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· Community foundation

Watertown Area Community Foundation

The mission of the watertown community foundation is to invest in the vitality and future of watertown by supporting community priorities, responding to human service needs and enhancing recreation, educations, arts and culture.

$1.2M
Granted FY2024still arriving
24
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$104k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What you fund
01100% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2017–2024.

Community Improvement$976kHuman Services$970kEducation$516kArts & Culture$402kYouth Development$307kAnimals$283kHealth$222kRecreation & Sports$201kOther$0
02FY2024 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

The 24 grants below total $630,451 — the rows itemised in this filing. The $1,175,254 headline is the total grant expense reported on the return, so the remaining $544,803 is giving the schedule does not break out: grants under the $5,000 itemisation floor, grants to individuals, and grants reported on other schedules. Every figure below describes the itemised rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k4 grants · $27k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $335k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $268k
$16,200
Median grant
2
States reached
$944k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF THE GOSS FOUNDATION$104,059
WATERTOWN CARES$60,733
HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY$53,546
CITY OF WATERTOWN$50,000
DUEL HIGH SCHOOL$49,421
JOY RANCH$44,554
CODINGTON COUNTY HISTORIAL SOCIETY$32,500
EAST CENTRAL CASA$25,999
COMMUNITY TRANSIT OF WATERTOWN SISS$23,582
LAKE AREA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY$20,179
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF WATERTOWN$17,237
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH$16,200
THE SALVATION ARMY$15,651
WATERTOWN COMMUNITY CONCERT ASSOC$15,546
LAKE AREA TECHNICAL FOUNDATION$15,000
02The need
03

Do your dollars go where the need is?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, then read against the area’s typical level.

show:

Your human-services grants (FY17–24, $931k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Your grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CASTLEWOOD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $17k → 8%ICAP: $8k → 10%JOY RANCH: $45k → 11%JOY RANCH: $34k → 11%JOY RANCH: $25k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $329k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $69k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $65k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $54k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $54k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $48k → 11%INTER-LAKES COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRA: $45k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $35k → 11%HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY: $29k → 11%JENKINS LIVING CENTER: $26k → 11%GLACIAL LAKES SAFE: $14k → 11%CODINGTON COUNTY DRUG COURT: $10k → 11%JENKINS LIVING CENTER: $8k → 11%JENKINS LIVING CENTER: $7k → 11%GLACIAL LAKES MULTICULTURAL: $5k → 11%GLACIAL LAKES MULTICULTURAL: $5k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount

Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty linein the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP; grantee ZIP can differ from where services are delivered.

US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are actually delivered. Need from public data — U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA — shown as context about the area, never attributed to your giving.

03Your edge
repeat funding

Who you back again

Which organizations you funded more than once, and which you funded a single time. Each grantee is matched to its own filings.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$4.1M · 36 repeat orgs$233k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +12% since the first grant, against +1% for the ones you funded once.

36 repeat relationships — 20 still active in FY2024, 16 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
17

Total granted

$4.1M
$220k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+12%
+1%

Still filing today

75%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $14k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CultureHousing & ShelterCrime & LegalAnimalsHealthOther

First-time = a grantee’s first year in your filing window; renewed = funded in an earlier year too. As a portfolio matures the renewed share naturally climbs — once funded, an org stays “renewable” — so the signal is the years that buck it (a new-grantee intake wave). 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

  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE GOSS OPERA HOUSE INC
    7× · 2018–2024 · $871k · revenue +28%
  • HS
    HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $708k · revenue +67%
  • LA
    LAKE AREA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
    8× · 2017–2024 · $263k · revenue +39% · 31% of their budget

Funded once

  • WH
    WATERTOWN HOCKEY ASSOCIATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $44k · revenue +13%
  • FS
    FALLOUT SHELTER MINISTRIES INC
    one grant, 2023 · $29k · revenue -15%
  • GP
    GROVE PARK RENEWAL INC
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -23%

Repeat = funded in two or more distinct years; growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Your field

The map has a center of gravity: the average direction from the rest of the sector toward the organizations the foundation funds — the shape of its giving. Scoring every nonprofit along that direction surfaces the ones that look most like the portfolio. These are the closest matchesthat aren’t grantees — a resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce

The mission of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce is to connect members with one another and provide resources that foster growth and sustainability.

—
2
Waterbury Development Corporation

To stimulate and support economic and housing development within the communities of the city of waterbury.

Community Improvement
3
Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce Inc

Continually increase the economic strength and quality of life in the region by helping members grow and prosper by supporting existing businesses, and by assisting in attracting and developing new business.

—
4
Watertown Area Cares Clinic Inc

We strive toward providing improved access to healthcare in the watertown area, with a focus on identifying populations that are in need and the available resources. we will coordinate the compassion and caring of the people of our area to…

—
5
Winona Area Chamber of Commerce

To promote business development and tourism in winona minnesota and the surrounding area

—
6
Watertown Lutheran Senior Housing Inc

To share christ's love as we serve the spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional needs of people entrusted to our care and others whose lives we touch.

