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The Graco Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Graco 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.

$1.6M
Granted FY2025still arriving
38
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$214k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Education$5.3MPublic Benefit$3.0MEmployment$1.0MPhilanthropy$839kHuman Services$683kHousing & Shelter$504kYouth Development$306kHealth$199kOther$0
02FY2025 · 38 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $3k
  • $10k–50k24 grants · $338k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $1.3M
$10,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$25M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SCHOLARSHIP AMERICA$214,000
TWIN CITIES RSE$200,000
SOUTHEAST TECHNICAL COLLEGE$200,000
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION - AOGF$172,865
UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS$113,000
AMERICAN INDIAN OIC$100,000
ACCESSABILITY$95,738
EASTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES$85,000
AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION - AOGF$70,727
MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGES$42,500
DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY$30,000
ACHIEVE TWIN CITIES$30,000
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - TWIN CITIES$20,000
HEARTS & HAMMERS$15,000
CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL$15,000
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, $824k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 95% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%EMMANUEL KINGDOM MINISTRIES: $1k → 21%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $1k → 14%SAFE HAVEN FOSTER SHOPPE: $1k → 5%MOORESVILLE AREA CHRISTIAN MISSION INC: $5k → 9%SAFE HAVEN FOSTER SHOPPE: $1k → 5%MOORESVILLE AREA CHRISTIAN MISSION INC: $3k → 9%ROBINS NEST CHIDRENS HOME: $1k → 6%MOORESVILLE AREA CHRISTIAN MISSION INC: $3k → 9%ISANTI COUNTY BEYOND THE YELLOW RIBBON INC: $2k → 7%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $2k → 14%COMMUNITY AID OF ELK RIVER: $3k → 6%CHARITY WATER: $1k → 17%CHILDRENS HOME SOCIETY OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $2k → 9%CHILDRENS HOME SOCIETY OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $2k → 9%CHILDRENS HOME SOCIETY OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $1k → 9%BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SIOUX EMPIRE: $2k → 9%ALEXANDRA HOUSE INC: $2k → 7%INTERCONGREGATION COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATION INC: $1k → 11%UNION GOSPEL MISSION ASSOCIATION OF ST PAUL: $2k → 14%UNION GOSPEL MISSION ASSOCIATION OF ST PAUL: $4k → 14%UNION GOSPEL MISSION ASSOCIATION OF ST PAUL: $2k → 14%UNION GOSPEL MISSION ASSOCIATION OF ST PAUL: $1k → 14%PINKY SWEAR FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%SHARING AND CARING HANDS INC: $4k → 11%SHARING AND CARING HANDS INC: $3k → 11%THE LINK: $2k → 11%THE LINK: $2k → 11%THE LINK: $2k → 11%SHARING AND CARING HANDS INC: $1k → 11%AVIVO: $125k → 11%PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING: $100k → 11%AVIVO: $3k → 11%AVIVO: $3k → 11%AVIVO: $3k → 11%MINNEAPOLIS AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER: $1k → 11%PEOPLE RESPONDING IN SOCIAL MINISTRY: $1k → 11%PEOPLE RESPONDING IN SOCIAL MINISTRY: $1k → 11%PEOPLE RESPONDING IN SOCIAL MINISTRY: $1k → 11%YOUTH INVESTMENT FOUNDATION: $1k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $150k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $150k → 11%EASTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $85k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES: $75k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE INC: $3k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE INC: $2k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE INC: $2k → 11%EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE INC: $2k → 11%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ST PAUL & MPLS: $2k → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
WA
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
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.

65%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.9M · 520 repeat orgs$4.3M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +30% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

520 repeat relationships: 26 still active in FY2025, 494 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

520
550

Total granted

$7.9M
$4.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+30%
+17%

Still filing today

75%
65%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $151k 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
EducationHuman ServicesAnimalsHealthInternationalArts & CultureOther
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

  • SA
    SUMMIT ACADEMY OIC
    6× · 2019–2024 · $532k · revenue +25%
  • DC
    DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
    7× · 2019–2025 · $450k · revenue +66%
  • TC
    Twin Cities Rise
    3× · 2022–2025 · $345k · revenue +98%

Funded once

  • CO
    CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS
    one grant, 2019 · $3.0M
  • MI
    MINNESOTA INDEPENDENCE COLLEGE
    one grant, 2023 · $250k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS
    one grant, 2021 · $100k
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
Minnesota Council on Foundations

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

—
4
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…

—
5
Minnesota State University Student Association Inc

Led by minnesota state university students, we are the inclusive voice for all future, current, and former students. we actively work to represent and support minnesota state university students and advocate at a campus, state, and federal…

Education
6
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
7
Minnesota Land Trust

The minnesota land trust protects and restores minnesota's most vital natural lands in order to provide wildlife habitat, clean water, outdoor experiences and scenic beauty for generations to come.

Environment
8
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce

Creating powerful advocacy to enhance economic vitality in the minneapolis-st. paul region.

—
9
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

Purpose: we inspire, advocate and invest to advance community visions. continued on sch o

Philanthropy
10
Mn Community Measurement

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

Health
11
Reach for Resources Inc

Empowering people of all abilities to reach their full potential. we provide individualized services that maximize independence, boosts community engagement and improves physical and emotional well-being.

