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Smith Family Foundation Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Smith Family Foundation Trust

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
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$17k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$390kYouth Development$81kHealth$75kPhilanthropy$41kArts & Culture$34kCommunity Improvement$20kHuman Services$15kEnvironment$6kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $39k
$9,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$397k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CULVER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION$16,500
PELLA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER FOUND$12,250
PLANNED PARENTHOOD FOUNDATION$10,000
NATIONAL MS SOCIETY$9,000
AACORN FARM$5,500
KALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES$5,000
WMU FOUNDATION$4,296
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION$3,500
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, $12k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%AACORN FARM: $4k → 12%AACORN FARM: $6k → 12%WESLEY RETIREMENT SERVICES: $1k → 10%WESLEY RETIREMENT SERVICES: $1k → 10%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

WA
MN
IL
MI
NY
IA
IN
CO
VA
GA
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.

91%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$594k · 30 repeat orgs$59k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +3% for those funded once.

30 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

30
7

Total granted

$594k
$15k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+3%

Still filing today

43%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 33% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $44k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’23’24’25
EducationHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyEnvironmentArts & 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.

Backed again, and grew

  • Culver Educational Foundation
    8× · 2017–2025 · $240k · revenue +73%
  • IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $97k · revenue +1%
  • DM
    DES MOINES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $20k · revenue +192%

Funded once

  • OI
    ORCAS ISLAND COM FOUND
    6× · 2018–2024 · $3k
  • WM
    WEST MICH FOUNDATION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $3k
  • BE
    BRINKER EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
    3× · 2021–2024 · $2k
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
State University of Iowa Alumni Association

Our mission is to strengthen the university of iowa through alumni engagement. we do this through our communications, alumni programs, and events.

—
2
Iowa Credit Union Foundation

Founded in 1995 as the philanthropic arm of the iowa credit union league and guided by the credit union philosophy of "people helping people", the iowa credit union foundation (the foundation) works to champion financial well-being for…

Unclassified
3
Iowa Corn Promotion Board

The iowa corn promotion board (icpb) works to develop and defend markets, fund research, and provide education about corn and corn products. icpb's mission is to create opportunities for long term iowa corn grower profitability.

—
4
State University of Iowa Foundation

The university of iowa center for advancement's mission is to advance the university of iowa through engagement and philanthropy. we serve our alumni and friends in the state and the region, throughout the country, and around the world. we…

Education
5
University of Iowa Facilities Corporation

The university of iowa facilities corporation acquires and holds property for the benefit and use of the university of iowa.

—
6
University of Iowa Research Foundation

The university of iowa research foundation's (uirf) mission is to: advance, develop, increase and extend the progress of science and useful arts through encouraging and assisting investigation, research and education at the state…

—
7
University of Illinois Foundation

The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is an independent and separate nonprofit entity from the University of Illinois. Our mission is to encourage and administer private gifts and serve the UI System by working closely with…

Education
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
Iowa Public Health Association Foundation

Uniting and strengthening the voice for public health in iowa.

—
10
DePauw University

Depauw university develops leaders the world needs through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts. depauw's diverse and inclusive learning and living experience, distinctive in its rigorous intellectual engagement and its global and…

Education
11
Iowa 4-H Foundation

The iowa 4-h foundation provides financial resources for youth development through 4-h.

—
12
Council of Independent Nebraska Colleges Foundation

The council of indepependent nebraska colleges foundation exists to provide operating funds and scholarship support for students attending nebraska's independent institutions of excellence.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa; the most unlike its peers is Iowa Sculpture Festival. 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

23 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. 23 of the 46 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/23
Grantees still filing
15/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Culver Educational Foundation: $239,520 · EducationCulver Educational FoundationIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $96,500 · EducationIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION+2 more: $13,296 · EducationMID-IOWA COUNCIL BSA: $72,538 · OtherMID-IOWA COUNCIL BSAIOWA BUS & IND FOUNDATION: $20,000 · OtherIOWA BUS & IND FOUNDATIONPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $15,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOODCENTER FOR ARTS AND ARTISTS: $15,000 · OtherCENTER FOR ARTS AND ARTISTSPELLA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER FOUND: $12,250 · OtherUNITED WAY OF JASPER COUNTY: $10,800 · OtherJCARL: $10,000 · OtherPLANNED PARENTHOOD FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherSALVATION ARMY: $9,000 · Other+22 more: $74,983 · Other+22 moreGreater Poweshiek Community Foundation: $25,000 · PhilanthropyDES MOINES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $20,000 · PhilanthropyJASPER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $2,000 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $9,000 · HealthARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 · HealthPREGNANCY CARE CENTER INC D/B/A PATHWAYS OF PELLA: $1,500 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,000 · HealthAACORN FARM INC: $9,500 · Human ServicesWESLEY RETIREMENT SERVICES INC: $2,000 · Human ServicesPI FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $5,000 · Food & Nutrition
Education$349,316Other$249,571Philanthropy$47,000Health$13,500Human Services$11,500Housing & Shelter$5,000Food & Nutrition$5,000

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 budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $239,520 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $96,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetGreater Poweshiek Community Foundation: $25,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetDES MOINES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF JASPER COUNTY: $10,800 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetAACORN FARM INC: $9,500 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetDMACC FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $9,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPI FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetKALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $4,296 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEWTON YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $4,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetNEWTON ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL GARDENS INC: $3,450 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetWESLEY RETIREMENT SERVICES INC: $2,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $2,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSALISBURY HOUSE FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetIOWA SCULPTURE FESTIVAL: $1,500 over 7y, 6.1% of budgetPREGNANCY CARE CENTER INC D/B/A PATHWAYS OF PELLA: $1,500 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetChemical Educational Foundation: $1,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL: $1,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF GREATER IOWA: $1,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $1,000 over 7y, 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 Culver Educational Foundation ↗
  • Who funds IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation ↗
  • Who funds DES MOINES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF JASPER COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds AACORN FARM INC ↗
  • Who funds DMACC FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds PI FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds KALAMAZOO LOAVES & FISHES INC ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NEWTON YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds NEWTON ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL GARDENS INC ↗
  • Who funds JASPER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds WESLEY RETIREMENT SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SALISBURY HOUSE FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Community Fdn of Grea…Fnnb FoundationFred Maytag Family Fo…Pella Rolscreen Found…Schiller Family Found…Prairie Meadows Race …Alliant Energy Founda…Donald C & Doris K By…Grinnell Mutual Group…Meredith Corporation …The Blackbaud Giving …First Interstate Banc…
Community Fdn of Greater Des Moines F/K/A Greater Des Moines Community FdnIA20.5× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Fdn of Greater Des Moines F/K/A Greater Des Moines Community Fdn · Fnnb Foundation · Fred Maytag Family Foundation · Pella Rolscreen Foundation · Schiller Family Foundation · Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino Inc · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Donald C & Doris K Byers Charitable Trust · Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation · Meredith Corporation Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc

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 Smith Family Foundation Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Smith Family Foundation Trust. 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%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 Smith Family Foundation Trust?

    Find your warmest path to Smith Family Foundation Trust 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 46 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 Smith 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