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Tennyson Family Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Tennyson Family Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$46k
Granted FY2024still arriving
32
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$12k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$44kYouth Development$24kPhilanthropy$22kHuman Services$21kCommunity Improvement$19kFood & Nutrition$18kArts & Culture$15kHealth$13kOther$0
02FY2024 · 32 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k31 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $12k
$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$107k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GROWING ROOTS INC$11,600
CUSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT$5,750
CUSTER YOUTH AND ALUMNI FOUNDATION$2,500
BLACK HILLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATI$2,500
Individual grant recipient$2,000
THE STOREHOUSE$2,000
CUSTER MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE INC$2,000
ESTELLINE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION$1,000
CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF SD$1,000
OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN$1,000
PRINGLE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT$1,000
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES$1,000
FEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA$1,000
RAPID CITY CLUB FOR BOYS$1,000
Individual grant recipient$1,000
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 (FY17–24, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%GROWING ROOTS INC: $12k → 14%GROWING ROOTS INC: $3k → 14%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $1k → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $1k → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $1k → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $500 → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $500 → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $500 → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $500 → 9%OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $500 → 9%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.
$231k · 45 repeat orgs$6k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +28% since the first grant, against +18% for those funded once.

45 repeat relationships: 32 still active in FY2024, 13 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

45
9

Total granted

$231k
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+28%
+18%

Still filing today

31%
11%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
HealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentFood & NutritionEducationOther
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

  • GR
    Growing Roots Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $14k · revenue +212%
  • RC
    RAPID CITY CLUB FOR BOYS INC
    8× · 2017–2024 · $9k · revenue +46%
  • FS
    FEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA
    8× · 2017–2024 · $6k · revenue +28%

Funded once

  • CE
    CUSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
    one grant, 2017 · $2k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
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
Children's Home Society of South Dakota

Children's home society of south dakota is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing trauma-informed services to children and families impacted by abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and mental health challenges. our mission is to…

Human Services
2
Sd Association of Healthcare Organizations

Advancing healthy communities through a unified voice across the health care continuum.

—
3
South Dakota Voices for Peace

Sd voices for peace provides five programming areas to assist vulnerable communities access services throughout the state: legal services, multilingual outreach, training and education, advocacy and civic engagement and rapid response.

—
4
Downtown Sioux Falls

Downtown Sioux Falls boldly leads the downtown community by championing diverse experiences, economic growth, and a healthy environment.

—
5
Great Plains Food Bank

End hunger together.

Food & Nutrition
6
Dakotabilities Inc

Together, we create a warm and welcoming community enriching the lives of those we support.

Human Services
7
Protecting South Dakota Kids Foundation
Education
8
Delta Dental of South Dakota

Delta Dental of South Dakota is dedicated to advancing and promoting the improvement of oral health.

—
9
Sioux Falls Development Foundation Inc

To collaboratively create quality economic growth and workforce development in sioux falls.

—
10
Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency

Southeastern north dakota community action agency (sendcaa) was formed in 1965 to provide a range of services and activities in a six county area designed to alleviate poverty and give low-income people the opportunity to improve their…

Human Services
11
Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting

Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting supports lifelong learning for all South Dakotans through advocacy, leadership and responsible fundraising on behalf of SDPB television, radio, internet, and education and outreach.

Arts & Culture
12
South Dakota Rural Electric Association

To serve the rural electric cooperatives in south dakota, to promote the effective development of rural electrification in south dakota on a cooperative, non-profit basis.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Black Hills Works Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is Front Porch Coalition. 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

15 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. 15 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
15/15
Grantees still filing
12/15
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BLACK HILLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATI: $18,500 · OtherBLACK HILLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATIIndividual grant recipient: $16,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientCUSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT: $14,350 · OtherCUSTER SCHOOL DISTRICTIndividual grant recipient: $12,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientTHE STOREHOUSE: $11,000 · OtherTHE STOREHOUSECUSTER YOUTH AND ALUMNI FOUNDATION: $9,000 · OtherWEAVE: $8,000 · OtherCHRISTMAS FOR KIDS: $8,000 · OtherCUSTER COUNTY 1880 COURTHOUSE MUSEU: $6,500 · Other+38 more: $78,790 · Other+38 moreGrowing Roots Inc: $14,100 · Human ServicesGrowing R…OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $5,500 · Human ServicesOPERATION…UNITED WAY OF THE BLACK HILLS: $10,000 · PhilanthropyRAPID CITY CLUB FOR BOYS INC: $9,000 · Youth DevelopmentFEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA: $5,500 · Food & NutritionEstelline Alumni Association: $5,500 · EducationBLACK HILLS WORKS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Employment
Other$182,140Human Services$19,600Philanthropy$10,000Youth Development$9,000Food & Nutrition$5,500Education$5,500Employment$5,000

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 budgetGrowing Roots Inc: $14,100 over 2y, 7.6% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE BLACK HILLS: $10,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetRAPID CITY CLUB FOR BOYS INC: $9,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetFEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA: $5,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetOPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN: $5,500 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetEstelline Alumni Association: $5,500 over 8y, 0.8% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $5,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBLACK HILLS WORKS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetCUSTER COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB: $4,000 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCUSTER VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: $2,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetStorybook Island: $1,600 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetMIDWEST HONOR FLIGHT - IA & SD: $800 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Compassionate Friends Inc: $700 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS SOUTH DAKOTA INC: $300 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 Growing Roots Inc ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF THE BLACK HILLS ↗
  • Who funds RAPID CITY CLUB FOR BOYS INC ↗
  • Who funds FEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA ↗
  • Who funds OPERATION BLACK HILLS CABIN ↗
  • Who funds Estelline Alumni Association ↗
  • Who funds LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA ↗
  • Who funds BLACK HILLS WORKS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds CUSTER COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds CUSTER VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT ↗
  • Who funds Storybook Island ↗

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.

Black Hills Area Comm…South Dakota Communit…First Interstate Banc…Midcontinent Foundati…Assurant FoundationSynchrony FoundationClarkson Family Found…Larson FoundationThe Blackbaud Giving …Vanguard Charitable E…American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…
Black Hills Area Community FoundationSD24.1× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Black Hills Area Community Foundation · South Dakota Community Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Midcontinent Foundation · Assurant Foundation · Synchrony Foundation · Clarkson Family Foundation Pioneer Bank & Trust Trustee · Larson Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Tennyson Family Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Tennyson Family Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Tennyson 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