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Waterloo Community Foundation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Community foundation

Waterloo Community Foundation

Provide a lean, straightforward, and transparent conduit vehicle to those who wish to contribute resources for the betterment of the greater waterloo, iowa community and its citizens.

$570k
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$47k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$68kCrime & Legal$53kArts & Culture$49kRecreation & Sports$47kHealth$36kHuman Services$20kPublic Safety & Disaster$10kEmployment$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 15 grants below total $200,855, the rows itemized in this filing. The $569,656 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $368,801 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 · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $43k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $158k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
CITY OF WATERLOO$46,593
CLOSE UP FOUNDATION$26,459
SAILOR NATION INC$24,112
CEDAR VALLEY HOSPICE$17,000
INCLUSION CONNECTION$12,000
HAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE$11,500
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE CEDAR$10,000
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CENTER$10,000
COMBAT VETERANS MOTORCYCLE$7,500
NORTHEAST IOWA AREA AGENCY$7,500
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA$7,000
GROUT MUSEUM INC$5,750
NORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK$5,278
ST EDWARD CHURCH$5,091
CEDAR VALLEY BICYCLE COLLECTIVE$5,072
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 (FY18–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 90% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%SIMPSON COLLEGE: $6k → 6%COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST IOWA: $10k → 12%CITY OF WATERLOO: $47k → 17%CLOSE UP FOUNDATION: $26k → 7%WATERLOO POLICE DEPARTMENT: $22k → 17%WATERLOO POLICE DEPARTMENT: $21k → 17%CITY OF WATERLOO: $20k → 17%WATERLOO EAST HIGH SCHOOL: $14k → 17%BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE CEDAR: $10k → 17%ONE CITY UNITED: $10k → 17%NORTHEAST IOWA AREA AGENCY: $8k → 17%UNITE ACADEMY: $6k → 17%NORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK: $5k → 17%SAILOR NATION INC: $24k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CENTER FOR URBAN EDUCATION: $11k → 17%WATERLOO LEISURE SERVICES: $8k → 17%GROW CEDAR VALLEY FOUNDATION: $6k → 17%GROUT MUSEUM INC: $6k → 17%COMBAT VETERANS MOTORCYCLE: $10k → 17%CEDAR VALLEY BICYCLE COLLECTIVE: $5k → 17%COMBAT VETERANS MOTORCYCLE: $8k → 17%WATERLOO SCHOOLS: $14k → 17%INCLUSION CONNECTION: $12k → 17%ST EDWARD CATHOLIC CHURCH: $5k → 17%ST EDWARD CHURCH: $5k → 17%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.

54%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$271k · 7 repeat orgs$235k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 5 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
14

Total granted

$271k
$116k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-7%
+26%

Still filing today

43%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 41% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $119k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesYouth DevelopmentCommunity ImprovementArts & CultureHealthOther
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

  • CO
    CITY OF WATERLOO - WATERLOO LEISURE SERVICES
    5× · 2018–2025 · $120k
  • CV
    CEDAR VALLEY HOSPICE INC
    2× · 2021–2025 · $48k · revenue -7%
  • GM
    GROUT MUSEUM INC
    2× · 2021–2025 · $36k · revenue +42%

Funded once

  • WC
    Waterloo Community School District
    one grant, 2018 · $14k
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE WATERLOO PUBLIC LIBR
    one grant, 2022 · $13k · revenue +14%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA
    one grant, 2020 · $11k
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
State University of Iowa Alumni Association

Our mission is to strengthen the university of iowa through alumni engagement. we do this through our communications, alumni programs, and events.

—
2
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
3
Waterloo Community Foundation

Provide a lean, straightforward, and transparent conduit vehicle to those who wish to contribute resources for the betterment of the greater waterloo, iowa community and its citizens.

Philanthropy
4
United Way of East Central Iowa

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

Philanthropy
5
University of Northern Iowa Alumni Association

To encourage and support a life-long relationship between the university of northern iowa and its alumni and friends; to promote the interaction of alumni with each other; to promote and advance the interests of the university and its…

—
6
United Way of Central Iowa

To improve lives by uniting the caring power of our community

—
7
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce

Our mission is to inspire the iowa city area to be greater by: 1) elevating business, 2) investing in strategic initiatives, and 3) advocating for the economic resiliency of the greater community.

