Skip to content
Swanson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Swanson Family 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.

$169k
Granted FY2025still arriving
8
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$100k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Religion$787kEducation$43kHealth$29kPhilanthropy$27kRecreation & Sports$5kArts & Culture$2kEnvironment$2kHousing & Shelter$1kOther$0
02FY2025 · 8 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $7k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $63k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $100k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$755k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MOSAIC$100,000
NEBRASKA LUTHERAN OUTDOOR MINISTRY$38,700
OUR SAVIORS LUTHERAN CHURCH$14,000
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION$10,000
PHELPS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$3,000
NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY$2,000
BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS AND ANGLERS$1,000
GLOBAL REFUGE$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 (FY20–23, $956) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES: $250 → 12%LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES: $250 → 12%LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES: $250 → 12%HOMEWARD ALLIANCE: $206 → 11%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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$853k · 10 repeat orgs$19k to everyone else

10 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 5 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
8

Total granted

$853k
$18k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+17%
+19%

Still filing today

50%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationEnvironmentHousing & ShelterFood & NutritionHealthOther
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

  • M
    MOSAIC
    6× · 2020–2025 · $601k · revenue +52%
  • LF
    LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF NE INC
    3× · 2020–2023 · $750 · revenue +35%
  • TF
    The Food Bank for Larimer County
    2× · 2021–2022 · $600 · revenue +17%

Funded once

  • TL
    THE LUTHERAN CENTER - UOFN-L
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • SR
    SKY RANCH LUTHERAN CAMP
    one grant, 2021 · $5k
  • RR
    ROUNDUP RIDERS OF THE ROCKIES HERITAGE
    one grant, 2021 · $500
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
Colorado Legal Services

To provide meaningful access to high quality, civil legal services in the pursuit of justice for as many low income persons and members of vulnerable populations throughout colorado as possible.

Crime & Legal
2
The Montana Land Reliance

The mission of the montana land reliance (mlr) is to partner with landowners to provide permanent protection for private lands that are significant for agricultural production, fish and wildlife habitat, and open space.

Environment
3
Colorado Gives Foundation

We connect people, ideas, and nonprofits to make good happen. our vision is that all of jeffco is thriving.

Philanthropy
4
Education Commission of the States

The mission of education commission of the states is to advocate for attaining educational excellence for all and to help state leaders identify, develop and implement public policy for education that addresses current and future needs of…

Education
5
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
6
Arizona Community Foundation

To lead, serve and collaborate to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better arizona.

Philanthropy
7
Mountain Area Land Trust

Mountain area land trust's mission is to save natural areas, wildlife habitat, streams and rivers, working ranches and historic lands, for the benefit of the community and as a legacy for future generations.

Environment
8
Lodestar Charitable Foundation

To perform the functions of, or to carry out the purposes of the arizona community foundation, an az nonprofit corporation, so long as the arizona community foundation, inc. remains a qualified organization.

—
9
Elevations Credit Union

Together we create solutions for a better life.

—
10
Lifeworks Services Inc

Lifeworks' mission is to partner with people with disabilities to drive change by increasing opportunity and access in the community.

Human Services
11
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

See schedule ouniversity corporation for atmospheric research (ucar), on behalf of, and in cooperation with its member university members, is engaged in the management of long-term atmospheric and related research and educational…

Science & Tech
12
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

The mission of the colorado coalition for the homeless is to work collaboratively toward the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for families, children, and individuals who are experiencing or at-risk of…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Front Range Community College Foundation; the most unlike its peers is National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 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

12 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. 12 of the 21 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
8/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MOSAIC: $601,000 · Housing & ShelterMOSAICNEBRASKA LUTHERAN OUTDOOR MINISTRY: $119,950 · OtherNEBRASKA LUTHERAN OUTDOOR …OUR SAVIORS LUTHERAN CHURCH: $56,500 · OtherOUR SAVIORS LUTHERAN CHURC…NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCEROSIS SOCIETY: $11,000 · OtherTHE LUTHERAN CENTER - UOFN-L: $10,000 · Other+8 more: $10,100 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $42,500 · Education+1 more: $500 · EducationPHELPS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $26,500 · PhilanthropyNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $18,000 · HealthBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $1,000 · EnvironmentCOLORADO OPEN LANDS: $500 · EnvironmentLUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF NE INC: $750 · Human ServicesHOMEWARD ALLIANCE INC: $206 · Human Services
Housing & Shelter$601,000Other$207,550Education$43,000Philanthropy$26,500Health$18,000Environment$1,500Human Services$956

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMOSAIC: $601,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION: $42,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetPHELPS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $26,500 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $18,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF NE INC: $750 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Food Bank for Larimer County: $600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLORADO OPEN LANDS: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICE INC DBA GLOBAL REFUGE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMICI CANNIS: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOMEWARD ALLIANCE INC: $206 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 MOSAIC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PHELPS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF NE INC ↗
  • Who funds The Food Bank for Larimer County ↗
  • Who funds FRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds COLORADO OPEN LANDS ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICE INC DBA GLOBAL REFUGE ↗
  • Who funds AMICI CANNIS ↗
  • Who funds HOMEWARD ALLIANCE 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.

The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation IncNC7.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Swanson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Swanson Family Foundation. 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%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 100%
  • Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service Inc Dba Global Refuge: 100% of 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)
1rely 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 21 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 Swanson 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