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The Nelson Family Foundation at a glance

· Public charity

The Nelson Family Foundation

Support the Omaha Community Foundation's Mission

$280k
Granted FY2024still arriving
13
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$50k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Youth Development$169kHealth$159kEducation$120kArts & Culture$108kHuman Services$40kPhilanthropy$35k
02FY2024 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 13 grants below total $256,800, the rows itemized in this filing. The $280,350 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $23,550 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k2 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $193k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$13,800
Median grant
3
States reached
$3.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Bellevue University$50,000
Council Bluffs Schools Fdtn$43,500
Teammates Mentoring Program N$25,000
Youth for Christ USA Inc$25,000
KANEKO$25,000
Omaha Conservatory of Music$20,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Midland$13,800
Joslyn Art Museum$11,000
Camp Kesem National$10,000
Mid-America Council Boy Scou$10,000
United Way of the Midlands$10,000
Peter Michael Foundation$7,500
Omaha Performing Arts Society$6,000
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 (FY21–24, $30k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Camp Kesem National: $10k → 14%Childrens Square USA: $10k → 12%Childrens Square USA: $10k → 12%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.

36%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$217k · 4 repeat orgs$388k to everyone else

4 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
3

Total granted

$217k
$165k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+45%

Still filing today

75%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 13% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $223k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureYouth DevelopmentEducationHealthHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
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

  • BG
    BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE MIDLANDS
    3× · 2021–2024 · $109k · revenue +33%
  • OC
    OMAHA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $66k · revenue +29%
  • CH
    CHRISTIAN HOME ASSN - CHILDREN'S SQUARE USA
    3× · 2020–2022 · $30k · revenue -4%

Funded once

  • SI
    SOUTHWEST IOWA NONPROFIT FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACTgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $100k · revenue +796%
  • JE
    JENNIE EDMUNDSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $45k · revenue +45%
  • IW
    IOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +24%
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
Iowa College Foundation

The foundation is organized to further the growth and development of private colleges and universities of higher education in iowa.

—
2
Children's Cancer Connection

Connecting families affected by childhood cancer by providing opportunities that encourage relationships and strengthen community.

—
3
Omaha Community Foundation

To serve the community by cultivating generosity and strengthening nonprofits.

Philanthropy
4
United Way of North Central Iowa

Seeking to build a stronger, more caring community by forming partnerships with businesses, community experts, education & health & human service agencies to achieve targeted outcomes & sustained changes in community conditions which will…

Philanthropy
5
United Way of East Central Iowa

Unite the caring power of communities to invest in effective solutions to improve people's lives.

Philanthropy
6
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
7
Cornerstone Christian Schools

Cornerstone christian school educates children to become learners-equipped with godly character and biblical truth.

Education
8
University of Iowa Facilities Corporation

The university of iowa facilities corporation acquires and holds property for the benefit and use of the university of iowa.

—
9
Common Good Iowa

Common good iowa engages iowans to create and advocate for research-based public policy that makes life better and more equitable for all who make iowa home.

—
10
Iowa Credit Union Foundation

Founded in 1995 as the philanthropic arm of the iowa credit union league and guided by the credit union philosophy of "people helping people", the iowa credit union foundation (the foundation) works to champion financial well-being for…

Unclassified
11
Arts Midwest Incorporated

Arts Midwest works collaboratively with private and public arts supporters to support, inform, and celebrate arts organizations and creative communities across the Midwest. Our mission is to build unprecedented opportunity across the…

Arts & Culture
12
Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas wesleyan university is a liberal arts college that promotes and integrates academic excellence, spiritual development, personal well-being, and social responsibility.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jennie Edmundson Memorial Hospital Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Kaneko. 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

18 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. 18 of the 19 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
12/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE MIDLANDS: $109,288 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE MI…TEAMMATES MENTORING PROGRAM: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentTEAMMATES MENTORING PROGRAMOMAHA YOUTH FOR CHRIST: $25,000 · Youth DevelopmentOMAHA YOUTH FOR CHRISTSOUTHWEST IOWA NONPROFIT FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACT: $100,000 · HealthSOUTHWEST IOWA NONPROFIT F…JENNIE EDMUNDSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $45,000 · HealthJENNIE EDMUNDSON MEMORIAL …Bellevue University: $50,000 · EducationBellevue UniversityCOUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC: $43,500 · EducationCOUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOO…IOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $20,000 · EducationIOWA WESTERN COMMUNI…OMAHA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $66,000 · Arts & CultureOMAHA CONSERVATORY …KANEKO: $25,000 · Arts & CultureKANEKOJOSLYN ART MUSEUM: $11,000 · Arts & CultureJOSLYN ART MUSEUMOMAHA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY: $6,000 · Arts & CultureOMAHA PERFORMING AR…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR WESTERN IOWA: $25,000 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS: $10,000 · PhilanthropyPETER MICHAEL FOUNDATION: $7,500 · PhilanthropyCHRISTIAN HOME ASSN - CHILDREN'S SQUARE USA: $30,000 · Human ServicesCamp Kesem National: $10,000 · Human ServicesSOUTHWEST IOWA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC: $12,000 · OtherBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 326 MID-AMERICA COUNCIL: $10,000 · Other
Youth Development$159,288Health$145,000Education$113,500Arts & Culture$108,000Philanthropy$42,500Human Services$40,000Other$22,000

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 budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE MIDLANDS: $109,288 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSOUTHWEST IOWA NONPROFIT FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACT: $100,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetOMAHA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC: $66,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetBellevue University: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJENNIE EDMUNDSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $45,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetCOUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOOLS FOUNDATION INC: $43,500 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCHRISTIAN HOME ASSN - CHILDREN'S SQUARE USA: $30,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTEAMMATES MENTORING PROGRAM: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetOMAHA YOUTH FOR CHRIST: $25,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetKANEKO: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR WESTERN IOWA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetIOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetJOSLYN ART MUSEUM: $11,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCamp Kesem National: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 326 MID-AMERICA COUNCIL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPETER MICHAEL FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetOMAHA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY: $6,000 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.

Iowa West FoundationThe Lozier FoundationThe Hawks FoundationPeter Kiewit Foundati…Robert B Daugherty Fo…The Sherwood Foundati…Union Pacific Foundat…Southwest Iowa Founda…Suzanne & Walter Scot…The Charles and Mary …The Giving 3 Foundati…Community Foundation …
Iowa West FoundationIA22.1× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Iowa West Foundation · The Lozier Foundation · The Hawks Foundation · Peter Kiewit Foundation · Robert B Daugherty Foundation · The Sherwood Foundation · Union Pacific Foundation · Southwest Iowa Foundation · Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation · The Charles and Mary Heider Family Foundation · The Giving 3 Foundation · Community Foundation for Western Iowa

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 · 00%1%4%8%15%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
    6report 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 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 19 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 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

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    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