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Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family 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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
15
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$1.5M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

90% of Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation’s FY2025 grant dollars went to The Fuller Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2025 names 8 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2024, the last year Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 8 organizations, $2M. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

4
’17
7
’18
5
’19
11
’20
3
’21
8
’22
12
’23
8
’24
8
’25

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.6MPhilanthropy$555kReligion$149kCommunity Improvement$29kArts & Culture$27kInternational$21kPublic Benefit$15kScience & Tech$15kOther$0
02FY2024 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k13 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
  • $250k+1 grant · $1.5M
$3,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$710k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
WESTMONT COLLEGE$1,500,000
SATSUSA$15,000
ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL$8,000
SKOWHEGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT$7,500
YWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS-UPTOWN$5,500
MAIN STREET$5,000
WILLIAM CAREY HERITAGE FOUNDATION$3,500
PETERSON WATER FOUNDATION$3,000
CENTER STAGE$2,500
FUTSAL SOCIETY$2,500
GREEN CARD VOICES$2,500
KENNEBEC MONTESSORI SCHOOL$2,000
FEAT NETWORK$500
GENDER JUSTICE$500
SKOWHEGAN MIDDLE SCHOOL$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 (FY22–25, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 38% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%WE ENCOURAGE: $2k → 14%WE ENCOURAGE: $1k → 14%THE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH: $5k → 11%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
VT
MN
IL
NY
OH
CA
CO
DC
TX
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.

23%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$517k · 19 repeat orgs$1.7M to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 12 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call). Read against FY2024, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
33

Total granted

$517k
$130k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+0%
+14%

Still filing today

37%
61%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 48% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $30k 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
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHealthCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesOther
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

  • KM
    KENNEBEC MONTESSORI SCHOOL
    5× · 2017–2024 · $23k · revenue +41%
  • MS
    MAIN STREET SKOWHEGAN
    3× · 2017–2019 · $7k · revenue +416%
  • OS
    OUR STREETS
    3× · 2020–2023 · $6k · revenue +521%

Funded once

  • I
    Indspire
    one grant, 2018 · $15k
  • PH
    Pasadena High School
    one grant, 2019 · $15k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
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 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…

—
2
Minnesota Council on Foundations

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

—
3
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
4
Eden Peopleplanet

To offer the dignity of fair employment to people living in impoverished communities, who become transformational agents of global forest restoration.

International
5
The Water Research Foundation

The purpose of the water research foundation (wrf) is a definitive research organization to advance the science of all things water to better meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. to engage exclusively in…

Environment
6
Women Winning

To encourage, promote, support, and elect pro-choice women of all political parties to all levels of public office in minnesota.

Public Benefit
7
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
8
Environmental Investigation Agency

To establish and promote programs to protect the global climate, forests, wildlife and the natural environment, through research, advocacy, and investigation.

International
9
Eastern National

Eastern national promotes the public's understanding and support of america's national parks and other public trust partners by providing quality educational experiences, products and services.

Recreation & Sports
10
United Way of Ne Minnesota

United way of northeastern minnesota invests in nonprofits, programs, and collaborations that equip and empower, creating opportunities for people to thrive in our communities.

—
11
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
12
Arts Midwest Incorporated

Arts Midwest works collaboratively with private and public arts supporters to support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities across the Midwest. Our mission is to build unprecedented opportunity across the…

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gender Justice; the most unlike its peers is William Carey Heritage 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

37 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. 37 of the 67 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
36/37
Grantees still filing
19/37
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

WESTMONT COLLEGE: $1,500,000 · EducationWESTMONT COLLEGE+3 more: $3,000 · EducationIndividual grant recipient: $220,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientPASADENA COVENANT CHURCH PASADENA CA: $109,250 · OtherPASADENA COVENANT CHURCH PA…THE JIM BROWNE FOUNDATION: $40,250 · OtherTHE JIM BROWNE FOUNDATIONKENNEBEC MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $23,250 · OtherCENTRO HISPANO DE ESTUDIOS: $22,500 · Other+45 more: $243,000 · Other+45 moreTHE FULLER FOUNDATION: $515,000 · PhilanthropyTHE FULLER FOUNDATION+1 more: $1,000 · PhilanthropyTHE GAMBLE HOUSE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 · Arts & CultureSEAT OF THE PANTS ENSEMBLE: $5,000 · Arts & CultureGREEN CARD VOICES: $2,500 · Arts & CultureSTATES NEWSROOM: $2,000 · Arts & CultureLEVEL GROUND: $1,000 · Arts & CultureSKOWHEGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP: $7,500 · Community ImprovementMAIN STREET SKOWHEGAN: $6,500 · Community ImprovementTHE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH: $5,000 · Human ServicesWe Encourage Inc: $3,000 · Human ServicesOUR STREETS: $6,000 · Recreation & SportsWINTERKIDS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $500 · Recreation & Sports
Education$1,503,000Other$658,250Philanthropy$516,000Arts & Culture$20,500Community Improvement$14,000Human Services$8,000Recreation & Sports$6,500

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 budgetWESTMONT COLLEGE: $1,500,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetTHE FULLER FOUNDATION: $515,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetKENNEBEC MONTESSORI SCHOOL: $23,250 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetIMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCITIZENS LEAGUE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE GAMBLE HOUSE CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSKOWHEGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP: $7,500 over 1y, 12% of budgetMAIN STREET SKOWHEGAN: $6,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetOUR STREETS: $6,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $5,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTAKEACTION MINNESOTA: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWe Encourage Inc: $3,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREEN CARD VOICES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSahan Journal: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSTATES NEWSROOM: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLEVEL GROUND: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSOMERSET WOODS TRUSTEES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetLUMUNOS INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHOLLYWOOD PRAYER NETWORK INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetPASADENA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGENDER JUSTICE: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPROJECT SUCCESS: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFamily Tree Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRECLAIM: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFeat Network: $500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetWINTERKIDS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDONORSCHOOSEORG: $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 WESTMONT COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds THE FULLER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KENNEBEC MONTESSORI SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Paul Carlson Medical Program Inc ↗
  • Who funds IMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds THE GAMBLE HOUSE CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds SKOWHEGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP ↗
  • Who funds MAIN STREET SKOWHEGAN ↗
  • Who funds OUR STREETS ↗
  • Who funds MARCH OF DIMES INC ↗
  • Who funds SEAT OF THE PANTS ENSEMBLE ↗
  • Who funds TAKEACTION MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds THE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH ↗
  • Who funds William Carey Heritage Foundation ↗
  • Who funds We Encourage Inc ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds GREEN CARD VOICES ↗

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.

The Minneapolis Found…Saint Paul & Minnesot…Mortenson Family Foun…Fr Bigelow FoundationThe McKnight Foundati…Mightycause Charitabl…The Bush FoundationPropel NonprofitsOtto Bremer TrustFrances & Frank Wilki…Marbrook FoundationRobins Kaplan Foundat…
The Minneapolis FoundationMN19.9× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Minneapolis Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Mortenson Family Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The Bush Foundation · Propel Nonprofits · Otto Bremer Trust · Frances & Frank Wilkinson Foundation · Marbrook Foundation · Robins Kaplan 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 Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    6report 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 67 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 Roy G and Naomi Harmon Johnston Family’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