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Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family 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.

$51k
Granted FY2025still arriving
13
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$17k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$78kHealth$50kHousing & Shelter$42kReligion$35kHuman Services$29kFood & Nutrition$25kEducation$20kCrime & Legal$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 13 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k11 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k2 grants · $31k
$1,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$744k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE$17,000
LEE HEALTH FOUNDATION$14,000
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$5,000
CHILDRENS ADVOCACY CENTER$3,000
HILLSDALE COLLEGE$3,000
CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC$3,000
CAFE OF LIFE$1,000
PINEY WOODS SCHOOL$1,000
ST JUDE$1,000
MASON CLASSICAL ACADEMY$1,000
UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT$1,000
IMERMAN ANGELS$936
ST MATHHEWS HOUSE$200
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 (FY17–18, $1k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 45% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 12%WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: $500 → 14%HOPE HOSPICE: $600 → 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.

Which US states its grants reach

IL
MI
IN
UT
VA
AZ
TN
DC
MS
FL
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$262k · 13 repeat orgs$39k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +93% since the first grant, against +59% for those funded once.

13 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

13
21

Total granted

$262k
$35k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+93%
+59%

Still filing today

38%
57%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $4k 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
AnimalsArts & CultureEducationHealthHuman ServicesHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • SC
    SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $74k · revenue +93%
  • GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY
    5× · 2017–2021 · $25k · revenue +140%
  • JUDICIAL WATCH INC
    2× · 2021–2023 · $3k · revenue +3%

Funded once

  • LH
    LEE HEALTH CANCER CENTER
    one grant, 2022 · $11k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $4k
  • FG
    FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
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
Progressive Animal Welfare Society aka Paws

A champion for animals since 1967, PAWS is a nationally recognized leader - rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife, sheltering and adopting homeless cats and dogs, and educating people to make a better world for animals and people.

Animals
2
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit

The friends are dedicated to the rescue, protection, and adoption of companion animals in need while inspiring the human-animal bond. we meet our mission by:-saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals.-providing high-quality animal care…

Animals
3
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
4
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
5
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
6
Naples Zoo Inc

Naples zoo is accredited by the american zoo & aquarium association (aza) and has numerous animal exhibits placed on its 45-acre site. (continued on schedule o)each exhibit is unique and designed to simulate typical conditions for the…

Animals
7
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
8
Michigan Humane Society

To improve and save lives through compassionate care, community engagement and advocacy for animals.

Animals
9
Animal Care Sanctuary

Animal care sanctuary's lifesaving mission as a no kill organization envisions a community that promotes turning compassion into action for companion animals by: 1.) adopting healthy pet companions into loving homes. 2.) promoting the…

Animals
10
Women's Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Inc

As america's first animal shelter, founded in 1869, women's humane society dba women's animal center (wac), assists people in the community, saves the lives of animals, and improves the health of pets through its shelter and adoptions…

Animals
11
Danbury Animal Welfare Society

Danbury animal welfare society , inc.(daws) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our community and beyond. we promote responsible pet guardianship and the humane treatment of animals, and work toward…

Animals
12
Worldwide Vets Incorporated

Our goal is to sustainably improve animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and improve veterinary education globally. in order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 5 continents, supporting local people and animals,…

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wounded Warrior Project Inc; the most unlike its peers is Hillsdale College. 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

26 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. 26 of the 42 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/26
Grantees still filing
20/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $41,000 · OtherHABITAT FOR HUMANITYCHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INC: $31,000 · OtherCHRISTIAN NEIGHBORS INCSAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE: $27,000 · OtherSAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THECHILDRENS ADVOCACY CENTER: $15,000 · OtherCHILDRENS ADVOCACY CENTERLEE HEALTH CANCER CENTER: $10,700 · OtherLEE HEALTH CANCER CENTER+23 more: $32,050 · Other+23 moreSAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $73,806 · Arts & CultureSAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE AR…+2 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureLEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION INC: $35,450 · PhilanthropyLEE MEMORIAL …+1 more: $600 · PhilanthropyGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $25,000 · Food & NutritionGREATER C…HILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $1,000 · EducationPiney Woods School: $1,000 · EducationMASON CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC: $1,000 · EducationST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $2,000 · HealthIMERMAN ANGELS: $936 · HealthJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $2,500 · Public BenefitLeadership Institute: $250 · Public Benefit
Other$156,750Arts & Culture$75,806Philanthropy$36,050Food & Nutrition$25,000Education$13,500Health$2,936Public Benefit$2,750

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 budgetSAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $73,806 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetLEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION INC: $35,450 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $10,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetJUDICIAL WATCH INC: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY ALLIANCE: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetK9S FOR WARRIORS INC: $1,100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCAFE OF LIFE INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPiney Woods School: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTURNING POINT USA INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMASON CLASSICAL ACADEMY INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBONITA BAY VETERANS COUNCIL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetGFWC NAPLES WOMAN'S CLUB INC: $800 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOPE HOSPICE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES INC: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS INC: $500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPAWS CHICAGO: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budget4 PAWS LAKESHORE: $300 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetLeadership Institute: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetST MATTHEWS HOUSE INC: $200 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.

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.

Collier Community Fou…WK Kellogg FoundationThe Bank of America C…Vanguard Charitable E…National Philanthropi…Morgan Stanley Global…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Collier Community Foundation IncFL13.3× affinity4 shared granteesties to 9 of 9Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Collier Community Foundation Inc · WK Kellogg Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · 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 Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Wounded Warrior Project Inc: 0% of income from government
  • K9S for Warriors Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
3get no government money at all
7report 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 Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family 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 42 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 Wayne and Sharon Wellman Family’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