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Vsa Minnesota at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Vsa Minnesota

VSA MINNESOTA, a member of the vsa affiliate network, a program of the john f.

$167k
Granted FY2018
13
Grants FY2018
1
States reached
$15k
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.

Arts & Culture$250kHealth$60k
02FY2018 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 13 grants below total $155,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $167,000 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $12,000 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 · FY2018

  • Under $10k4 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $127k
$15,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$269k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART$15,000
MIXED BLOOD THEATHER COMPANY$15,000
THE ARTS NEST$15,000
NIMBUS THEATRE$15,000
ARTESCAPE$15,000
UPSTREAM ARTS$15,000
MINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVAL$15,000
THREADS DANCE PROJECT$11,175
SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS$10,744
FRIENDS OF THE LAKEVILLE ARTS CENTE$7,681
YOUNG DANCE$7,500
PEOPLE INCORPORATED$7,500
ART SHANTY PROJECTS$5,400
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 (FY17–18) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 93% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%FRIENDS OF THE LAKEVILLE ARTS CENTE: $8k → 6%ARTESCAPE: $15k → 11%MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $15k → 14%PEOPLE INCORPORATED: $8k → 6%THE ARTS NEST: $15k → 11%SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $11k → 14%PEOPLE INCORPORATED: $8k → 6%THE ARTS NEST: $13k → 11%THE SHOW: $8k → 14%ALIVE AND KICKIN: $14k → 11%THREADS DANCE PROJECT: $11k → 11%ART SHANTY PROJECTS: $5k → 11%20 THEATRE COMPANY: $11k → 11%TAKE UP PRODUCTIONS: $15k → 11%UPSTREAM ARTS: $15k → 11%PILLSBURY HOUSE THEATRE: $15k → 11%UPSTREAM ARTS: $15k → 11%YOUNG DANCE: $8k → 11%YOUNG DANCE: $5k → 11%MINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVAL: $15k → 11%NIMBUS THEATRE: $15k → 11%NIMBUS THEATRE: $15k → 11%MIXED BLOOD THEATHER COMPANY: $15k → 11%MIXED BLOOD THEATHER COMPANY: $15k → 11%CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER: $10k → 11%ILLUSION THEATER: $12k → 11%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.

47%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$145k · 6 repeat orgs$165k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +48% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

6 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2018, 0 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2018 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
7

Total granted

$145k
$85k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+48%
+16%

Still filing today

100%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2018, 48% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $80k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18
RenewedFirst-time
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

  • UPSTREAM ARTS INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $30k · revenue +48%
  • MB
    Mixed Blood Theatre Company
    2× · 2017–2018 · $30k · revenue +24%
  • NT
    Nimbus Theatre
    2× · 2017–2018 · $30k · revenue +133%

Funded once

  • TP
    TAKE-UP PRODUCTIONSgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue +133%
  • PU
    PILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES
    one grant, 2017 · $15k · revenue -10%
  • AK
    Alive & Kickin
    one grant, 2017 · $14k · revenue +17%
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
Uprising Theater
Arts & Culture
2
Theater Mu Incorporated

Theater mu produces great performances born of arts, equity, and justice from the heart of the asian american experience.

Arts & Culture
3
Cal Center Presents

Arts presenter serving the greater Reedsburg area.

Arts & Culture
4
Haven Arts Theatre

We are a theatre company. We provide opportunities for local theatre artists and high quality productions for the public.

Arts & Culture
5
Strike Theater Inc

Strike Theater is dedicated to building a community for original creative works in the Twin Cities.

Arts & Culture
6
Rock River Repertory Theatre

Inspire artists, audiences, and our greater southern wisconsin community to celabrate the art of theatre.

Arts & Culture
7
Mounds Theatre Company

We believe that performing arts can engage stimulate inspire challenge educate reflect,empower and nourish artists audiences and communities. We are committed to the cultural enrichment of Saint Pauls ethnically and economically diverse…

Arts & Culture
8
Unlabeled Theatre Company
Arts & Culture
9
Theatre Artibus

Artibus is dedicated to strengthening community through the experience of live performance. We are a hub in Denver for intimate, original performances that explore important social themes and for building community through shared space,…

—
10
Park Square Theatre

To enrich the community by producing and presenting exceptional live theatre that touches the heart, engages the mind and delights the spirit.

—
11
Open Arts Minnesota

Open Arts Minnesota creates and fosters inclusive artistic activities for people with disabilities who are of diverse abilities and ages seeking opportunities to discover their unique creative gifts, develop and practice skills, and share…

Arts & Culture
12
Roots and All Theatre Ensemble
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Springboard for the Arts; the most unlike its peers is Take-Up Productions. 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 20 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/18
Grantees still filing
14/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UPSTREAM ARTS INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureUPSTREAM ARTS INCNimbus Theatre: $30,000 · Arts & CultureNimbus TheatreARTS NEST: $27,500 · Arts & CultureARTS NESTMINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $15,000 · Arts & CultureMINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARTMINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVAL: $15,000 · Arts & CultureMINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVALTAKE-UP PRODUCTIONS: $15,000 · Arts & CultureTAKE-UP PRODUCTIONSAlive & Kickin: $14,430 · Arts & CultureAlive & KickinYOUNG DANCE INC: $12,760 · Arts & CultureYOUNG DANCE INCIllusion Theater and School Inc: $12,060 · Arts & CultureIllusion Theater and School IncTHREADS DANCE PROJECT: $11,175 · Arts & CultureSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $10,744 · Arts & CultureThe Cedar Cultural Center Inc: $9,750 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF THE LAKEVILLE AREA ARTS CENTER: $7,681 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $5,400 · Arts & CultureMixed Blood Theatre Company: $30,000 · OtherMixed Blood Theatre CompanySIMPLY ARTABLE: $15,000 · OtherSIMPLY ARTABLEPEOPLE INCORPORATED: $15,000 · OtherPEOPLE INCORPORATEDPILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES: $15,000 · OtherPILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES20 THEATRE COMPANY: $11,000 · Other20 THEATRE COMPANYTHE SHOW: $7,500 · OtherTHE SHOW
Arts & Culture$216,500Other$93,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUPSTREAM ARTS INC: $30,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetNimbus Theatre: $30,000 over 2y, 24% of budgetARTS NEST: $27,500 over 2y, 8.3% of budgetSIMPLY ARTABLE: $15,000 over 1y, 9.7% of budgetMINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: $15,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVAL: $15,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetPEOPLE INCORPORATED: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIllusion Theater and School Inc: $12,060 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetTHREADS DANCE PROJECT: $11,175 over 1y, 6.9% of budgetSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $10,744 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetThe Cedar Cultural Center Inc: $9,750 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE LAKEVILLE AREA ARTS CENTER: $7,681 over 1y, 17% 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.

Mightycause Charitabl…The Minneapolis Found…Saint Paul & Minnesot…The McKnight Foundati…Archie D and Bertha H…William Boss Foundati…Fr Bigelow FoundationJerome Foundation IncHugh J Andersen Found…Hardenbergh FoundationHeadwaters Foundation…Target Foundation
Mightycause Charitable FoundationFL24.2× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · Archie D and Bertha H Walker Foundation · William Boss Foundation · Fr Bigelow Foundation · Jerome Foundation Inc · Hugh J Andersen Foundation · Hardenbergh Foundation · Headwaters Foundation for Justice · Target 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 Vsa Minnesota funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Vsa Minnesota. 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%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–15%
    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 Vsa Minnesota?

    Find your warmest path to Vsa Minnesota 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 20 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Vsa Minnesota’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