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Rahr Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Rahr Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$265k
Granted FY2024still arriving
28
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$20k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$570kEducation$440kArts & Culture$128kAnimals$55kScience & Tech$43kFood & Nutrition$10kPublic Safety & Disaster$8kRecreation & Sports$5kOther$0
02FY2024 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k16 grants · $105k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $160k
$7,500
Median grant
11
States reached
$7.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE NATURE CONSERVATORY$20,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$20,000
EARTH JUSTICE$20,000
MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED$15,000
Individual grant recipient$15,000
U OF M FOUNDATION$10,000
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$10,000
SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST$10,000
AMERICAN RIVERA$10,000
MN LAND TRUST$10,000
WILD SALMON CENTER$10,000
CHIRICAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF WI-RIVER FALLS$7,500
UNIVERSITY OF MN - TWIN CITIES$7,500
UNIVERSITY OF WI-STOUT$7,500
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 80% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CHIRCAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY: $10k → 18%UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: $20k → 8%UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - TWIN CITIES: $15k → 11%MINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $15k → 14%MARIN AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST: $10k → 8%EARTH JUSTICE: $20k → 10%NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: $15k → 17%AMERICAN RIVERS THRIVING: $15k → 14%WILD SALMON CENTER: $10k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA: $15k → 13%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $15k → 7%CHIRCAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY: $10k → 18%MINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $15k → 14%RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS: $20k → 8%EARTH JUSTICE: $20k → 10%NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: $10k → 17%AMERICAN RIVERS THRIVING: $10k → 14%CHIRICAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY: $10k → 18%MINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $15k → 14%RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS: $20k → 8%EARTH JUSTICE: $15k → 10%ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: $20k → 17%AMERICAN RIVERS THRIVING: $10k → 14%SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $10k → 12%MINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $15k → 14%RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS: $20k → 8%EARTH JUSTICE: $10k → 10%AMERICAN RIVERS THRIVING: $10k → 14%SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $10k → 12%MN LAND TRUST: $10k → 14%RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS: $15k → 8%AMERICAN RIVERA: $10k → 14%SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $10k → 12%MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $30k → 11%RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS: $15k → 8%UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: $10k → 14%SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $10k → 12%MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $30k → 11%DEFENDER OF WILDLIFE: $10k → 14%MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $20k → 11%SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $10k → 12%THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $10k → 11%THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $10k → 11%THE NATURE CONSERVATORY: $20k → 11%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $10k → 11%CLIMATE GENERATION: $15k → 11%WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER: $15k → 14%WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER: $15k → 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

ME
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
CT
CA
VA
AZ
DC
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.

78%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.1M · 33 repeat orgs$303k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +73% since the first grant, against +9% for those funded once.

33 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2024, 22 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
19

Total granted

$1.1M
$150k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+73%
+9%

Still filing today

55%
26%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 42% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $153k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationAnimalsArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • MT
    MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED
    5× · 2020–2024 · $113k · revenue +196%
  • MS
    MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
    3× · 2020–2022 · $80k · revenue +73%
  • EARTHJUSTICE
    4× · 2021–2024 · $65k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • MA
    MARIN AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +9%
  • DO
    Defenders of Wildlifegraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $10k · revenue +41%
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
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
2
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
3
Washington Water Trust

Wwt's mission is to protect and restore water in rivers and streams across washington state. washington water trust restores and protects water in rivers and streams and promotes sustainable freshwater management in washington, and, more…

Environment
4
Idaho Conservation League Inc

Icl's mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.

—
5
Property and Environment Research Center

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

Public Benefit
6
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
7
Swan Valley Connections

Maintain the swan valley's unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant human community can sustain itself through stewardship, education, economic viability, and conservation on public and private lands.

Environment
8
Minnesota Environmental Partnership

The minnesota environmental partnership is a coalition that strengthens member effectiveness and builds collective power to secure a healthy environment for all minnesotans.

Environment
9
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
10
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
11
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
12
Ocean Conservancy

Ocean conservancy unites science, people, and policy to protect our ocean, today and for generations to come.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wild Salmon Center; the most unlike its peers is Owl Research Institute 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

29 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. 29 of the 69 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
29/29
Grantees still filing
24/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Individual grant recipient: $90,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE: $45,000 · OtherENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSEIndividual grant recipient: $45,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - TWIN CITIES: $37,500 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - TWIN CITIESTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $25,000 · Other+42 more: $450,000 · Other+42 moreEARTHJUSTICE: $65,000 · EnvironmentEARTHJUSTICEMINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $60,000 · EnvironmentMINNESOTA LAND TRUSTCHIRICAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY: $30,000 · EnvironmentCHIRICAHUA LAND CONS…THE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $25,000 · EnvironmentTHE MONTANA LAND REL…NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $25,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DE…ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $20,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENS…Montana Environmental Information Center: $17,500 · EnvironmentMontana Environmenta…AMERICAN RIVERS INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $50,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY…Fairfield University: $22,500 · EducationFairfield …CLIMATE GENERATION: $20,000 · EducationCLIMATE GE…University of St Thomas: $15,000 · EducationUniversity…PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $7,500 · EducationPRESIDENT …DEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $7,500 · EducationDEPAUL UNI…TRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $7,500 · EducationTRUSTEES O…MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED: $112,500 · Recreation & SportsMONTANA T…MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $80,000 · Arts & CultureChildren's Theatre Company and School: $25,000 · Arts & CultureWILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA: $40,000 · AnimalsWILD SALMON CENTER: $15,000 · AnimalsDefenders of Wildlife: $10,000 · AnimalsSUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $50,000 · Community Improvement
Other$692,500Environment$252,500Education$130,000Recreation & Sports$112,500Arts & Culture$105,000Animals$65,000Community Improvement$50,000

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 budgetMONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED: $112,500 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetMINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $80,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $65,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $60,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST: $50,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA: $40,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetCHIRICAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY: $30,000 over 3y, 4.2% of budgetTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetChildren's Theatre Company and School: $25,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFairfield University: $22,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCLIMATE GENERATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMontana Environmental Information Center: $17,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER TWIN CITIES YOUTH SYMPHONIES: $15,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER: $15,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMARIN AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN RIVERS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDEPAUL UNIVERSITY: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONCORDIA COLLEGE CORPORATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOWL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetFriends of the Columbia Gorge: $5,000 over 1y, 0.6% 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 MONTANA TROUT UNLIMITED ↗
  • Who funds MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS ↗
  • Who funds EARTHJUSTICE ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTA LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SUSTAINABLE NORTHWEST ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds CHIRICAHUA LAND CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds THE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE ↗
  • Who funds Children's Theatre Company and School ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS INC ↗
  • Who funds Fairfield University ↗
  • Who funds CLIMATE GENERATION ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds Montana Environmental Information Center ↗
  • Who funds THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds GREATER TWIN CITIES YOUTH SYMPHONIES ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds WILD SALMON CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MARIN AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds Defenders of Wildlife ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN RIVERS 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.

Xcel Energy FoundationMightycause Charitabl…PatagoniaorgSaint Paul & Minnesot…The Crosswols Foundat…The K FoundationMargaret a Cargill Fo…The McKnight Foundati…The Blackbaud Giving …Ch Robinson Worldwide…The Minneapolis Found…Ibm International Fou…
Xcel Energy FoundationMN16.6× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Xcel Energy Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The Crosswols Foundation · The K Foundation · Margaret a Cargill Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Ibm International 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 Rahr Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Rahr Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Wild Salmon Center: 49% of income from government
  • Sustainable Northwest: 5% of income from government
  • Fairfield University: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get 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
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 69 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 Rahr’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