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Raymond H & Florence Sponberg Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Raymond H & Florence Sponberg Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$62k
Granted FY2025still arriving
60
Grants FY2025still arriving
13
States reached
$11k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$309kReligion$104kFood & Nutrition$69kArts & Culture$42kHuman Services$37kHealth$36kEnvironment$24kHousing & Shelter$21kOther$0
02FY2025 · 60 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k59 grants · $52k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $11k
$750
Median grant
13
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE$10,500
ICA FOODSHELF$3,500
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH$3,000
EDINA GIVE AND GO$2,000
READY READERS$2,000
ST LOUIS PARK SCHOOLS FOUNDATION$1,500
FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS$1,500
BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE$1,500
LANSING IOWA FOOD TRUST$1,500
ALL SAINTS LUTHERAN CHURCH$1,000
ST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION$1,000
GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH$1,000
YWCA MISSOULA$1,000
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE - WOMEN$1,000
ECHO FOOD SHELF$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 (FY17–25, $60k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%ICA FOODSHELF: $6k → 11%CHILD BRIDGE: $1k → 18%QUILTS FOR KIDS: $200 → 6%ICA FOODSHELF: $5k → 11%CHILD BRIDGE: $1k → 18%GATEWAY 180: $4k → 21%GLOBAL EYE MISSION: $500 → 5%ICA FOODSHELF: $4k → 11%CHILD BRIDGE: $1k → 18%ICA FOODSHELF: $4k → 11%ICA FOODSHELF: $4k → 11%ICA FOOD SHELF: $1k → 11%ICA FOODSHELF: $1k → 11%NORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $1k → 11%ICA FOOD SHELF: $1k → 11%HOLDEN VILLAGE: $1k → 9%ICA FOODSHELF: $1k → 11%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $500 → 14%NORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $1k → 11%HOLDEN VILLAGE: $1k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE: $500 → 14%HOLDEN VILLAGE: $500 → 9%ICA FOOD SHELF: $1k → 11%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $500 → 14%NORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $875 → 11%MUJERES IN ACTION: $1k → 12%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $500 → 14%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE: $500 → 14%VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $1k → 15%MUJERES IN ACTION: $500 → 12%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE: $250 → 14%NORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $500 → 11%MUJERES IN ACTION: $500 → 12%WILDER FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%ICA FOOD SHELF: $1k → 11%WILDER FOUNDATION: $1k → 14%VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $1k → 15%VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $1k → 15%YWCA MANKATO: $1k → 15%VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $1k → 15%CIRCLE OF CONCERN: $500 → 11%VINE: $1k → 15%VINE-FAITH IN ACTION: $1k → 15%COMMUNITY EMERGENCY SERVICE: $500 → 11%YWCA MANKATO: $1k → 15%YWCA MANKATO: $750 → 15%VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $750 → 15%VINE: $500 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
PA
CA
CO
MO
WV
VA
MD
NM
DC
AL
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$569k · 106 repeat orgs$130k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

106 repeat relationships: 42 still active in FY2025, 64 since wound down; 18 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

106
124

Total granted

$569k
$115k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+17%

Still filing today

44%
30%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 77% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $15k 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
Human ServicesEducationEnvironmentFood & NutritionArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • IC
    INTERCONGREGATION COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $28k · revenue +20%
  • EG
    EDINA GIVE AND GO
    8× · 2017–2025 · $17k · revenue +130%
  • RF
    RIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION
    5× · 2017–2021 · $12k · revenue +10%

Funded once

  • NL
    NOMANDALE LUTHERN CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $6k
  • GH
    GATEWAY HOMELESS SERVICES INC
    one grant, 2024 · $4k · revenue 0%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $3k
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
Minnesota Land Trust

The minnesota land trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Environment
2
Great Plains Food Bank

End hunger together.

Food & Nutrition
3
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
4
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
5
The Montana Land Reliance

The mission of the montana land reliance (mlr) is to partner with landowners to provide permanent protection for private lands that are significant for agricultural production, fish and wildlife habitat, and open space.

Environment
6
Voyageur Outward Bound School

We bring young people together for group learning adventures in wilderness and urban settings in minnesota. we invite teens and young adults to identify, practice and grow leadership skills through shared experiences. we also offer the…

Environment
7
The Open Door

The open door is a leading hunger-relief organization serving dakota county, minnesota, where food insecurity is a growing challenge. the open door is dedicated to ending local hunger by providing access to healthy, fresh, and nutritious…

Food & Nutrition
8
Conservation Minnesota

Conservation minnesota's mission is to turn our shared conservation values into state priorities and provide you with the information you need to make decisions for your family, community and future.

Environment
9
Minnesota Council on Foundations

MCF is a vibrant philanthropic community connecting, strengthening and mobilizing the power of philanthropy to advance prosperity and equity.

—
10
Minnesota Valley Action Council Inc

Develop resources and opportunities which empower people and communities.

