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The Ben Harding Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Ben Harding Family 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.

$46k
Granted FY2024still arriving
36
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$7k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Human Services$76kArts & Culture$73kFood & Nutrition$59kHealth$58kHousing & Shelter$52kEnvironment$33kAnimals$17kEducation$14kOther$0
02FY2024 · 36 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$1,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$961k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK$7,000
YMCA$7,000
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM$2,000
PRIMAVERA FOUNDATION$2,000
LIFESCAPE$1,500
KLEHM ARBORETUM & BOTANIC GARDEN$1,500
DISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM$1,500
REMEDIES RENEWING LIVES$1,500
CRUSADER COMMUNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION$1,000
SHELTER CARE MINISTRIES$1,000
CENTER OF HOPE BARBARA OLSON$1,000
GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER$1,000
YWCA$1,000
KEEP NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAUTIFUL$1,000
SPECTRUM SCHOOL$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, $53k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $2k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 15%MILESTONE: $1k → 15%MILESTONE: $1k → 15%MILESTONE: $1k → 15%MILESTONE: $1k → 15%MILESTONE INC: $1k → 15%MILESTONE: $500 → 15%MILESTONE: $500 → 15%MILESTONE: $500 → 15%BARBARA OLSON CENTER FOR HOPE: $1k → 15%BARBARA OLSON CENTER FOR HOPE: $1k → 15%BARBARA OLSON CENTER FOR HOPE: $1k → 15%BARBARA OLSON CENTER FOR HOPE: $1k → 15%BARBARA OLSON CENTER FOR HOPE: $1k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $2k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $2k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $2k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $2k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $2k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $1k → 15%TRINITY HOUSE INC: $500 → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $2k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $2k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $2k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $2k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $2k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $2k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $2k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $2k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $1k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $1k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $1k → 15%CARPENTERS PLACE: $1k → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $500 → 15%ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY EARLY LEARNING CENTER: $500 → 15%YOUTH SERVICES NETWORK: $1k → 15%STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $500 → 15%STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $500 → 15%STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $500 → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $2k → 15%STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $500 → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $2k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 15%GOLDIE FLOBERG CENTER: $1k → 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.
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$414k · 55 repeat orgs$28k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +47% since the first grant, against +10% for those funded once.

55 repeat relationships: 35 still active in FY2024, 20 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

55
24

Total granted

$414k
$28k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+47%
+10%

Still filing today

62%
46%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $500 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
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesAnimalsEducationHealthEnvironmentOther
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

  • NI
    NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK
    8× · 2017–2024 · $20k · revenue +43%
  • TP
    The Primavera Foundation Inc
    8× · 2017–2024 · $17k · revenue +54%
  • KN
    KEEP NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAUTIFUL
    7× · 2017–2024 · $16k · revenue +1%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
  • AA
    ALZHEIMER ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $3k
  • HF
    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
    one grant, 2019 · $2k
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
Mosaic Illinois Housing of Rockford I

The organization provides low income affordable housing under illinois housing development authority guidelines.

Health
2
The Rockford Institute

To provide analysis and commentary on cultural, economic, political, and educational issues through a published monthly opinion magazine and to operate continuing adult educational conferences in american and european literature and…

—
3
Rockford University

To educate men & women to lead responsible lives by means of a curriculum grounded in liberal arts learning and complemented and extended by professional and practical experience, through the total academic and co-curricular experience,…

Education
4
Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity Inc

Provide affordable housing solutions for low-income families.

—
5
Northern Illinois Blood Bank Inc D/B/a Rock River Valley Blood Center

Rock river valley blood center, in partnership with our community, is dedicated to providing safe, high value blood products and services to people in need.

Health
6
Racine County Opportunity Center

Our focus is on making shortterm investments which will significantly improve the longterm wellbeing of our clients. we will measure our performance against these standards by continuously communicating with our clients, and will take…

Human Services
7
Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity

To advocate on behalf of those in need of decent shelter by building and renovating affordable houses.

