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The Nelson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Nelson Family Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$30k
Granted FY2018
9
Grants FY2018
2
States reached
$10k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Religion$30kHealth$5kArts & Culture$5kHuman Services$5kEmployment$3kCommunity Improvement$3kEducation$2kFood & Nutrition$500
02FY2018 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k8 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $10k
$2,500
Median grant
2
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
111 PROJECT$10,000
LYNN WHEELER MINISTRIES$5,098
HOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES$5,000
LOVE OKC$5,000
ALLIED ARTS$2,500
NORTH CHURCH$1,000
WHITEBEAD PUBLIC SCHOOLS$500
FILLING TUMMIES$500
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY$250
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 (FY17–18, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%BELAY GLOBAL: $3k → 11%DRESS FOR SUCCESS: $3k → 16%LOVE OKC: $5k → 16%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.

68%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$36k · 5 repeat orgs$17k to everyone else

5 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

5
5

Total granted

$36k
$7k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+157%

Still filing today

60%
60%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 64% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18
Human ServicesHealthArts & CultureReligionOther
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

  • 1I
    111Project Inc
    2× · 2017–2018 · $20k · revenue ×21
  • LW
    LYNN WHEELER MINISTRIES INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $8k · revenue +26%
  • AA
    ALLIED ARTS OF OKLAHOMA INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $5k · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • BG
    Belay Global Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +157%
  • DF
    Dress for Success Oklahoma City Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue +193%
  • WP
    WYNNEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
    one grant, 2017 · $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
International Leadership Institute

The international leadership institute (ili) changes history by accelerating the spread of the gospel through training and mobilizing leaders of leaders to reach their nations. ili accomplishes this purpose through cutting edge leadership…

Religion
2
Life International

To partner with leaders globally to boldly proclaim the biblical truth of the father's heart for life, champion the gospel of jesus christ, and establish life-giving ministries.

Health
3
Wycliffe Bible Translators International Inc

In communion with God and with the worldwide church Wycliffe Global Alliance contributes to the holistic transformation of all peoples through Bible transalation and compassionate services.

Religion
4
Oklahoma Family Network Inc
Health
5
Indigenous Ministries International Inc

The purpose of IMI is reaching nationals through nationals in ministry.

Religion
6
L I F E Ministries Inc Community Pregnancy Center

Our mission is to affirm life through evangelism, education, counseling and practical assistance.

Health
7
Alongside Inc

Restore hope, purpose, passion and relationships among Christian leaders who are making an impact around the world.

Religion
8
Christianity Today International

Christianity Today is a global community inspired by evangelical conviction to advance the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God. Our mission is to elevate the storytellers and sages of the global church.

Religion
9
Crossing Cultures International Inc

Crossing Cultures International, Inc. exists to glorify God by equipping Christ followers globally with comprehensive training for effective ministry.

Religion
10
Tyndale Bible Translators

Bible Translation and acts of Christian Services

Religion
11
ActBeyond

We start church planting movements to transform unreached people groups--where obedient disciples make obedient disciples and reproducing churches start reproducing churches--who make Jesus known while transforming lives, relationships and…

Religion
12
Far Reaching Ministries

Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) was founded to carry the Gospel Jesus Christ to the world with discipleship as our primary objective. We plant and edify evangelical churches, found Bible schools, gather intimate small groups, and sustain…

International
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is 111Project Inc; the most unlike its peers is International Forum of Bible Agencies. 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

9 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. 9 of the 14 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)
8/9
Grantees still filing
8/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

111Project Inc: $20,000 · Human Services111Project IncLove OKC Inc: $5,000 · Human ServicesLove OKC IncBelay Global Inc: $2,500 · Human ServicesBelay Global IncDress for Success Oklahoma City Inc: $2,500 · Human ServicesDress for Success Oklahoma City IncLYNN WHEELER MINISTRIES INC: $8,098 · OtherLYNN WHEELER MINISTRIES INCNORTH CHURCH INC: $2,000 · OtherNORTH CHURCH INCWYNNEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $1,000 · OtherWYNNEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLSWHITEBEAD PUBLIC SCHOOLS: $1,000 · OtherWHITEBEAD PUBLIC SCHOOLSFILLING TUMMIES: $500 · Other+1 more: $250 · OtherHOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC: $5,000 · HealthHOPE IS ALI…AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $250 · HealthALLIED ARTS OF OKLAHOMA INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureALLIED ART…International Forum of Bible Agencies: $250 · Religion
Human Services$30,000Other$12,848Health$5,250Arts & Culture$5,000Religion$250

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 budget111Project Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetLove OKC Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 5.3% of budgetALLIED ARTS OF OKLAHOMA INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE IS ALIVE MINISTRIES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBelay Global Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetDress for Success Oklahoma City Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetInternational Forum of Bible Agencies: $250 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 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.

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.

Servant FoundationThe Signatry Charitab…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Servant FoundationKS16.2× affinity6 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Servant Foundation · The Signatry Charitable Trust · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Nelson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Nelson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%1%3%4%5%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    5get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–5%
    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 Nelson Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Nelson 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 14 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Nelson 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