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Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County at a glance

· Private foundation

Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County

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.

$81k
Granted FY2025still arriving
27
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$13k
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$538kRecreation & Sports$255k
02FY2025 · 27 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k26 grants · $68k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $13k
$2,090
Median grant
10
States reached
$3.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE$13,030
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA$9,650
MT MERCY UNIVERSITY$4,180
CENTRAL COLLEGE$4,180
DRAKE UNIVERSITY$4,180
ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY$4,180
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST LOUIS$2,090
WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY$2,090
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA$2,090
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$2,090
WARTBURG COLLEGE$2,090
TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY$2,090
UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE$2,090
WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY$2,090
BROWN UNIVERSITY$2,090
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 79% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY: $4k → 12%CENTRAL COLLEGE: $4k → 8%MT MERCY UNIVERSITY: $4k → 9%DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 10%CLARKE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 11%ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 12%IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $3k → 12%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $17k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $16k → 15%INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $5k → 16%WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY: $4k → 20%DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 10%CLARKE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 11%ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 12%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $13k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $14k → 15%INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3k → 16%WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY: $3k → 20%DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $4k → 10%ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $3k → 12%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $13k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $14k → 15%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $12k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $12k → 15%CORNELL UNIVERSITY: $4k → 9%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $12k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $12k → 15%GRANDVIEW UNIVERSITY: $4k → 10%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY CO: $12k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $11k → 15%GRANDVIEW UNIVERSITY: $3k → 10%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $10k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $11k → 15%KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $4k → 9%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $8k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $10k → 15%KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $4k → 9%SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY CO: $7k → 15%UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $9k → 15%KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $4k → 9%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $46k → 15%KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $3k → 9%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $43k → 15%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $42k → 15%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $36k → 15%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $33k → 15%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $26k → 15%CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $16k → 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

MN
IL
IA
IN
CT
RI
UT
NE
MO
VA
MD
KS
AL
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$761k · 39 repeat orgs$30k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +9% since the first grant, against -4% for those funded once.

39 repeat relationships: 21 still active in FY2025, 18 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

39
9

Total granted

$761k
$19k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+9%
-4%

Still filing today

51%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $12k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time
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

  • SA
    ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY
    7× · 2019–2025 · $19k · revenue +104%
  • DRAKE UNIVERSITY
    5× · 2021–2025 · $16k · revenue +4%
  • IH
    INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
    5× · 2018–2025 · $14k · revenue +59%

Funded once

  • Cornell Universitygraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $4k · revenue +27%
  • SL
    ST LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
    one grant, 2022 · $2k
  • SI
    SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2022 · $2k · revenue -267%
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
Augustana University Association

Inspired by lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world.

Education
2
California Lutheran University

The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.

Education
3
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
4
St Marys University of Minnesota

Enriched by the lasallian catholic heritage, saint mary's university of minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership.

Education
5
Union College

Union college is a seventh-day adventist community of higher education, inspired by jesus christ, and dedicated to empowering students to learn, serve, and lead.

Education
6
Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the reformed christian perspective, dordt university equips students, alumni, and the broader community to work effectively toward christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary…

Education
7
John Brown University

John brown university (jbu) provides christ-centered education that prepares students to honor god and serve others by developing their intellectual, spiritual, and professional lives. (continued on schedule o)jbu serves traditional…

Education
8
Saint Xavier University

Saint xavier university, a catholic institution inspired by the heritage of the sisters of mercy, educates persons to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human…

Education
9
Augsburg University

Augsburg university educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.the augsburg experience is supported by an engaged community that is committed to intentional diversity in its…

Education
10
Doane University

Doane university creates distinctive educational experiences, immersed in the liberal arts, to prepare our students for careers and lives grounded in inquiry, ethics, and a commitment to lead and serve in the global community.