—
7
Watertown Historical Society

The society operates a museum, which is a three story octagon house built in 1854.

Public Benefit
8
Western South Dakota Senior Services Inc

To assist seniors in maintaining optimal health, independence, and socialization, deferring admission to long term care facilities and improving their quality of life.

—
9
South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems

Rural water development in south dakota

—
10
West Central Community Action

In partnership with state and federal government, our mission is to administer programs designed to help residents in our 10-county region of southwest iowa achieve self-sufficiency.

Human Services
11
Watertown Community Foundation Inc

The foundation commenced operations on december 29, 2003. the foundation has been organized to support educational and other non-profit organizations in the town of watertown.

Philanthropy
12
Watertown Urban Mission

To serve the community, jointly and ecumenically, in such a way as to make the compassion and reconciling purpose of god felt wherever there is human need.

Human Services

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Watertown Development Company and the most unlike its peers is Mellette Memorial Association. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.

For each theme you fund, this compares how the sector’s money is shifting with how your own giving is shifting.

← shrinkinggrowing →↓ leaning in → pulling backsteadyCommunity College Foundatio…Youth Sports ProgramsLocal History MuseumsUnited Way AffiliatesCommunity Food PantriesYouth Development CentersCommunity FoundationsHealth Access Advocacy and …Animal Rescue and ShelterDomestic Violence ServicesPolicy Research and AdvocacySchool District FoundationsCommunity FoundationsEnvironmental Conservation …Orchestra and Ensemble Perf…
the sector your giving your giving is ahead of the sector the sector’s ahead of you· dot size = how much the theme matters to each side
Ordered by the change in your giving — leaning in on top, pulling back at the bottom. The bar between the two dots is how out of step you are with the sector. Hover any row for detail.

Sector change and giving change are each shown relative to their own range, growing (right) or shrinking (left); both normalized, so inflation isn’t mistaken for growth.

Your grantees are a median of 31 years old; the field is 30. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number21%4%<5yr7%26%5–10yr14%15%10–20yr12%15%20–35yr18%19%35–55yr28%21%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value21%4%<5yr7%32%5–10yr14%11%10–20yr12%10%20–35yr18%20%35–55yr28%24%55yr+

The field is 21% startups (under 5 years old) — 4% of your grantees by number, and just 4% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 2% lost their exemption, against 11% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
2%1/57
the rest of the field
11%
17/155

Age = years since IRS exemption (a founding proxy). “Closed” = auto-revocation for 3 years of non-filing — a floor on closure, not proof, and bigger established orgs lapse least. Association, not causation.

04the grantee network

41 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each one resolved to its own IRS returns and tracked year by year — your grant beside their revenue from every source. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

Counted here: distinct organizations you funded across 2017–2025, not grant rows in a single year — so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 41 of the 57 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile; the rest are funded organizations whose filings we could not track year by year.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
40/41
Grantees still filing
22/41
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

DUEL HIGH SCHOOL — $197,818 · OtherDUEL HIGH SCHOOLLake Area Technical College — $98,820 · OtherLake Area Technical CollegeCITY OF WATERTOWN — $96,301 · OtherCITY OF WATERTOWNWATERTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY — $96,100 · OtherWATERTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMPANYTHE SALVATION ARMY — $92,550 · OtherFIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH — $72,598 · OtherMELLETTE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION — $59,428 · OtherEAST-CENTRAL COURT APPOINTED SPECIA — $66,522 · OtherB S BEHIND BARS — $66,217 · OtherPRAIRIE LAKES HEALTH CARE SYSTEM INC — $135,422 · OtherPRAIRIE LAKES HEALTH CARE SYSTEM INCBoys and Girls Club of Watertown — $140,186 · OtherBoys and Girls Club of WatertownWATERTOWN PICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION — $70,700 · OtherWATERTOWN FIGURE SKATE CLUB INC — $68,033 · OtherWATERTOWN AREA PEOPLE AGAINST CHILD HUNGER — $76,996 · Other+24 more — $406,423 · Other+24 moreHUMAN SERVICE AGENCY — $707,738 · Human ServicesHUMAN SERVICE AGENCYJOY RANCH OF SOUTH DAKOTA — $103,838 · Human ServicesJOY RANCH OF SOUTH DAKO…INTER-LAKES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC — $52,788 · Human ServicesINTER-LAKES COMMUNITY A…JENKINS LIVING CENTER INC — $40,158 · Human Services+2 more — $26,878 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF THE GOSS OPERA HOUSE INC — $871,034 · Community ImprovementFRIENDS OF THE GOSS O…LAKE AREA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $263,393 · AnimalsGLACIAL LAKES HUMANE SOCIETY AND SHELTER — $20,000 · AnimalsWATERTOWN CONCERT ASSOCIATION — $135,748 · Arts & CultureSOUTH DAKOTA NEWS WATCH — $71,000 · Arts & CultureCODINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $63,167 · Arts & CultureTUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS — $10,000 · Arts & CultureLAKE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION — $147,807 · EducationARROW EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC — $60,900 · EducationWATERTOWN CARES INC — $75,733 · Housing & ShelterBEACON CENTER — $50,435 · Housing & ShelterGROVE PARK RENEWAL INC — $25,000 · Housing & ShelterSLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC — $18,352 · Housing & Shelter
Other$1,744,114Human Services$931,400Community Improvement$871,034Animals$283,393Arts & Culture$279,915Education$208,707Housing & Shelter$169,520