—
8
The Foundation for the Iowa City Community School District

The foundation for the iowa city community school district connects the community with our schools to ensure every student has extraordinary learning experiences. together we empower teachers and district staff and inspire students to…

—
9
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
10
Upper Iowa University

Upper iowa university provides quality educational opportunities accessible through varied delivery methods to inspire success and empower lives.

Education
11
Northeast Iowa Community Action Corp

Through dynamic partnerships, quality family services, advocacy and education, neicac advances community development and improves social and economic conditions for individuals and families with limited resources.

Human Services
12
Community Foundation for Western Iowa

The community foundation for western iowa is dedicated to creating a lasting legacy in our region by engaging our citizens and communities for durable change and fostering a culture of philanthropy. this is where giving grows.

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Northern Iowa Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Unite Academy. 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

21 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. 21 of the 31 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
20/21
Grantees still filing
7/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CITY OF WATERLOO - WATERLOO LEISURE SERVICES: $120,320 · OtherCITY OF WATERLOO - WATERLOO LEISURE SERVICESSAILOR NATION INC: $24,112 · OtherSAILOR NATION INCCOMBAT VETERANS MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 39-6: $17,500 · OtherCOMBAT VETERANS MOTORCYCLE ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 39-6Waterloo Community School District: $13,633 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE WATERLOO PUBLIC LIBR: $13,000 · OtherHAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: $12,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA: $10,500 · OtherST EDWARDS CHURCH WATERLOO IA: $10,482 · OtherONE CITY UNITED: $10,000 · OtherCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST IOWA: $10,000 · Other+5 more: $30,547 · Other+5 moreCEDAR VALLEY HOSPICE INC: $48,000 · Human ServicesCEDAR VALLEY H…NORTHEAST IOWA AREA AGENCY ON AGING INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesNORTHEAST IOWA…THE SALVATION ARMY SERVICES INC: $7,750 · Human ServicesTHE SALVATION …GROUT MUSEUM INC: $35,750 · Arts & CultureGROUT MUSEUM …CLOSE UP FOUNDATION: $26,459 · Arts & CultureCLOSE UP FOUN…WATERLOO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $26,652 · EducationWATERLOO COMM…HAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FDN: $11,500 · EducationHAWKEYE COMMU…STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationSTATE UNIVERS…UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA FOUNDATION: $7,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF…Simpson College: $6,325 · EducationSimpson Colle…INCLUSION CONNECTION INC: $12,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF THE CEDAR VALLEY: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentUNITE ACADEMY: $5,500 · Youth DevelopmentWATERLOO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $7,568 · Community ImprovementGROW CEDAR VALLEY FOUNDATION: $5,909 · Community ImprovementNORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK: $12,778 · Food & Nutrition
Other$272,094Human Services$65,750Arts & Culture$62,209Education$61,477Youth Development$27,500Community Improvement$13,477Food & Nutrition$12,778

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCEDAR VALLEY HOSPICE INC: $48,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGROUT MUSEUM INC: $35,750 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetWATERLOO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $26,652 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetCLOSE UP FOUNDATION: $26,459 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE WATERLOO PUBLIC LIBR: $13,000 over 1y, 17% of budgetNORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK: $12,778 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetINCLUSION CONNECTION INC: $12,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetHAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FDN: $11,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetONE CITY UNITED: $10,000 over 1y, 3.7% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF THE CEDAR VALLEY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetSTATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHEAST IOWA AREA AGENCY ON AGING INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST IOWA: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE SALVATION ARMY SERVICES INC: $7,750 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetWATERLOO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $7,568 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSimpson College: $6,325 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGROW CEDAR VALLEY FOUNDATION: $5,909 over 1y, 69% of budgetWATERLOO-CEDAR FALLS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $5,500 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMEMORIAL FOUNDATION OF ALLEN HOSPITAL: $5,475 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Black Hawk County Gam…Otto Schoitz Foundati…Lsb FoundationMax and Helen Guernse…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Black Hawk County Gaming AssociationIA22× affinity8 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Black Hawk County Gaming Association · Otto Schoitz Foundation · Lsb Foundation · Max and Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · 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 Waterloo Community Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Waterloo Community Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%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
    3report 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.

    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 31 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Waterloo’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