Education
11
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
12
Walsh University Inc

Walsh university is an independent, coeducational catholic, liberal arts and sciences institution dedicated to educating its students to become leaders in service to others through a values-based education with an international perspective…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Upper Iowa University; the most unlike its peers is Iowa Wesleyan University. 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

28 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. 28 of the 54 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/28
Grantees still filing
17/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CAMPS AND PROGRAMS: $243,069 · OtherCAMPS AND PROGRAMSUNIVERSITY OF IOWA: $107,870 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF IOWASOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $84,484 · OtherSOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGEIOWA STATE UNIVERSITY: $27,085 · Other+26 more: $184,067 · Other+26 moreST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $18,575 · EducationST AMBROSE UNIVERSIT…DRAKE UNIVERSITY: $15,910 · EducationDRAKE UNIVERSITYClarke University of Dubuque Iowa: $12,505 · EducationClarke University of…Creighton University: $12,381 · EducationCreighton UniversityCENTRAL COLLEGE: $12,131 · EducationCENTRAL COLLEGEGRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY: $8,954 · EducationGRAND VIEW UNIVERSIT…LUTHER COLLEGE: $7,190 · EducationINDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $6,990 · EducationJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $6,005 · EducationQUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY: $5,450 · EducationWARTBURG COLLEGE: $5,165 · Education+12 more: $33,480 · Education+12 moreBROWN UNIVERSITY: $2,090 · Community Improvement
Other$646,575Education$144,736Community Improvement$2,090

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY: $18,575 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetDRAKE UNIVERSITY: $15,910 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetINDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $13,505 over 5y, 3.2% of budgetLORAS COLLEGE: $12,705 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetClarke University of Dubuque Iowa: $12,505 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetCreighton University: $12,381 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL COLLEGE: $12,131 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY: $8,954 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHER COLLEGE: $7,190 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetINDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY: $6,990 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetIowa Wesleyan University: $6,700 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $6,005 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetQUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY: $5,450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWARTBURG COLLEGE: $5,165 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCORNELL COLLEGE: $4,091 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetQUINCY UNIVERSITY CORPORATION: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetWILLIAM WOODS UNIVERSITY: $3,900 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $3,828 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC: $3,291 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALLEN COLLEGE: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMOUND FARM HOLDINGS INC: $2,775 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBROWN UNIVERSITY: $2,090 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY: $2,090 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE: $2,090 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOE COLLEGE: $1,950 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMORNINGSIDE UNIVERSITY: $1,765 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY: $1,750 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 ST AMBROSE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DRAKE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds INDIAN HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds LORAS COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Clarke University of Dubuque Iowa ↗
  • Who funds Creighton University ↗
  • Who funds CENTRAL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds LUTHER COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Iowa Wesleyan University ↗
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds WARTBURG COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds CORNELL COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds QUINCY UNIVERSITY CORPORATION ↗
  • Who funds WILLIAM WOODS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds Cornell University ↗
  • Who funds LIBERTY UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds ALLEN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MOUND FARM HOLDINGS 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.

Pella Rolscreen Found…Fahrney Education Fdt…Roy J Carver Charitab…Mount Saint Clare Edu…J Ralph And Gladys Me…Bestenlehner D and F …Iowa College Foundati…W E Ruebush FoundationOttumwa Regional Lega…Alliant Energy Founda…Meyerhoff Charitable …Willard E and Ella P …
Pella Rolscreen FoundationIA23.9× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Pella Rolscreen Foundation · Fahrney Education Fdtn Trust · Roy J Carver Charitable Trust · Mount Saint Clare Education Charitable Trust · J Ralph And Gladys Meier Scholarship Trust · Bestenlehner D and F Educational Tr · Iowa College Foundation · W E Ruebush Foundation · Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation Inc · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Meyerhoff Charitable Trust · Willard E and Ella P Thompson Educational Fund

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 Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County. Bigger dots raise more.

2025
’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 11%
  • Johns Hopkins University: 11% of income from government
  • Quinnipiac University: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
9report 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 54 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 Special Needs Foundation of Des Moines County’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