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The Second Step Foundation at a glance

· 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 FY2025still arriving
29
Grants FY2025still arriving
15
States reached
$40k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% 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
02FY2025 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k1 grant · $400
  • $10k–50k28 grants · $600k
$20,000
Median grant
15
States reached
$2.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GREAT PLAINS FOOD BANK$40,000
FEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA$40,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY$20,000
EDIBLE PRAIRIE PROJECT - SUMMER WEEKEND MEALS FOR KIDS$20,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
FOOD BANK OF LINCOLN$20,000
FRIENDS WITH FOOD$20,000
NORTH COUNTRY FOOD BANK$20,000
SECOND HARVEST FOODBANK OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN$20,000
NEEDS INC FOOD PANTRY$20,000
ST MARY'S FOOD BANK$20,000
HORIZONS MEALS ON WHEELS$20,000
MEALS ON WHEELS OF NW INDIANA$20,000
BILLINGS FOOD BANK$20,000
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 (FY20–25, $250k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 68% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $20k → 6%NEIGHBORS INC: $10k → 6%PROJECT HOPE: $20k → 10%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $20k → 15%BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK: $10k → 9%NEIGHBORS MN: $10k → 6%ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF: $20k → 11%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $10k → 15%ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF: $10k → 11%HAWKEYE AREA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM INC: $10k → 9%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $10k → 15%NEEDS INC FOOD PANTRY: $20k → 10%ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF: $10k → 11%SOUP OR SOCKS: $10k → 11%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $10k → 15%ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF: $10k → 11%SOUP OR SOCKS: $10k → 11%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $10k → 15%ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF: $10k → 11%ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $10k → 15%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

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

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.7M · 32 repeat orgs$380k to everyone else

32 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

32
26

Total granted

$1.7M
$280k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+8%
+22%

Still filing today

81%
54%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Food & NutritionHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementReligionHealthEducationOther
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

  • GP
    Great Plains Food Bank
    6× · 2020–2025 · $220k · revenue +14%
  • RR
    ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $70k · revenue +2%
  • FB
    FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND
    6× · 2020–2025 · $70k · revenue +43%

Funded once

  • CC
    CARBON COUNTRY FOOD
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
  • PH
    Project Hope
    one grant, 2022 · $20k · revenue -24%
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
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
Food Bank of Southern Iowa

Obtain, warehouse, and distribute food products to client agencies to help alleviate hunger in southern iowa communities.

—
2
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri

The food bank for central & northeast missouri is a regional disaster and hunger relief network that acquires and distributes millions of meals each year to help neighbors get the food they need to thrive. (continued on schedule o)the…

Food & Nutrition
3
Food Bank of Northwest Indiana Inc

To provide food to various charitable organizations and needy individuals in northwest indiana.

Food & Nutrition
4
The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas

The food bank of northeast arkansas provides hunger relief to people in need in twelve counties in northeast arkansas by raising awareness, securing resources, and distributing food through a network of non-profit agencies and programs.

Human Services
5
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Inc

The mission of the regional food bank of oklahoma is to lead a network that provides nutritious food and pathways to self-sufficiency for people facing hunger. our vision is an oklahoma where no one goes hungry.

Food & Nutrition
6
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan's mission is to be the Food Source for people in need. Partnering with organizations to feed the hungry, we advocate and build a community solution to a community problem. By leveraging an abundance of…

Food & Nutrition
7
The Food Bank for Larimer County

To provide food to all in need through community partnerships and hunger relief programs. Our vision is a hunger-free Larimer County.

Food & Nutrition
8
Coralville Community Food Pantry

We believe that food is a human right and that food has the power to bring people together. Our vision is to build a stronger, healthier, and hunger-free Coralville community. Powered by community support, the Coralville Community Food…

Food & Nutrition
9
Flathead Food Bank Inc

The Flathead Food Bank strives to elimnate hunger in the Flathead Valley through collaborative partnerships creating effective solutions to connect and strengthen individuals, families and the community through access to healthy nutritious…

Food & Nutrition
10
Kansas Foodbank Warehouse Inc

To feed the hungry by soliciting and receiving food and other goods from local, regional and national food companies and other enterprises

Food & Nutrition
11
Central California Food Bank

Ccfb is dedicated to ending hunger, working with over 200 partner agencies to provide food to those experiencing hunger. our mission: transforming lives together, in the passionate pursuit to end hunger in central ca - one meal, one…

Food & Nutrition
12
Feeding Illinois

Feeding illinois is a coalition of eight feeding america food banks that provide food to over 2,400 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters that feed nearly 1.4 million residents across the entire state of illinois.

