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Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf 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.

$66k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$16k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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.

Health$167kHuman Services$164kPublic Safety & Disaster$60kArts & Culture$36kPhilanthropy$29kRecreation & Sports$25kReligion$19kEducation$17kOther$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $40k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $26k
$1,500
Median grant
8
States reached
$1.6M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION$16,250
INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION$10,000
STUDEBAKER NATIONAL MUSEUM$7,500
BEACON HEALTH$7,500
CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY CROSS$5,000
BETHEL UNIVERSITY$5,000
SOUTH BEND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$4,500
CORVILLA$3,000
WOMEN'S CARE CENTER OF IRC$1,500
Individual grant recipient$1,500
HAPPY BOTTOMS$1,200
PROJECT UNBROKEN$500
REACH OUT LAKOTA$500
TURNING POINT USA$500
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $24k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 72% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%PARKVILLE WOMENS CLINIC: $500 → 8%BETHESDA LUTHERAN COMMUNITIES INC: $1k → 8%THE YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOC OF SIDNEY AND SHELB: $250 → 9%4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $1k → 9%HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION: $3k → 17%TEAM GLEASON FOUNDATION: $1k → 23%OUR HOUSE: $750 → 14%BETHESDA LUTHERAN COMMUNITIES INC: $250 → 8%HEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION: $2k → 17%COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE GUARDIAN AD LITEM: $1k → 10%SAFEHOME INC: $500 → 5%COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE GUARDIAN AD LITEM: $1k → 10%SAFEHOME INC: $500 → 5%SAFEHOME INC: $500 → 5%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $250 → 5%HAPPY BOTTOMS: $1k → 15%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $500 → 15%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $500 → 15%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $500 → 15%THE HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER INC: $2k → 12%THE HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER INC: $100 → 12%CORVILLA: $3k → 13%CORVILLA INC: $1k → 13%WOMEN'S CARE CENTER OF IRC: $2k → 12%CHILDCARE RESOURCES OF INDIAN RIVER INC: $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

IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
IA
IN
OH
PA
CA
MO
MD
AZ
KS
TN
SC
DC
HI
LA
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.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$445k · 35 repeat orgs$111k to everyone else

35 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

35
54

Total granted

$445k
$61k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+33%
+35%

Still filing today

91%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 24% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k 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
HealthHuman ServicesAnimalsYouth DevelopmentEducationPhilanthropyOther
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

  • UA
    UNITED AGAINST POVERTY INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $145k · revenue +42%
  • BH
    Beacon Health Foundation Inc
    3× · 2022–2024 · $15k · revenue +301%
  • RO
    REACH OUT LAKOTA INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $7k · revenue +138%

Funded once

  • IR
    INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC - CLEVELAND C
    one grant, 2023 · $10k
  • IR
    INDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC - CLEVELAND
    one grant, 2022 · $10k
  • BK
    B King
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
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
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
2
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
3
Homeward Bound Inc

Providing innovative and life-enriching services for children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities.

Human Services
4
University Family Physicians Inc

Engage actively and continuously in medical research, education and training in the practice of medicine in conjunction with the department of family medicine of the indiana university school of medicine and indiana university…

—
5
Union Hospital Inc

We exist to serve our patients with compassionate health care of the highest quality.

Health
6
Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Midwest Mn Wi Ia

To provide a "home away from home and offer support to families seeking medical care for their children.

—
7
Catholic Charities of Kansas City - St Joseph Inc

Helping people move to a better life through hope-filled care, services, and advocacy; calling all those of goodwill to join us

Human Services
8
Personal Care Products Council Foundation Inc

The foundation is set up to deliver one program - look good feel better. the mission of this nationwide program is to improve the quality of life of women, men, and teens undergoing cancer treatment by offering advice on how to cope with…

Health
9
Highmark Health

As the parent entity of a blended health organization, highmark health seeks to improve the health and well-being of the people and communities it serves by providing affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare.

Health
10
St Marys Healthcare System for Children Inc

To serve as the sole member of the various health care and supporting organizations that comprise st. mary's healthcare system for children

Health
11
Uchicago Medicine Network Inc

Uchicago medicine network, inc. supports and encourages health and human service by providing support, directly or indirectly to ingalls memorial hospital, the university of chicago medical center, and other related tax-exempt…

Health
12
Mercy Health

Mercy Health will provide assistance, support and direction to all of the health care institutions and activities operated and maintained by its Subsidiaries. The mission of Mercy Health in performing these activities shall be to provide a…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Oh Ky & in; the most unlike its peers is Tinas Angels Kehr - Conrad 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