Housing & Shelter
8
Racine Zoological Society Inc

The mission of the racine zoological society is to foster an enlightening and affordable wildlife experience that improves the bond between people and nature. the society will provide for the recreation and education of the people, the…

Animals
9
Goodwill Industries of Northern Il and Wi Stateline Area Inc

The mission of goodwill is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. barriers include physical or mental disabilities, lack of education and job preparation, socio-economic disadvantages, and others.…

—
10
Rimland Services Nfp

Provide community-based residential housing to adults with autism and/or severe developmental disabilities. also provide developmental training and other supports to this same population.

Human Services
11
Rockport Art Association

Advancement and preservation of the fine arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
12
Rockford Regional Health Council

Rockford regional health council is a not-for-profit social service corporation organized under the laws of the state of illinois for the purpose of improving community health through data gatering and analysis, education and advocacy.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Rockford Day Nursery; the most unlike its peers is Natural Land Institute. 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

47 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. 47 of the 81 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
47/47
Grantees still filing
36/47
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

YMCA: $28,350 · OtherYMCAROCK RIVER VALLEY FOOD PANTRY: $11,500 · OtherLIFESCAPE: $11,000 · OtherST ELIZABETH CENTER FOOD PANTRY: $11,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMY: $10,000 · OtherCASA: $9,500 · OtherCORNUCOPIA: $9,000 · OtherHELPING HANDS PANTRY: $9,000 · OtherBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB: $9,000 · OtherSEVERSON DELLS NATURE CENTER: $8,500 · OtherREGIONAL ACCESS & MOBILIZATION PROJECT INC: $7,750 · OtherNOAH'S ARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $8,000 · OtherROCKFORD RESCUE MISSION MINISTRIES: $9,000 · Other+39 more: $84,000 · Other+39 moreTRINITY HOUSE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesTRINITY HOUSE…CARPENTER'S PLACE INC: $9,500 · Human ServicesCARPENTER'S P…GOLDIE B FLOBERG CENTER: $9,000 · Human ServicesGOLDIE B FLOB…ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY: $7,500 · Human ServicesROCKFORD DAY …MILESTONE INC: $6,500 · Human ServicesMILESTONE INCBARBARA OLSON CENTER OF HOPE: $5,000 · Human ServicesBARBARA OLSON…STEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $2,000 · Human Services+2 more: $3,000 · Human Services+2 moreROCKFORD ART MUSEUM: $14,000 · Arts & CultureROCKFORD ART…DISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM OF ROCKFORD INC: $11,000 · Arts & CultureDISCOVERY CE…ROCKFORD AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $9,000 · Arts & CultureROCKFORD ARE…MIDWAY VILLAGE & MUSEUM CENTER: $6,000 · Arts & CultureMIDWAY VILLA…HARRY AND DELLA BURPEE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $4,500 · Arts & CultureHARRY AND DE…+5 more: $4,000 · Arts & Culture+5 moreKEEP NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAUTIFUL: $16,000 · EnvironmentKEEP NORT…KLEHM ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDEN INC: $14,500 · EnvironmentKLEHM ARB…NATURAL LAND INSTITUTE: $8,500 · EnvironmentNATURAL L…ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $11,000 · HealthREMEDIES RENEWING LIVES: $9,000 · HealthROCKFORD SEXUAL ASSAULT COUNSELING INC: $7,000 · HealthCENTER FOR SIGHT & HEARING: $5,500 · HealthThe Primavera Foundation Inc: $16,500 · Housing & ShelterSHELTER CARE MINISTRIES: $8,500 · Housing & ShelterNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $20,000 · Food & Nutrition
Other$225,600Human Services$52,500Arts & Culture$48,500Environment$39,000Health$32,500Housing & Shelter$25,000Food & Nutrition$20,000

