Skip to content
Wendel Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Wendel 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.

$22k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$5k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$66kEducation$60kHousing & Shelter$35kHealth$6kInternational$4kCrime & Legal$2kAnimals$250Other$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$1.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
EASTERSEALS MIDWEST$5,000
LIFE FOR LIFE ACADEMY$5,000
AMERICAN VISION OF HOPE$3,815
Individual grant recipient$2,500
SAUGATUCK DOUGLAS HISTORY CENTER$2,500
SAUGATUCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS$2,000
PEDAL THE CAUSE$1,040
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 (FY25–25, $1k) 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. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%PEDAL THE CAUSE: $1k → 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.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$144k · 3 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

3 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

3
4

Total granted

$144k
$10k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+13%

Still filing today

100%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $22k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationHousing & ShelterAnimalsRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesOther
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

  • JS
    JAZZ ST LOUIS
    3× · 2022–2024 · $59k · revenue -5%
  • TW
    THE WILSON SCHOOL
    2× · 2022–2023 · $50k · revenue +20%
  • BH
    BUILDING HOMES FOR HEROES INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $35k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2022 · $5k
  • SC
    Saugatuck Center for Arts
    one grant, 2024 · $3k
  • MM
    MS MOLLY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $2k · revenue +13%
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
St Louis Jewish Light

The st. louis jewish light is a non-profit, independent news source whose mission is to inform, inspire, educate, and connect the st. louis jewish community.

—
2
St Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts

The mission of st. louis voices academy of media arts is to leverage media arts and storytelling to equip students with the agency to excel academically, author their own futures, and make meaningful contributions in their communities.

Education
3
The Saint Louis Zoo Association

The saint louis zoo association was established to support and enhance the saint louis zoo by providing facilities, funds, and advice. the association provides direct financial support to the zoo for renovations, new facilities, programs,…

Animals
4
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
5
Thomas Jefferson School

Thomas jefferson school engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. through the strongest possible college-prepatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a…

—
6
Siff

Siff is a seattle-based 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit dedicated to the creation of vibrant experiences and spaces that champion film discovery and arts education.

Youth Development
7
Heritage Hall School Inc

To inspire in each child the curiosity to learn, the self-confidence to lead and the compassion to serve.

Education
8
Cinema St Louis

Cinema st. louis engages the st. louis region through educational programs, cultural connectivity, and curated film exhibitions.

Arts & Culture
9
The Waldorf School Inc

The waldorf school of lexington nurtures each child's curiosity, ingenuity, and love of learning so that they can meet the future with wonder, confidence, and resilience.

Education
10
Stephen Gaynor School

At stephen gaynor school, students with learning differences develop essential academic and critical thinking skills through individualized and evidence-based approaches, empowering them to reach their full potential. students learn to…

Education
11
Great Mn Schools

We believe that great schools are the cornerstone of a just and thriving community. ensuring that every child is able to attend a school that works is our moral and social imperative - our children deserve no less.

Education
12
Lawrence School

Teach students using diverse learning strategies, ignite their potential and inspire academic, personal and social success

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Building Homes for Heroes Inc; the most unlike its peers is Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society. 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

10 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. 10 of the 14 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
10/10
Grantees still filing
5/10
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

JAZZ ST LOUIS: $59,000 · Arts & CultureJAZZ ST LOUIS+1 more: $2,000 · Arts & CultureTHE WILSON SCHOOL: $50,000 · EducationTHE WILSON SCHOOLBUILDING HOMES FOR HEROES INC: $35,000 · Housing & ShelterBUILDING HOMES FOR HER…Individual grant recipient: $5,000 · OtherIndividual gr…EASTER SEALS MIDWEST: $5,000 · OtherEASTER SEALS …AMERICAN VISION OF HOPE: $3,815 · OtherAMERICAN VISI…SAUGATUCK-DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $2,500 · OtherSAUGATUCK-DOU…Saugatuck Center for Arts: $2,500 · OtherSaugatuck Cen…Individual grant recipient: $2,500 · OtherIndividual gr…LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsMS MOLLY FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Crime & LegalPEDAL THE CAUSE: $1,040 · Human ServicesTHE GENTLE BARN FOUNDATION: $250 · Animals
Arts & Culture$61,000Education$50,000Housing & Shelter$35,000Other$21,315Recreation & Sports$5,000Crime & Legal$2,000Human Services$1,040Animals$250

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 budgetJAZZ ST LOUIS: $59,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetTHE WILSON SCHOOL: $50,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetBUILDING HOMES FOR HEROES INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEASTER SEALS MIDWEST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMS MOLLY FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetPEDAL THE CAUSE: $1,040 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE GENTLE BARN FOUNDATION: $250 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.

St Louis Community Fo…St Louis Community Fo…Enterprise Holdings F…The Pfizer Foundation…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
St Louis Community FoundationMO13.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: St Louis Community Foundation · St Louis Community Foundation Inc · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation 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 Wendel Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wendel Family Foundation. 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 14 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 Wendel 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