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Minnesota · Private foundation

Sandcastle 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.

$940k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
41
Grants FY2025
31
Organizations funded FY2024
6%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$15,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$75,000
Organizations funded a year
27 to 34
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
12
Total assets, FY2025
$11M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 6% of the organizations Sandcastle Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 8% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $65k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Youth DevelopmentHuman ServicesHealthEducationCrime & LegalArts & CultureOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving40$910k43%
FY202431$790k6%
FY202334$805k26%
FY202233$600k3%
FY202132$440k6%
FY202032$370k19%
FY201929$320k24%
FY201827$240k11%
95% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$1.0MYouth Development$693kHousing & Shelter$600kHealth$540kHuman Services$430kAnimals$310kCrime & Legal$228kEnvironment$200kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
MT
MN
IL
NY
OR
CA
MO
AZ
TN
DC
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
University of St Thomas$370,00090%
Ujamaa Place$347,50092%
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities$200,00081%
Washington University$195,00090%
St Patrick Center$180,00060%
Crescent Cove$180,00062%
Aeon$160,00070%
People Reaching Out to Other People Inc$142,50072%
Achieve Twin Cities$115,00090%
People Serving People Inc$110,00070%
Show all 56 grantees
All grantees of Sandcastle Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
University of St Thomas$370,00090%
Ujamaa Place$347,50092%
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities$200,00081%
Washington University$195,00090%
St Patrick Center$180,00060%
Crescent Cove$180,00062%
Aeon$160,00070%
People Reaching Out to Other People Inc$142,50072%
Achieve Twin Cities$115,00090%
People Serving People Inc$110,00070%
Missouri Botanical Garden Board of Trustees$110,00070%
Can Do Canines$110,00091%
Washburn Center for Children$105,00070%
Animal Protective Association of Missouri$100,00080%
Domestic Abuse Project Inc$100,00091%
Children's Health Care$95,00090%
Legal Rights Center$90,00061%
Ocean Blue Project Inc$90,000610%
Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners$80,00040%
Trustees of the Hamline University of Minnesota$80,00040%
President and Trustees of Bates College$75,00060%
Summit Academy Oic$60,00030%
Simpson Housing Services Inc$60,00020%
The Saint Louis Zoo Association$50,00050%
Planned Parenthood Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota$50,00030%
African American Child Wellness Institute$50,0001n/a
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri$50,00040%
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity$50,00030%
The Blake School$45,00030%
Minnesota Orchestral Association$40,00080%
Promo Fund$40,00062%
Urban League Twin Cities$37,50031%
The Constellation Fund$35,00010%
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri Inc$32,50040%
Wishes & More$30,00031%
Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota$30,00030%
Cornerstone$30,00063%
Hennepin Theatre Trust$30,00030%
VEAP Inc$25,00010%
Nexstar Legacy Foundation$20,00021%
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative$20,00010%
The Bridge for Youth$20,00010%
Gustavus Adolphus College$20,00010%
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression$15,0001n/a
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$15,00010%
Paws Chicago$15,0001n/a
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc$15,00010%
Americans for Immigrant Justice Inc F/K/A Fla Immigrant Advocacy Center$10,0001n/a
American Immigration Council$10,0001n/a
Forest Park Forever Inc$10,00020%
Construction Careers Foundation$10,00011%
Nurses for Newborns$10,00020%
Quest Scholars Program Inc$10,0001n/a
Macphail Center for Music$10,00020%
Visitation Academy of St Louis County$5,0001n/a
Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra$5,00013%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 19 recipients with no EIN on record ($715k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Sandcastle Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $370,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetUjamaa Place: $347,500 over 9y, 2.3% of budgetBoys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities: $200,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetWashington University: $195,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSt Patrick Center: $180,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetCrescent Cove: $180,000 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetAeon: $160,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetPeople Reaching Out to Other People Inc: $142,500 over 7y, 1.6% of budgetAchieve Twin Cities: $115,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetPeople Serving People Inc: $110,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetMissouri Botanical Garden Board of Trustees: $110,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCan Do Canines: $110,000 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetWashburn Center for Children: $105,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetAnimal Protective Association of Missouri: $100,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetDomestic Abuse Project Inc: $100,000 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetChildren's Health Care: $95,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetLegal Rights Center: $90,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetOcean Blue Project Inc: $90,000 over 6y, 9.8% of budgetInterfaith Outreach and Community Partners: $80,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTrustees of the Hamline University of Minnesota: $80,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Trustees of Bates College: $75,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetSummit Academy Oic: $60,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetSimpson Housing Services Inc: $60,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetThe Saint Louis Zoo Association: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota: $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri: $50,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTwin Cities Habitat for Humanity: $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Blake School: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMinnesota Orchestral Association: $40,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetPromo Fund: $40,000 over 6y, 2.4% of budgetUrban League Twin Cities: $37,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetThe Constellation Fund: $35,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetLegal Services of Eastern Missouri Inc: $32,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetWishes & More: $30,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetMake-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota: $30,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCornerstone: $30,000 over 6y, 2.5% of budgetHennepin Theatre Trust: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVEAP Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNexstar Legacy Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetBeacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Bridge for Youth: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetGustavus Adolphus College: $20,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSt Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetForest Park Forever Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetConstruction Careers Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetNurses for Newborns: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMacphail Center for Music: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 49.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Ch Robinson Worldwide FoundationSD27.9× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · The Minneapolis Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Margaret a Cargill Foundation · The K Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The McKnight 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.

Compare Sandcastle Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Sandcastle Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Sandcastle 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.

About Sandcastle Foundation

How much does Sandcastle Foundation give?
Sandcastle Foundation reported 41 grants totaling $940,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 27 and 34 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Sandcastle Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Education (22%), Youth Development (15%), Housing & Shelter (13%).
Who are Sandcastle Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: University of St Thomas ($370k), Ujamaa Place ($348k), Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities ($200k).
Does Sandcastle Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 6% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Sandcastle Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Sandcastle Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation, Pohlad Family Foundation, Otto Bremer Trust.
Where is Sandcastle Foundation based?
Sandcastle Foundation is based in MN.

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 76 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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