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Summer Fund at a glance

· Private foundation

Summer Fund

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.

$378k
Granted FY2025still arriving
47
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$26k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Education$595kReligion$479kPhilanthropy$240kHealth$152kEnvironment$63kArts & Culture$60kFood & Nutrition$59kHuman Services$51kOther$0
02FY2025 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k31 grants · $59k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $319k
$2,500
Median grant
8
States reached
$1.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRASSATI CATHOLIC ACADEMY$26,000
FRIENDS OF CREX MEADOWS$25,000
INDIAN LAND TENSURE FOUNDATION$25,000
CAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION$25,000
SAINT MARY'S CATHOLIC ACADEMY$25,000
KEYSTONE COMMUNITY SERVICES$21,500
FAMILY VALUES FOR LIFE$21,500
CHANNEL ONE REGIONAL FOOD BANK$20,000
RED CLIFF BAND OF LAKE SUPERIOR CHIPPEWA$20,000
SOUP FOR YOU$20,000
TWIN CITIES FOOD JUSTICE$20,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION$15,000
AIN DAH YUNG CENTER$15,000
STONE SOUP CAFE$10,000
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 (FY19–25, $97k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%EASTSIDE NEIGHORHOOD SERVICES: $3k → 11%FAMILY VALUES FOR LIFE: $22k → 14%AIN DAH YUNG CENTER: $15k → 14%AIN DAH YUNG CENTER: $15k → 14%AIN DAH YUNG CENTER: $15k → 14%AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $3k → 14%INDIAN LAND TENSURE FOUNDATION: $25k → 14%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

MT
MN
IL
WI
NY
OR
SD
OH
CT
VA
DC
HI
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.

74%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.4M · 55 repeat orgs$519k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

55 repeat relationships: 29 still active in FY2025, 26 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
40

Total granted

$1.4M
$316k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+19%

Still filing today

75%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 42% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $204k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentEducationArts & CultureAnimalsFood & NutritionHuman 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

  • UO
    University of St Thomas
    3× · 2019–2022 · $280k · revenue +38%
  • American Diabetes Association
    3× · 2023–2025 · $65k · revenue +11%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION
    3× · 2023–2025 · $60k · revenue +37%

Funded once

  • SM
    SAINT MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • CO
    COMMUNITY OF SAINTS REGIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL
    one grant, 2024 · $50k
  • UG
    UNION GOSPEL MISSION
    one grant, 2024 · $50k
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 Medical Association

To be the leading voice of medicine to make minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice.

—
3
Conservation Minnesota

Conservation minnesota's mission is to turn our shared conservation values into state priorities and provide you with the information you need to make decisions for your family, community and future.

Environment
4
Minnesota Council on Foundations

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

—
5
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

The minnesota center for environmental advocacy is a nonprofit organization that uses law, science and research to protect minnesota's environment, its natural resources and the health of its people.

Environment
6
Mn Community Measurement

Mn community measurement empowers stakeholders with meaningful information to drive improvement.

Health
7
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.

—
8
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…

—
9
Minnesota Chamber Foundation

The organization's mission is to bring stakeholders together to promote prosperity and long-term growth of minnesota's economy.

Public Benefit
10
St Paul Transportation Management Organization

Move minnesota leads the movement for an equitable and sustainable transportation system that puts people first. we are passionate about connecting communities, ending the climate crisis, expanding access to jobs and resources, and…

Environment
11
Minnesota Environmental Partnership

The minnesota environmental partnership is a coalition that strengthens member effectiveness and builds collective power to secure a healthy environment for all minnesotans.

Environment
12
University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors

To provide the highest level of stewardship for university donors through professional management and oversight of the university of minnesota foundation's assets by creating a focused investment environment with clarity of purpose,…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Amherst H Wilder Foundation; the most unlike its peers is American Diabetes Association. 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