Each org by its size and your share of it — top-left is where you’re load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetFRIENDS OF THE GOSS OPERA HOUSE INC — $871,034 over 7y, 20% of budgetHUMAN SERVICE AGENCY — $707,738 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetLAKE AREA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY — $263,393 over 8y, 31% of budgetLAKE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION — $147,807 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetBoys and Girls Club of Watertown — $140,186 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetWATERTOWN CONCERT ASSOCIATION — $135,748 over 7y, 65% of budgetPRAIRIE LAKES HEALTH CARE SYSTEM INC — $135,422 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetJOY RANCH OF SOUTH DAKOTA — $103,838 over 3y, 3.9% of budgetWATERTOWN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY — $96,100 over 2y, 3.6% of budgetWATERTOWN AREA PEOPLE AGAINST CHILD HUNGER — $76,996 over 5y, 28% of budgetWATERTOWN CARES INC — $75,733 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetSOUTH DAKOTA NEWS WATCH — $71,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetWATERTOWN PICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION — $70,700 over 2y, 42% of budgetWATERTOWN FIGURE SKATE CLUB INC — $68,033 over 2y, 18% of budgetEAST-CENTRAL COURT APPOINTED SPECIA — $66,522 over 5y, 8.8% of budgetB S BEHIND BARS — $66,217 over 4y, 4.0% of budgetCODINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY — $63,167 over 3y, 21% of budgetARROW EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC — $60,900 over 5y, 9.9% of budgetMELLETTE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION — $59,428 over 6y, 29% of budgetTOWN PLAYERS — $56,622 over 7y, 15% of budgetINTER-LAKES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC — $52,788 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetBEACON CENTER — $50,435 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetWATERTOWN AREA TRANSIT INC — $49,640 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetWATERTOWN HOCKEY ASSOCIATION INC — $44,250 over 1y, 15% of budgetJENKINS LIVING CENTER INC — $40,158 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetWATERTOWN AREA UNITED WAY INC — $31,162 over 3y, 3.5% of budgetCommunity Transit of Watertown Sisseton Inc — $30,484 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFALLOUT SHELTER MINISTRIES INC — $28,500 over 1y, 17% of budgetGROVE PARK RENEWAL INC — $25,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetGLACIAL LAKES HUMANE SOCIETY AND SHELTER — $20,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetSLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC — $18,352 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCASTLEWOOD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION — $16,800 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetLUTHERANS OUTDOORS IN SOUTH DAKOTA INC — $16,134 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetGLACIAL LAKES MULTICULTURAL CENTER INC — $10,078 over 2y, 4.5% of budgetTUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHORUS — $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetWATERTOWN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE — $9,345 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL OF ST JUDE TANZANIA INC — $7,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC — $7,140 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWATERTOWN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL — $6,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetKIWANIS CLUB OF WATERTOWN — $5,500 over 1y, 21% of budget
Go grantee by grantee — a decade per org, and how each moved after you funded them

A decade per grantee — revenue shaded, your grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

The grantmakers whose grantees overlap with yours far more than size alone predicts. Each orbits closer the stronger the alignment; the arcs between them show where they also fund each other. Here it reads as a tightly interlocked camp — most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

South Dakota Communit…Watertown Area United…Prairie Lakes Health …Valley Queen Charitab…First Interstate Banc…Sioux Falls Area Comm…Watertown Area Commun…Engels Family Foundat…Midcontinent Foundati…Renaissance Charitabl…The Blackbaud Giving …National Philanthropi…
South Dakota Community FoundationSD39.6× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: South Dakota Community Foundation · Watertown Area United Way Inc · Prairie Lakes Health Care System Inc · Valley Queen Charitable Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation Inc · Watertown Area Community Foundation Inc · Engels Family Foundation · Midcontinent Foundation · Renaissance Charitable Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust

Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. A research starting point: overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Government reliance of your grantees

Every dot is one organization Watertown Area Community Foundation funds. Left–right is the share of its income from government; up–down is the share from you. Bigger dots raise more. Filter to federal or a single department — and drag the year to watch it move.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%5%19%42%75%your share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    15report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25

    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 your grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first — a floor, not 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 12–24 months.

    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Watertown Area Community Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Watertown Area Community 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 directly from IRS e-file XML — your own 990/990-PF and the multi-year returns of the 57 grantees we resolved across every year we hold, several hundred filings in all (a different count from the grant rows on the cover, which are one fiscal year)— each linked to its source. Grantee achievements and outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III); we read these as association with sustained funding — the foundation is one of several forces — suppress low-confidence name matches rather than guess, and say so where a figure rests on a single grant or filing. Not everything on this page is a filed figure, and the difference matters. Filed is what you reported on your 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. How we build these →

    Generated from your IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    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