to help residents in our 10-county region of southwest iowa achieve self-sufficiency.

Human Services
7
Grand View Child Development Center Inc

Provide affordable child care services to residents of des moines and surrounding communities

Human Services
8
Wayland Area Childcare Organization Organization

Wayland area child care organization's mission is to provide child care services to the citizens of wayland, iowa and surrounding communities.

Human Services
9
Noah's Ark Daycare Inc

Provide child care to community

Human Services
10
Western Iowa Development Assoc

Facilitate economic opportunity, business success, community engagement, prosperity, and quality of life for rural western iowa

—
11
Apple Daycare Inc

Provide a well rounded, affordable and dependable daycare facility for parents with children growing up in a rural north iowa area.

Human Services
12
Iowa Aces 360

To improve the health and well-being of all by empowering communities, organizations, and people to take informed actions to prevent and mitigate the lifelong effects of childhood adversity.

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Inc; the most unlike its peers is Elsie Miller Palmer & Ben a Miller Scholarship Trust. 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

40 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. 40 of the 163 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
40/40
Grantees still filing
19/40
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $12,666,109 · OtherIndividual grant recipientWATERLOO LEISURE SERVICES: $828,500 · Other+139 more: $2,705,341 · Other+139 moreSUCCESSLINK INC: $205,000 · Human ServicesSUNFLOWER CHILDCARE CENTER INC: $200,000 · Human ServicesWAVERLY CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOL: $100,000 · Human ServicesLITTLE KNIGHTS LEARNING CENTER: $25,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,500 · Human ServicesYouth Art Team: $145,000 · Arts & CultureEmbracing Explorations: $45,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $10,200 · Arts & CultureSUMNER DAYCARE & LEARNING CENTER INC: $40,000 · EducationJOB FOUNDATION: $22,500 · EducationSPARKWHEEL INC: $15,000 · EducationROYAL LEGACY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: $15,000 · EducationIOWA DENTAL FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EducationIOWA NATURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EnvironmentWATERLOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $75,000 · PhilanthropyCEDAR FALLS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 · PhilanthropyJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentIOWA JOBS FOR AMERICA'S GRADUATES INC: $25,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $2,000 · Youth Development
Other$16,199,950Human Services$532,500Arts & Culture$200,200Education$107,500Environment$100,000Philanthropy$85,000Youth Development$77,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSUCCESSLINK INC: $205,000 over 2y, 9.0% of budgetSUNFLOWER CHILDCARE CENTER INC: $200,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetYouth Art Team: $145,000 over 2y, 28% of budgetWAVERLY CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOL: $100,000 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetIOWA NATURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWATERLOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 2y, 5.0% of budgetCEDAR VALLEY PRESCHOOL & CHILD CARE CENTER: $67,500 over 2y, 12% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC: $50,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetEmbracing Explorations: $45,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetVOLUNTEER CENTER OF CEDAR VALLEY: $42,350 over 2y, 5.9% of budgetSUMNER DAYCARE & LEARNING CENTER INC: $40,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetCHRISTIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: $40,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetVISION TO LEARN: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLITTLE KNIGHTS LEARNING CENTER: $25,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetIOWA JOBS FOR AMERICA'S GRADUATES INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetONE CEDAR VALLEY: $25,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetOPERATION THRESHOLD INC: $22,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetJOB FOUNDATION: $22,500 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetPEOPLES COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetIowa Legal Aid: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK: $17,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPARKWHEEL INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetROYAL LEGACY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY: $15,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetPIED PIPER PRE-SCHOOL OF TRAER INC: $15,000 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetIOWA DENTAL FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetFAMILY & CHILDREN'S COUNCIL OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY: $15,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetWINNEBAGO COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA #173: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetCEDAR FALLS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetMAQUOKETA VALLEY ALLIANCE: $7,500 over 1y, 67% of budgetLAURA INGALLS WILDER PARK & MUSEUM: $5,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetCEDAR VALLEY FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKIDQUEST INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetElgin Historical Society: $2,500 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetWartburg Community Symphony Association Inc: $2,200 over 1y, 2.8% of budgetNONPROFIT LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE: $650 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME: $500 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 SUCCESSLINK INC ↗
  • Who funds SUNFLOWER CHILDCARE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds Youth Art Team ↗
  • Who funds WAVERLY CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds IOWA NATURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WATERLOO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CEDAR VALLEY PRESCHOOL & CHILD CARE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF EASTERN IOWA INC ↗
  • Who funds Embracing Explorations ↗
  • Who funds VOLUNTEER CENTER OF CEDAR VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds SUMNER DAYCARE & LEARNING CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ↗
  • Who funds VISION TO LEARN ↗
  • Who funds LITTLE KNIGHTS LEARNING CENTER ↗
  • Who funds IOWA JOBS FOR AMERICA'S GRADUATES 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.

Max and Helen Guernsey Charitable FoundationIA59.6× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Max and Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation · Otto Schoitz Foundation · Lsb Foundation · Black Hawk County Gaming Association · Cedar Valley United Way · Trustage Foundation Inc · The Gallagher Family Foundation · GreenState Credit Union · Dupaco RW Hoefer Foundation · Greenstate Foundation · Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque · Pauline R Barrett Charitable 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 R J McElroy Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from R J McElroy Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    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 R J McElroy Trust?

    Find your warmest path to R J McElroy Trust 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 163 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

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