Community Improvement
11
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
12
Citizens League

The citizens league is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that empowers people to engage in civic life and public policy, to make minnesota a better place to live and work for everyone.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Amherst H Wilder Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Ultimate Peace 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

91 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. 91 of the 249 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)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
91/91
Grantees still filing
63/91
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH: $16,500 · Other+158 more: $356,785 · Other+158 moreGUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE: $134,315 · EducationGUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGEEDINA GIVE AND GO: $16,750 · EducationEDINA GIVE AND GOBETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC: $11,000 · EducationBETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INCREADY READERS: $8,500 · EducationST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $8,000 · Education+6 more: $13,825 · Education+6 moreINTERCONGREGATION COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION INC: $28,250 · Human ServicesINTERCONGRE…VINE FAITH IN ACTION: $7,500 · Human ServicesVINE FAITH …YWCA MISSOULA: $6,000 · Human ServicesYWCA MISSOU…GATEWAY HOMELESS SERVICES INC: $4,250 · Human ServicesGATEWAY HOM…NORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $3,375 · Human ServicesCHILD BRIDGE INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF MANKATO: $2,750 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $2,750 · Human ServicesHolden Village: $2,500 · Human Services+4 more: $6,250 · Human Services+4 moreSPOKANE RIVERKEEPER: $2,500 · EnvironmentKaniksu Land Trust Inc: $2,500 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $2,000 · EnvironmentECOLOGY IN CLASSROOMS AND OUTDOORS: $1,500 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $1,500 · EnvironmentCLEAN WATER FUND: $1,500 · EnvironmentCLARK FORK COALITION: $1,000 · EnvironmentWHITEFISH LAKE INSTITUTE: $1,000 · EnvironmentNORTHEASTERN MINNESOTANS FOR WILDERNESS: $500 · EnvironmentCOMMITTEE AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE INC: $5,000 · Crime & LegalARCHCITY DEFENDERS: $3,250 · Crime & LegalTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $2,500 · Crime & LegalSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $1,500 · Crime & LegalRIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION: $11,500 · PhilanthropyLUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INC: $5,750 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $4,000 · InternationalDays For Girls International: $500 · International
Other$373,285Education$192,390Human Services$66,625Environment$14,000Crime & Legal$12,250Philanthropy$11,500International$10,250

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetGUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE: $134,315 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetINTERCONGREGATION COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION INC: $28,250 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetEDINA GIVE AND GO: $16,750 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetRIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION: $11,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetBETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC: $11,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL LUTHERAN CHOIR CORP: $10,950 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetEMERGENCY COMMUNITY HELP ORGANIZATION INC: $9,250 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetGRUNEWALD GUILD: $9,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetREADY READERS: $8,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetVINE FAITH IN ACTION: $7,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetAssociations of Lutheran Church Musicians Inc: $7,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetCONNECTIONS MINISTRY: $6,000 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetYWCA MISSOULA: $6,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCULTURAL LEADERSHIP INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetLUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INC: $5,750 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,325 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMITTEE AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE INC: $5,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATION: $4,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetGROVELAND EMERGENCY FOOD SHELF INC: $4,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetGATEWAY HOMELESS SERVICES INC: $4,250 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY: $4,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $4,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetST LOUIS AREA FOOD BANK INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetNORTH VALLEY FOOD BANK: $3,375 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetARCHCITY DEFENDERS: $3,250 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCHILD BRIDGE INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF MANKATO: $2,750 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $2,750 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSPOKANE RIVERKEEPER: $2,500 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWE STORIES: $2,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetKaniksu Land Trust Inc: $2,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHolden Village: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHER COLLEGE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHouse of Hope Inc: $2,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMIA MUJERES IN ACTION: $2,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetEDINA EDUCATION FUND: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHARRIS HOUSE FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCASA FOR KIDS INC: $1,750 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetPEN AMERICAN CENTER INC: $1,750 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetECOLOGY IN CLASSROOMS AND OUTDOORS: $1,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,500 over 2y, 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 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds INTERCONGREGATION COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds EDINA GIVE AND GO ↗
  • Who funds RIDGEVIEW FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL LUTHERAN CHOIR CORP ↗
  • Who funds EMERGENCY COMMUNITY HELP ORGANIZATION INC ↗
  • Who funds GRUNEWALD GUILD ↗
  • Who funds READY READERS ↗
  • Who funds ST LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds VINE FAITH IN ACTION ↗
  • Who funds Associations of Lutheran Church Musicians Inc ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTIONS MINISTRY ↗
  • Who funds YWCA MISSOULA ↗
  • Who funds CULTURAL LEADERSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COMMITTEE AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds GUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GROVELAND EMERGENCY FOOD SHELF INC ↗
  • Who funds GATEWAY HOMELESS SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA 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.

Otto Bremer TrustThe Minneapolis Found…Whitefish Community F…Mankato Area Foundati…Headwaters Health Fou…St Louis Community Fo…Saint Paul & Minnesot…St Louis Community Fo…L & N Andreas Foundat…Commerce Bancshares F…World Wide Technology…Mayo Clinic Group Ret…
Otto Bremer TrustMN33.6× affinity18 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Otto Bremer Trust · The Minneapolis Foundation · Whitefish Community Foundation Inc · Mankato Area Foundation · Headwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana · St Louis Community Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation Inc · L & N Andreas Foundation · Commerce Bancshares Foundation · World Wide Technology Foundation · Mayo Clinic Group Return

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 Raymond H & Florence Sponberg Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Raymond H & Florence Sponberg Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 29%
  • Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service Inc Dba Global Refuge: 100% of income from government
  • Lutheran World Relief Inc: 47% of income from government
  • Transition Projects Inc: 29% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • Oregon Natural Desert Association: 9% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
31report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 249 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 Raymond H & Florence Sponberg’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