67 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. 67 of the 115 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)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
67/67
Grantees still filing
44/67
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTION: $135,000 · OtherCHURCH OF THE ASSUMPTIONST MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH: $120,000 · OtherST MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCHTHE WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA CATHOLICS: $118,500 · OtherTHE WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA CATHOLICSSAINT MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCH: $100,000 · OtherSAINT MARY OF THE LAKE CATHOLIC CHURCHCATHOLIC SERVICES APPEAL FOUNDATION: $95,000 · OtherCATHOLIC SERVICES APPEAL FOUNDATIONMAYO CLINIC FOUNDATION: $85,000 · OtherMAYO CLINIC FOUNDATIONCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY OF SAINTS REGIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL: $50,000 · OtherUNION GOSPEL MISSION: $50,000 · Other+73 more: $496,805 · Other+73 moreUniversity of St Thomas: $280,000 · EducationUniversity of St Th…UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $60,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNE…CATLIN GABEL SCHOOL: $15,000 · Education+6 more: $22,750 · Education+6 moreDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $234,746 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISE…+1 more: $5,000 · PhilanthropyAIN DAH YUNG (OUR HOME) CENTER: $45,000 · Human ServicesINDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY VALUES FOR LIFE: $21,500 · Human Services+2 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesCHANNEL ONE INC: $60,000 · Food & NutritionHUNGER SOLUTIONS MINNESOTA: $8,500 · Food & NutritionFOOD RESCUE US INC: $5,000 · Food & NutritionHMONG AMERICAN FARMERS ASSOCIATION: $3,000 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $1,250 · Food & NutritionLANDMARK CONSERVANCY INC: $25,000 · EnvironmentWOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILL: $20,000 · EnvironmentNORTHEASTERN MINNESOTANS FOR WILDERNESS: $6,000 · EnvironmentMONTANA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 · EnvironmentMontana Environmental Information Center: $3,500 · EnvironmentTHE SAINT PAUL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $3,500 · EnvironmentGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $3,250 · Environment+3 more: $4,500 · EnvironmentAmerican Diabetes Association: $65,000 · Health+1 more: $1,000 · Health
Other$1,300,305Education$377,750Philanthropy$239,746Human Services$96,500Food & Nutrition$77,750Environment$70,750Health$66,000

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 budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $280,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $234,746 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Diabetes Association: $65,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCHANNEL ONE INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetAIN DAH YUNG (OUR HOME) CENTER: $45,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetMINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $37,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNION GOSPEL MISSION INC: $27,000 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetLANDMARK CONSERVANCY INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetFAMILY VALUES FOR LIFE: $21,500 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetWOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILL: $20,000 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetCITIZENS LEAGUE: $20,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetCATLIN GABEL SCHOOL: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF EAST AFRICA FOUNDATION: $13,250 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetTrap Free Montana Inc: $13,000 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetHUNGER SOLUTIONS MINNESOTA: $8,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $8,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS SCHOOL OF MINNESOTA: $7,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCATHOLIC SCHOOLS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (CSCOE): $7,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSMILE TRAIN INC: $6,750 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHEASTERN MINNESOTANS FOR WILDERNESS: $6,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LEGAL REVOLUTION: $5,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDAMASCUS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTATES NEWSROOM: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMinnPost: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMONTANA WILDERNESS ASSOCIATION: $5,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD RESCUE US INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDream of Wild Health: $4,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMINNESOTANS' MILITARY APPRECIATION FUND: $3,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetURBAN BOATBUILDERS INC: $3,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMontana Environmental Information Center: $3,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SAINT PAUL PARKS CONSERVANCY: $3,500 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $3,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetHMONG AMERICAN FARMERS ASSOCIATION: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCounterpoint Inc: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCOMO FRIENDS: $3,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: $3,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetSTAFFORD ANIMAL SHELTER: $3,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetARTREACH ST CROIX: $2,750 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetAMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHumane World for Animals Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetASHWABAY OUTDOOR EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $2,500 over 1y, 17% of budgetCATHEDRAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMONTESSORI TRAINING CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC: $2,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMINNESOTA LAND TRUST: $2,000 over 2y, 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 University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds American Diabetes Association ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds CHANNEL ONE INC ↗
  • Who funds CAMPING AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AIN DAH YUNG (OUR HOME) CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds UNION GOSPEL MISSION INC ↗
  • Who funds LANDMARK CONSERVANCY INC ↗
  • Who funds INDIAN LAND TENURE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY VALUES FOR LIFE ↗
  • Who funds Keystone Community Services ↗
  • Who funds WOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILL ↗
  • Who funds CITIZENS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds CATLIN GABEL SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF EAST AFRICA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Trap Free Montana Inc ↗
  • Who funds HUNGER SOLUTIONS MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS SCHOOL OF MINNESOTA ↗

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.

Saint Paul & Minnesot…The McNeely FoundationThe Minneapolis Found…Fr Bigelow FoundationOtto Bremer TrustHardenbergh FoundationXcel Energy FoundationCatholic Community Fo…Mightycause Charitabl…The Richard M Schulze…The Jamf Nation Globa…Ch Robinson Worldwide…
Saint Paul & Minnesota FoundationMN49.8× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The McNeely Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Hardenbergh Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation · The Jamf Nation Global Foundation · Ch Robinson Worldwide 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 Summer Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Summer Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Catlin Gabel School: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
16report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
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 Summer Fund?

Find your warmest path to Summer Fund 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 115 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 Summer’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