—
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Children's Health Care Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Flags for Fort Snelling. 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

790 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 790 of the 1,093 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
175
Early backer (in before they grew)
766/790
Grantees still filing
545/790
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS: $3,027,700 · OtherCITY OF MINNEAPOLISSCHOLARSHIP AMERICA INC: $837,487 · OtherSCHOLARSHIP AMERICA INC+136 more: $3,736,408 · Other+136 moreSUMMIT ACADEMY OIC: $532,280 · EducationSUMMIT ACADEMY …DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY: $450,200 · EducationDUNWOODY COLLEG…University of St Thomas: $319,100 · EducationUniversity of S…MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $129,500 · EducationMINNESOTA PRIVA…+19 more: $293,873 · Education+19 moreTwin Cities Rise: $345,000 · EmploymentMINNESOTA DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES INC: $300,000 · EmploymentACCESSABILITY INC: $277,683 · EmploymentAMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC: $776,038 · Philanthropy+3 more: $15,210 · PhilanthropyEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $468,574 · Human ServicesAVIVO: $134,430 · Human ServicesPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $100,000 · Human Services+13 more: $74,094 · Human ServicesACHIEVE TWIN CITIES: $229,206 · Youth DevelopmentAVENUES FOR YOUTH: $152,834 · Youth Development+5 more: $21,465 · Youth DevelopmentST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $88,734 · HealthCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $7,500 · HealthRAISING OUR CELIAC KIDS-TWIN CITIES CHAPTER: $4,740 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $4,528 · HealthST FRANCIS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: $4,500 · HealthAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $4,370 · Health+3 more: $10,644 · Health
Other$7,601,595Education$1,724,953Employment$922,683Philanthropy$791,248Human Services$777,098Youth Development$403,505Health$125,016

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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

25%50%75%100%$10k$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetAMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC: $776,038 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSUMMIT ACADEMY OIC: $532,280 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetEAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC: $468,574 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetDUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY: $450,200 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetTwin Cities Rise: $345,000 over 3y, 3.7% of budgetUniversity of St Thomas: $319,100 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetMINNESOTA DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES INC: $300,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetACCESSABILITY INC: $277,683 over 3y, 2.3% of budgetACHIEVE TWIN CITIES: $229,206 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetAVENUES FOR YOUTH: $152,834 over 5y, 2.6% of budgetAVIVO: $134,430 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $129,500 over 5y, 2.7% of budgetPAGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $107,500 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetAMERICAN INDIAN OIC: $100,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetURBAN VENTURES LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetPROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $88,734 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetST FRANCIS HOUSE OF SIOUX FALLS: $80,960 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetGANNON UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE INC: $47,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC: $30,328 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND: $27,324 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMINNESOTA BASSET RESCUE: $25,303 over 5y, 6.2% of budgetSDSM&T CENTER FOR ALUMNI RELATIONS & ADVANCEMENT: $23,241 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetModern Montessori Charter School: $16,500 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetHEARTS AND HAMMERS: $14,000 over 1y, 35% of budgetWESTSIDE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL INC: $14,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetMooresville Area Christian Mission Inc: $13,850 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetFriends of HEC Inc: $12,500 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetANOKA TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $11,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetUW-STOUT FOUNDATION AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC: $10,025 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PORTAGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetNorth Dakota State University Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE POWDER COATING INSTITUTE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetKettering University: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINVERTED ARTS: $9,949 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetSunshine Bible Academy: $9,870 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetROGERS YOUTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: $9,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetARISE CHILDREN OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL: $9,275 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetWeidner Ministries Inc REACH Community: $8,958 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetAnimal Humane Society: $8,920 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNION GOSPEL MISSION ASSOCIATION OF ST PAUL INC: $8,863 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSHARING AND CARING HANDS INC: $8,468 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetBAYFIELD HERITAGE ASSOCIATION INC: $7,500 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY AID OF ELK RIVER: $7,100 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetANDOVER HUSKIES YOUTH HOCKEY ASSOCIATION: $6,980 over 4y, 0.6% 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 AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds SUMMIT ACADEMY OIC ↗
  • Who funds EAST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY ↗
  • Who funds Twin Cities Rise ↗
  • Who funds University of St Thomas ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTA DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES INC ↗
  • Who funds ACCESSABILITY INC ↗
  • Who funds ACHIEVE TWIN CITIES ↗
  • Who funds AVENUES FOR YOUTH ↗
  • Who funds AVIVO ↗
  • Who funds MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND ↗
  • Who funds PAGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN INDIAN OIC ↗
  • Who funds URBAN VENTURES LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds ST FRANCIS HOUSE OF SIOUX FALLS ↗
  • Who funds GANNON UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS ↗

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 K FoundationCh Robinson Worldwide…The Jamf Nation Globa…Pohlad Family Foundat…Connexus Energy Found…Margaret a Cargill Fo…Xcel Energy FoundationMidcontinent Foundati…Greater Twin Cities U…Allina Health SystemOtto Bremer TrustPentair Foundation
The K FoundationMO77.6× affinity57 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The K Foundation · Ch Robinson Worldwide Foundation · The Jamf Nation Global Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · Connexus Energy Foundation · Margaret a Cargill Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Midcontinent Foundation · Greater Twin Cities United Way · Allina Health System · Otto Bremer Trust · Pentair 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 Graco Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Graco Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
35report 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 Graco Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Graco 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 1093 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 Graco’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