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Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$155k
Granted FY2023
14
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

100% of Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to American Endowment Foundation, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2023, the last year Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 7 organizations, $155k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

1
’22
7
’23
0
’24

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

01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2024.

Philanthropy$310kEducation$50kArts & Culture$33kAnimals$25kRecreation & Sports$17kPublic Benefit$16kHealth$5kYouth Development$3kOther$0
02FY2023 · 14 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k9 grants · $21k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $85k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$2,500
Median grant
5
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Dr Kristen Stenehjem Medical Scholarship co UND Foundation$50,000
Stenehjem Family Band Endowment co UND Foundation$30,000
Trap Neuter and Rescue FoundationAngel's Wish$25,000
Stenehjem Family Cheer Endowment co UND Foundation$17,000
Teneo Network Inc$12,500
Make-A-Wish of North Dakota$5,000
Media Research Center Inc$2,500
Young Americas Foundation$2,500
Heritage Foundation$2,500
Judicial Watch Inc$2,500
Leadership Institute$2,500
Roughrider Policy Center$1,500
Center of the American Experiment$1,000
National Right to Work Foundation$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY22–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 98% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%Turning Point USA: $6k → 11%Center of the American Experiment: $1k → 11%Teneo Network Inc: $13k → 10%Judicial Watch Inc: $3k → 14%American Endowment Foundation: $297k → 13%Trap Neuter and Rescue FoundationAngel's Wish: $25k → 9%Roughrider Policy Center: $2k → 12%Dr Kristen Stenehjem Medical Scholarship co UND Foundation: $50k → 13%Young Americas Foundation: $3k → 6%Leadership Institute: $3k → 7%Heritage Foundation: $3k → 14%Make-A-Wish of North Dakota: $5k → 12%Stenehjem Family Band Endowment co UND Foundation: $30k → 13%Media Research Center Inc: $3k → 6%Stenehjem Family Cheer Endowment co UND Foundation: $17k → 13%National Right to Work Foundation: $500 → 6%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.
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 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
Institute for Public Accuracy

To teach and disseminate educational materials to the public.

Arts & Culture
2
Progress Texas Institute

The Progress Texas Institute provides research and strategic communications on issues with the ultimate goal of increasing civic engagement.

Civil Rights
3
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
4
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
5
Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Pew Research Center generates a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue and…

Social Science
6
Center for a New American Security Inc

The mission of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is to develop strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies building on the the expertise and experience of its staff and advisors. CNAS engages policy…

International
7
International Republican Institute

Iri advances freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, democratic governance and the rule of law.

Education
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
Anabaptist Foundation

Anabaptist Foundation has been established to assist donors in channeling material resources within the Kingdom of Christ and to provide donors with financial counsel consistent with conservative Anabaptist beliefs and values.

Philanthropy
10
The American Antitrust Institute Inc

Promote competition that protects consumers, businesses, and society.

Social Science
11
American Press Institute Inc

American press institute acts as a scout on the frontier of technology and audience behavior to identify where change is occurring and helps news organizations learn how to implement and scale that change successfully so they have a…

Arts & Culture
12
National Taxpayers Union Foundation

National taxpayers union foundation (ntuf) provides crucial, impactful research and analysis showing americans how taxes, government spending, and regulations affect them. with our unique combination of policy expertise, outreach know-how,…

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How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Heritage Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Trape Neuter and Rescue 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

10 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. 10 of the 16 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
7/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION: $297,144 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONTeneo Network Inc: $12,500 · PhilanthropyDr Kristen Stenehjem Medical Scholarship co UND Foundation: $50,000 · OtherDr Kristen Stenehjem Medica…Stenehjem Family Band Endowment co UND Foundation: $30,000 · OtherStenehjem Family Band Endow…Stenehjem Family Cheer Endowment co UND Foundation: $17,000 · OtherStenehjem Family Cheer Endo…TURNING POINT USA INC: $5,500 · OtherMake-A-Wish of North Dakota: $5,000 · Other+3 more: $4,500 · OtherTrape Neuter and Rescue Foundation: $25,000 · AnimalsJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $2,500 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute: $2,500 · Public BenefitTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $2,500 · Public BenefitMEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: $2,500 · Arts & CultureCenter of the American Experiment: $1,000 · Youth Development
Philanthropy$309,644Other$112,000Animals$25,000Public Benefit$7,500Arts & Culture$2,500Youth Development$1,000

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 budgetAMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION: $297,144 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrape Neuter and Rescue Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 31% of budgetTeneo Network Inc: $12,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC: $5,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLeadership Institute: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetYoung America's Foundation: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCenter of the American Experiment: $1,000 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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%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
    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.

    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 16 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Steve and Gretchen Stenehjem’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