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The Isabella Bank Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Isabella Bank 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.

$243k
Granted FY2025still arriving
6
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$106k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$979kHealth$160kPhilanthropy$90kRecreation & Sports$88kCommunity Improvement$15kYouth Development$3kOther$0
02FY2025 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $25k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $206k
$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$991k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY$106,250
MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION$100,000
MT PLEASANT DISCOVERY MUSEUM$15,000
MYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION$10,000
YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS (GREENVILLE AREA YMCA CAPITAL CAMPAIGN)$6,250
MONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION$5,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%YMCA OF GREATER GRAND RAPIDS (GREENVILLE AREA YMCA CAPITAL CAMPAIGN): $6k → 11%ITHACA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL: $11k → 12%SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5k → 14%MONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%FARWELL HIGH SCHOOL: $17k → 17%SVSU SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: $8k → 18%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $144k → 19%BIG RAPIDS HIGH SCHOOL: $18k → 20%SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%ALMA COLLEGE: $5k → 12%MONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%FARWELL PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $12k → 17%SVSU SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: $8k → 18%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY: $10k → 20%SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $5k → 8%ALMA COLLEGE: $5k → 12%MONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $5k → 15%MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $100k → 17%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $43k → 19%MECOSTA COUNTY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERENCE: $5k → 20%ALMA COLLEGE: $5k → 12%MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $13k → 17%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $38k → 19%BRECKENRIDGE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: $18k → 12%MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $13k → 17%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $11k → 17%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%HOWE MEMORIAL LIBRARY: $10k → 12%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%CENTRAL MONTCALM SPORTS BOOSTERS: $18k → 15%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%MORLEY STANDWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL: $7k → 20%CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $106k → 19%CHIPPEWA HILLS SCHOOL: $5k → 20%MT PLEASANT AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $65k → 19%MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $25k → 19%MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $25k → 19%MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $25k → 19%MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $25k → 19%BEAL CITY SCHOOLS: $18k → 19%MT PLEASANT DISCOVERY MUSEUM: $15k → 19%UNION TOWNSHIP KIDS LITTLE LEAGUE: $14k → 19%SACRED HEART ACADEMY: $12k → 19%RENAISSANCE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $9k → 19%MT PLEASANT LITTLE LEAGUE: $14k → 19%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.

85%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.3M · 11 repeat orgs$230k to everyone else

11 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2025, 7 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

11
19

Total granted

$1.3M
$209k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-2%
+301%

Still filing today

55%
11%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $21k went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHealthArts & 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

  • MM
    MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    4× · 2020–2025 · $136k · revenue +34%
  • MC
    MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN
    4× · 2019–2022 · $100k · revenue +104%
  • SE
    SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    3× · 2019–2021 · $15k · revenue +29%

Funded once

  • BC
    Breckenridge Community Schools
    one grant, 2023 · $18k
  • BR
    BIG RAPIDS HIGH SCHOOL
    one grant, 2018 · $18k
  • BC
    BEAL CITY SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2018 · $18k
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
Michigan State Medical Society Foundation

To advance the field of health for the public good.

—
2
Michigan Health Leadership Fund

To advance the well-being of michigan residents through the promotion of sound public policies and responsible legislation. the purpose of these activities is to promote policies that strengthen the michigan health care system.

—
3
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
4
Michigan Credit Union Foundation

Cooperatively empowering credit unions to increase financial well-being by supporting community enrichment, financial education, and credit union development initiatives

Public Benefit
5
Mymichigan Medical Group

Creating healthy communities - together

Health
6
Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities

To plan, conduct, coordinate, supervise, and finance activities that promote the well-being of the private, independent, nonprofit institutions of higher education in Michigan.

—
7
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

To promote conditions favorable to job creation and business success in michigan.

—
8
Mymichigan Medical Center Midland

Creating healthy communities - together

Health
9
Minneapolis Community & Technical College Foundation

The minneapolis community & technical college foundation helps solve issues of affordability and access to higher education through funds and provides part or all of the funding to the college to develop technical college foundation…

Education
10
Michigan Dental Association Foundation

To support michigan residents' quality of life through improved dental health.

Education
11
Michigan Science Center

The mission of the michigan science center is to inspire curious minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math in a creative, dynamic learning environment.

Education
12
Michigan Assoc of Community Mental Health Boards

Assisting the community mental health boards of michigan in developing methods for mental health planning, care and treatment.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mymichigan Health Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce. 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 34 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)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/12
Grantees still filing
6/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $861,250 · OtherCENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYMID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $136,000 · OtherMID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION+23 more: $304,911 · Other+23 moreMCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $100,000 · HealthMCLAREN C…MYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION: $20,000 · HealthMYMICHIGA…MYMICHIGAN HEALTH: $10,000 · HealthMYMICHIGA…Mt Pleasant Area Community Fnd: $75,000 · PhilanthropyGreenville Area Community Fnd: $15,000 · PhilanthropyALMA COLLEGE: $25,000 · EducationSME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $15,000 · EducationSAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · EducationMount Pleasant Discovery Museum: $15,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$1,302,161Health$130,000Philanthropy$90,000Education$45,000Arts & Culture$15,000

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 budgetMID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $136,000 over 4y, 12% of budgetMCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN: $100,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMt Pleasant Area Community Fnd: $75,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetALMA COLLEGE: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMECOSTA COUNTY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $15,000 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetGreenville Area Community Fnd: $15,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetMount Pleasant Discovery Museum: $15,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetSME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMYMICHIGAN HEALTH: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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 MID MICHIGAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MCLAREN CENTRAL MICHIGAN ↗
  • Who funds Mt Pleasant Area Community Fnd ↗
  • Who funds ALMA COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds MYMICHIGAN HEALTH FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MECOSTA COUNTY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ↗
  • Who funds Greenville Area Community Fnd ↗
  • Who funds MONTCALM COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Mount Pleasant Discovery Museum ↗
  • Who funds SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MYMICHIGAN HEALTH ↗
  • Who funds SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Gratiot County Commun…Consumers Energy Foun…Howard H & Ivah Sawve…Raymond James Charita…Renaissance Charitabl…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Gratiot County Community FoundationMI15.7× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gratiot County Community Foundation · Consumers Energy Foundation · Howard H & Ivah Sawvel Hoffmeyer Charitable Trust U/A Dtd 9-20-85 · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Renaissance 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 The Isabella Bank Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Isabella Bank 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s 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)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Isabella Bank Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Isabella Bank 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 34 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 Isabella Bank’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