85 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. 85 of the 103 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)
23
Early backer (in before they grew)
84/85
Grantees still filing
66/85
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNITED AGAINST POVERTY INC: $145,000 · OtherUNITED AGAINST POVERTY INCCONGREGATION OF HOLY CROSS UNITED STATES PROVINCE INC: $12,500 · OtherINDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC - CLEVELAND C: $10,000 · OtherINDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC - CLEVELAND: $10,000 · Other+51 more: $87,725 · Other+51 moreINDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $93,059 · HealthINDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDAT…MCLAREN NORTHERN MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $21,000 · HealthMCLAREN NORTHERN MICHIGAN FOU…Beacon Health Foundation Inc: $14,500 · HealthBeacon Health Foundation IncDAYTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $6,500 · Health+15 more: $12,150 · Health+15 moreIGNITE A LIFE: $43,050 · EducationIGNITE A L…BETHEL UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 · EducationBETHEL UNI…+3 more: $2,500 · EducationQUAIL VALLEY CHARITIES INC: $20,500 · PhilanthropyTHE JOHN'S ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 · PhilanthropyTHE DAYTON FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Philanthropy+2 more: $500 · PhilanthropySTUDEBAKER NATIONAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $13,500 · Arts & CultureSTUDEBAKER NATIONAL MUSEUM INC: $7,500 · Arts & CultureSOUTH BEND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INC: $5,833 · Arts & CultureHEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 · Human ServicesCORVILLA INC: $4,000 · Human ServicesHAPPYBOTTOMS: $2,950 · Human ServicesCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OF MIAMI CO INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesTHE HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER INC: $1,600 · Human ServicesSAFEHOME INC: $1,500 · Human ServicesWOMEN'S CARE CENTER OF IRC INC: $1,500 · Human ServicesABLELIGHT INC: $1,250 · Human Services4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesCHILDCARE RESOURCES OF INDIAN RIVER INC: $1,000 · Human ServicesTEAM GLEASON FOUNDATION: $1,000 · Human Services+4 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $16,250 · Public Safety & Disaster
Other$265,225Health$147,209Education$50,550Philanthropy$28,000Arts & Culture$26,833Human Services$24,300Public Safety & Disaster$16,250

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 budgetUNITED AGAINST POVERTY INC: $145,000 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetINDIAN RIVER HOSPITAL FOUNDATION INC: $93,059 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetIGNITE A LIFE: $43,050 over 2y, 16% of budgetMCLAREN NORTHERN MICHIGAN FOUNDATION: $21,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetQUAIL VALLEY CHARITIES INC: $20,500 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetLOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT FOUNDATION: $16,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBeacon Health Foundation Inc: $14,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetSTUDEBAKER NATIONAL MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC: $13,500 over 4y, 6.2% of budgetREACH OUT LAKOTA INC: $6,750 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetDAYTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: $6,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetINLAND LAKES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE JOHN'S ISLAND FOUNDATION INC: $6,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTH BEND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION INC: $5,833 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetBETHEL UNIVERSITY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHEALTHNETWORK FOUNDATION FKA HEALTH NET FOUNDATION INC: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF THE GREATER MIAMI VALLEY INC: $4,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetCORVILLA INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Christ Hospital: $3,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREAT LAKES BURN CAMP INC: $3,750 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetHAPPYBOTTOMS: $2,950 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetVNA Hospice of Indian River County Inc: $2,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWAUKESHA DEPUTY CHARITIES ASSOCIATION INC: $2,500 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetWAYSIDE WAIFS INC: $2,300 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS INC: $2,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE GUARDIAN AD LITEM OF MIAMI CO INC: $2,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $1,750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOPE FOR FAMILIES CENTER INC: $1,600 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetALS THERAPY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAFEHOME INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetABLELIGHT INC: $1,250 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMatthew 25 Ministries Inc: $1,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPINK RIBBON GOOD INC: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF WEST CHESTERLIBERT: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE DAYTON FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY ABUSE SHELTER OF MIAMI COUNTY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDCARE RESOURCES OF INDIAN RIVER INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of the Parks of Pewaukee: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTEAM GLEASON FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKIDSTLC INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCASA OF JOHNSON & WYANDOTTE COUNTIES INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF OH KY & IN: $800 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSHELTER ASSOCIATION OF WASHTENAW COUNTY: $750 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOUR HOUSE: $750 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Kansas City Inc: $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.

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.

Judd Leighton Foundat…Ge Aerospace Foundati…University of Notre D…Greater Kansas City C…R a Long Foundation 6…Baird Foundation IncUnited Way of Greater…Quail Valley Charitie…Carroll F V Char Tr-M…The Greater Cincinnat…Oppenstein Brothers F…John J Sullivan Jr Fo…
Judd Leighton Foundation IncIN19.8× affinity7 shared granteesties to 5 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Judd Leighton Foundation Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · University of Notre Dame du Lac · Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · R a Long Foundation 600 Plaza West Bldg · Baird Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Kansas City Inc · Quail Valley Charities Inc · Carroll F V Char Tr-Main · The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Oppenstein Brothers Foundation · John J Sullivan Jr Foundation John Houlehan & Mark Henke-Trustees

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 Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Als Therapy Development Foundation Inc: 8% of income from government
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
14report 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 Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Robert L & Frances J Zielsdorf 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 103 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

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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