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Minnesota · Private foundation

The Second Step 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.

$600k
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
29
Grants FY2025
27
Organizations funded FY2024
19%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$20,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$40,000
Organizations funded a year
1 to 28
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
15
Total assets, FY2025
$2.3M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 19% of the organizations The Second Step Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 17% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Food & NutritionHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementHealthReligionInternationalOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving28$600k21%
FY202427$300k19%
FY202326$290k27%
FY202228$320k46%
FY202123$270k35%
FY202022$260k100%
FY20191$10k100%
FY20181$10k100%
99% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Food & Nutrition$1.9MHuman Services$80kEducation$10kInternational$10kYouth Development$10kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
WY
SD
IA
IN
CA
NE
MO
AZ
KS
GA

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Great Plains Food Bank$220,00060%
Feeding South Dakota$140,00060%
Rock River Valley Pantry$70,00061%
Food Bank for the Heartland$70,00060%
Food Bank of Iowa$70,00060%
Great Falls Community Food Bank Inc$70,00061%
Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana Inc$70,00060%
Montana Food Bank Network Inc$70,00060%
Food Bank of Lincoln Inc$70,00060%
River Bend Food Reservoir$70,00060%
Show all 43 grantees
All grantees of The Second Step Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Great Plains Food Bank$220,00060%
Feeding South Dakota$140,00060%
Rock River Valley Pantry$70,00061%
Food Bank for the Heartland$70,00060%
Food Bank of Iowa$70,00060%
Great Falls Community Food Bank Inc$70,00061%
Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana Inc$70,00060%
Montana Food Bank Network Inc$70,00060%
Food Bank of Lincoln Inc$70,00060%
River Bend Food Reservoir$70,00060%
Rocori Area Food Shelf Inc$60,00058%
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wi$60,00050%
St Mary's Food Bank Alliance$50,00040%
Food Bank of Siouxland Inc$50,00040%
Greater Chicago Food Depository$50,00040%
Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services$40,00030%
Billings Food Bank Inc$40,00030%
Western Upper Peninsula Food Bank Inc$30,00036%
Hunger Task Force Inc$30,00030%
Second Harvest Heartland$30,00020%
Northeast Iowa Food Bank$20,00020%
Friends in Need Food Shelf$20,00012%
Neighbors Inc$20,00020%
Friday Food Bag Foundation$20,00023%
Needs Inc$20,00014%
Linn Community Food Bank Inc$20,00024%
Northern Illinois Food Bank$20,00020%
Project Hope$20,00017%
Soup or Socks Inc$20,00026%
The Open Door$10,00010%
McCrossan Boys Ranch$10,00010%
River City Food Bank$10,00010%
Summit Academy Oic$10,00010%
Council of Community Services$10,00010%
Family Service of Billings Foundation$10,000115%
Blessings in a Backpack Inc$10,00010%
Cross (Christians Reaching Out in Social Services)$10,00010%
Hunger Solutions Minnesota$10,00010%
The Global Hunger Project$10,00010%
Avon Food Shelf Inc$10,00018%
Edible Prairie Project$10,00018%
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Inc$10,00010%
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empireinc$4001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 21 recipients with no EIN on record ($400k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Second Step Foundation supplied at peak.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGreat Plains Food Bank: $220,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding South Dakota: $140,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetRock River Valley Pantry: $70,000 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetFood Bank for the Heartland: $70,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetFood Bank of Iowa: $70,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetGreat Falls Community Food Bank Inc: $70,000 over 6y, 1.2% of budgetMeals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana Inc: $70,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetMontana Food Bank Network Inc: $70,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetFood Bank of Lincoln Inc: $70,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetRiver Bend Food Reservoir: $70,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetRocori Area Food Shelf Inc: $60,000 over 5y, 8.0% of budgetSecond Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wi: $60,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSt Mary's Food Bank Alliance: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFood Bank of Siouxland Inc: $50,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetGreater Chicago Food Depository: $50,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSacramento Food Bank & Family Services: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBillings Food Bank Inc: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWestern Upper Peninsula Food Bank Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 6.3% of budgetHunger Task Force Inc: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSecond Harvest Heartland: $30,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNortheast Iowa Food Bank: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFriends in Need Food Shelf: $20,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetNeighbors Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetFriday Food Bag Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetNeeds Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetLinn Community Food Bank Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetNorthern Illinois Food Bank: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetProject Hope: $20,000 over 1y, 7.2% of budgetSoup or Socks Inc: $20,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetThe Open Door: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMcCrossan Boys Ranch: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetRiver City Food Bank: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSummit Academy Oic: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCouncil of Community Services: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetFamily Service of Billings Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetBlessings in a Backpack Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCross (Christians Reaching Out in Social Services): $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetHunger Solutions Minnesota: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetThe Global Hunger Project: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAvon Food Shelf Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetEdible Prairie Project: $10,000 over 1y, 7.9% of budgetHawkeye Area Community Action Program Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 42.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

First Interstate Banc…Land O'Lakes Foundati…Hunger Solutions Minn…Xcel Energy FoundationThe Jamf Nation Globa…Otto Bremer TrustWyoming Governor's Re…Wyoming Assn of Non P…Allina Health SystemEdina Realty Foundati…Greater Twin Cities U…Alliant Energy Founda…
First Interstate BancSystem Foundation IncMT25.1× affinity11 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Land O'Lakes Foundation · Hunger Solutions Minnesota · Xcel Energy Foundation · The Jamf Nation Global Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Wyoming Governor's Residence Foundation · Wyoming Assn of Non Profit Organizations dba Wyoming Nonprofit Network · Allina Health System · Edina Realty Foundation · Greater Twin Cities United Way · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc

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.

Compare The Second Step Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Second Step Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Second Step 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.

About The Second Step Foundation

How much does The Second Step Foundation give?
The Second Step Foundation reported 29 grants totaling $600,400 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 1 and 28 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does The Second Step Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Food & Nutrition (94%), Human Services (4%), Education (0%).
Who are The Second Step Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Great Plains Food Bank ($220k), Feeding South Dakota ($140k), Rock River Valley Pantry ($70k).
Does The Second Step Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 19% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Second Step Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Second Step Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc, Land O'Lakes Foundation, Hunger Solutions Minnesota.
Where is The Second Step Foundation based?
The Second Step Foundation is based in MN.

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 64 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 Second Step’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