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 budgetNORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK: $20,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Primavera Foundation Inc: $16,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetKEEP NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAUTIFUL: $16,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetKLEHM ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDEN INC: $14,500 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetROCKFORD ART MUSEUM: $14,000 over 8y, 0.4% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $11,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetDISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM OF ROCKFORD INC: $11,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTRINITY HOUSE INC: $10,000 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetCARPENTER'S PLACE INC: $9,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetROCKFORD RESCUE MISSION MINISTRIES: $9,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetROCKFORD AREA ARTS COUNCIL: $9,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetREMEDIES RENEWING LIVES: $9,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetGOLDIE B FLOBERG CENTER: $9,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetNATURAL LAND INSTITUTE: $8,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSHELTER CARE MINISTRIES: $8,500 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetNOAH'S ARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC: $8,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetREGIONAL ACCESS & MOBILIZATION PROJECT INC: $7,750 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LITERACY COUNCIL: $7,500 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetPAWS INC: $7,500 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetROCKFORD DAY NURSERY: $7,500 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetROCKFORD SEXUAL ASSAULT COUNSELING INC: $7,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetMILESTONE INC: $6,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMIDWAY VILLAGE & MUSEUM CENTER: $6,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR SIGHT & HEARING: $5,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetBARBARA OLSON CENTER OF HOPE: $5,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SPECTRUM SCHOOL: $5,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetHARRY AND DELLA BURPEE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $4,500 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetROCK RIVER DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP INC A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION: $3,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCRUSADERS HEALTH FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSTEPPING STONES OF ROCKFORD INC: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES INC: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetYOUTH SERVICES NETWORK INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBELOIT ART CENTER INC: $1,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetSWEDISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ROCKFORD: $1,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAMERICAN MACULAR DEGENERATION GOEHRING: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTINKER SWISS COTTAGE INC: $500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetROCKFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetFREEDOM ALLIANCE: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetROCK VALLEY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOO HAVEN INC: $500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetCommunity Foundation of Northern IL: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCARE FOR PETS: $500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetROCKFORD DANCE COMPANY: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF ILLINOIS INC: $250 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 NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds The Primavera Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds KEEP NORTHERN ILLINOIS BEAUTIFUL ↗
  • Who funds KLEHM ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDEN INC ↗
  • Who funds ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds DISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM OF ROCKFORD INC ↗
  • Who funds TRINITY HOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds CARPENTER'S PLACE INC ↗
  • Who funds ROCKFORD RESCUE MISSION MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds ROCKFORD AREA ARTS COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds REMEDIES RENEWING LIVES ↗
  • Who funds GOLDIE B FLOBERG CENTER ↗
  • Who funds NATURAL LAND INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds SHELTER CARE MINISTRIES ↗
  • Who funds NOAH'S ARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY INC ↗
  • Who funds REGIONAL ACCESS & MOBILIZATION PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds THE LITERACY COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds PAWS INC ↗
  • Who funds ROCKFORD DAY NURSERY ↗
  • Who funds ROCKFORD SEXUAL ASSAULT COUNSELING INC ↗
  • Who funds MILESTONE INC ↗
  • Who funds MIDWAY VILLAGE & MUSEUM CENTER ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR SIGHT & HEARING ↗
  • Who funds BARBARA OLSON CENTER OF HOPE ↗
  • Who funds THE SPECTRUM SCHOOL ↗

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.

Community Foundation …The Kjellstrom Family…Bergstrom Inc Charita…United Way of Rock Ri…Tracy E Anderson Char…The David & Colleen A…Kristin L Anderson Ch…Amended and Restated …Guy Reno Family Found…Blazer FoundationJohn & Linda Anderson…Sjostrom & Sons Found…
Community Foundation of Northern ILIL65.4× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Northern IL · The Kjellstrom Family Foundation · Bergstrom Inc Charitable Foundation Xxxxx2008 · United Way of Rock River Valley · Tracy E Anderson Charitable Foundation · The David & Colleen Anderson Charitable Foundation · Kristin L Anderson Charitable Foundation · Amended and Restated Brubaker Charitable Trust · Guy Reno Family Foundation · Blazer Foundation · John & Linda Anderson Charitable Foundation · Sjostrom & Sons 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 The Ben Harding Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Ben Harding Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    18report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to The Ben Harding Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Ben Harding Family Foundation 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 81 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 Ben Harding 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