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Northern Illinois Food Bank; the most unlike its peers is Project Hope. 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

43 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. 43 of the 64 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)
43/43
Grantees still filing
26/43
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Great Plains Food Bank: $220,000 · Food & NutritionGreat Plains Food BankFEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA: $140,000 · Food & NutritionFEEDING SOUTH DAKOTAFOOD BANK OF IOWA: $70,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD BANK OF IOWAMONTANA FOOD BANK NETWORK INC: $70,000 · Food & NutritionMONTANA FOOD BANK NETWORK INCFOOD BANK OF LINCOLN INC: $70,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD BANK OF LINCOLN INCRIVER BEND FOOD RESERVOIR: $70,000 · Food & NutritionRIVER BEND FOOD RESERVOIRSECOND HARVEST FOODBANK OF SOUTHERN WI: $60,000 · Food & NutritionSECOND HARVEST FOODBANK OF SOUTHERN WIST MARY'S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE: $50,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $50,000 · Food & NutritionBillings Food Bank Inc: $40,000 · Food & Nutrition+10 more: $180,000 · Food & Nutrition+10 moreFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND: $70,000 · OtherFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLANDGREAT FALLS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC: $70,000 · OtherGREAT FALLS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INCMEALS ON WHEELS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA INC: $70,000 · OtherMEALS ON WHEELS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA IN…Individual grant recipient: $60,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientFOOD BANK OF SIOUXLAND INC: $50,000 · OtherFOOD BANK OF SIOUXLAND INCNOW NUTRITION ON WEEKENDS: $40,000 · OtherNOW NUTRITION ON WEEKENDSSACRAMENTO FOOD BANK & FAMILY SERVICES: $40,000 · OtherSACRAMENTO FOOD BANK & FAMILY SERVICESNORTH COUNTRY FOOD BANK: $40,000 · OtherNORTH COUNTRY FOOD BANKHUNGER TASK FORCE INC: $30,000 · OtherFRIENDS WITH FOOD: $30,000 · Other+18 more: $230,400 · Other+18 moreROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY: $70,000 · Human ServicesROCK RIVER VAL…ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesROCORI AREA FO…FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF: $20,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS IN NEE…NEIGHBORS INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesNEIGHBORS INCNEEDS INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesNEEDS INCProject Hope: $20,000 · Human ServicesProject HopeSOUP OR SOCKS INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesSOUP OR SOCKS …FAMILY SERVICE OF BILLINGS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · Human ServicesBLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesHAWKEYE AREA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesRIVER CITY FOOD BANK: $10,000 · Community ImprovementCOUNCIL OF COMMUNITY SERVICES: $10,000 · Community ImprovementMCCROSSAN BOYS RANCH: $10,000 · HealthSUMMIT ACADEMY OIC: $10,000 · EducationCROSS (CHRISTIANS REACHING OUT IN SOCIAL SERVICES): $10,000 · ReligionTHE GLOBAL HUNGER PROJECT: $10,000 · International
Food & Nutrition$1,020,000Other$730,400Human Services$260,000Community Improvement$20,000Health$10,000Education$10,000Religion$10,000International$10,000

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 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
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 Great Plains Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds FEEDING SOUTH DAKOTA ↗
  • Who funds ROCK RIVER VALLEY PANTRY ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK OF IOWA ↗
  • Who funds GREAT FALLS COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds MEALS ON WHEELS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA INC ↗
  • Who funds MONTANA FOOD BANK NETWORK INC ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK OF LINCOLN INC ↗
  • Who funds RIVER BEND FOOD RESERVOIR ↗
  • Who funds ROCORI AREA FOOD SHELF INC ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST FOODBANK OF SOUTHERN WI ↗
  • Who funds ST MARY'S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds FOOD BANK OF SIOUXLAND INC ↗
  • Who funds GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY ↗
  • Who funds SACRAMENTO FOOD BANK & FAMILY SERVICES ↗
  • Who funds Billings Food Bank Inc ↗
  • Who funds WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds HUNGER TASK FORCE INC ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND ↗
  • Who funds NORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS IN NEED FOOD SHELF ↗
  • Who funds NEIGHBORS INC ↗
  • Who funds FRIDAY FOOD BAG FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds NEEDS INC ↗
  • Who funds LINN COMMUNITY FOOD BANK INC ↗
  • Who funds NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK ↗
  • Who funds Project Hope ↗
  • Who funds SOUP OR SOCKS INC ↗

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.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Second Step Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Second Step 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%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    24report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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 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.

    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