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· Private foundation

Wenger Foundation

Its FY2023 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$284k
Granted FY2022
19
Grants FY2022
4
States reached
$35k
Largest
01What you fundRead
02The needRead
03Your edgeRead
04Your fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

99% of Wenger Foundation’s FY2023 grant dollars went to Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2023 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2022, the last year Wenger Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 15 organizations, $284k. It is dated, not current.

Organizations named directly on the return

33
’18
33
’19
27
’20
29
’21
15
’22
3
’23

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What you fund
0197% classified

What you funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year — across FY2018–2023.

Philanthropy$13MArts & Culture$1.4MEducation$630kYouth Development$196kCommunity Improvement$100kRecreation & Sports$50kHuman Services$40kScience & Tech$15kOther$0
02FY2022 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Your grants by size, and where they go.

By grant size · FY2022

  • Under $10k3 grants · $19k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $265k
$10,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BEST PREP$35,000
CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY$30,000
MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND$28,000
MINNESOTA OPERA$25,000
Individual grant recipient$20,000
OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION$20,000
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OWATONNA$15,000
MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART$12,000
YOUNG LIFE$10,000
VOCALESSENCE$10,000
ST PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA$10,000
LITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA$10,000
WALKER ART CENTER$10,000
JAMES SEWELL BALLET$10,000
YOUNG LIFE-AG480$10,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, your grants (FY18–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of your dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of your grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%AMERICAN CHORAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION: $25k → 6%OWATONNA ISD #761- DONATION FOR INSTRUMENTS: $200k → 9%VINTAGE BAND FESTIVAL: $20k → 11%ST PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: $60k → 14%SCHWAB CHARITABLE FUND: $12.5M → 10%OWATONNA FOUNDATION: $100k → 9%AMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM: $18k → 14%OWATONNA Area CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $70k → 9%OWATONNA SOCCER ASSociation: $50k → 9%KODA LIVING COMMUNITY: $40k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%Steele County Historical Society: $40k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND Festival: $38k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $37k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%OWATONNA Area CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $30k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%YOUNG LIFE: $24k → 9%E-PIANO JR COMPETITION CO SCHOOL OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $40k → 11%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $30k → 11%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $30k → 11%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND FESTIVAL INC: $20k → 9%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND FESTIVAL: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $28k → 14%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND Festival: $18k → 9%Musicians in Debut International: $40k → 11%MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $28k → 14%MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $28k → 14%MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $24k → 14%MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND: $24k → 14%BEST PREP: $35k → 11%BEST PREP: $35k → 11%BEST PREP: $35k → 11%BEST PREP: $30k → 11%BEST PREP: $30k → 11%VOCALESSENCE: $60k → 11%CANTUS: $25k → 11%MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA: $18k → 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.

76%of every dollar goes to organizations you’ve funded before.
$1.9M · 33 repeat orgs$598k to everyone else

And the relationships you keep tend to grow: grantees you re-up on have seen median revenue of +16% since the first grant, against +10% for the ones you funded once.

33 repeat relationships — 17 still active in FY2022, 16 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2022 (too recent to call). Read against FY2022, the last year this funder named its own grantees directly; its giving has since run through a sponsor, which reports no donor behind each grant.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
16

Total granted

$1.9M
$568k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+10%

Still filing today

88%
63%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23
Arts & CultureEducationPhilanthropyYouth DevelopmentInternationalScience & TechOther

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

  • B
    BESTPREP
    5× · 2018–2022 · $165k · revenue +29%
  • OA
    OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION
    6× · 2018–2023 · $137k · revenue +119% · 72% of their budget
  • MP
    MINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND
    5× · 2018–2022 · $132k · revenue +16%

Funded once

  • OI
    OWATONNA ISD #761- DONATION FOR INSTRUMENTS
    one grant, 2021 · $200k
  • OF
    OWATONNA FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2021 · $100k · revenue -41%
  • OS
    Owatonna Soccer Association
    one grant, 2019 · $50k · revenue +3%

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
Bach Society of Minnesota

The mission of bach society of minnesota is to build a diverse community of music lovers who perform, promote, and appreciate the music of j.s. bach and those he inspired.

Arts & Culture
2
San Francisco Opera Association

We believe opera is a uniquely compelling, entertaining and emotionally thrilling art form. our mission is to bring together growing audiences to experience opera's transformative power.

Arts & Culture
3
Artaria

Artaria centers on string quartet performance and education in minnesota. it is committed to presenting inspiring performances, to mentoring string players of all ages, and to illuminate the world's great repertoire of chamber music to a…

Arts & Culture
4
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.

—
5
Lyric Opera of the North

Present opera performances in duluth, minnesota and bring opera to schools in minnesota and wisconsin.

Arts & Culture
6
Theater Mu Incorporated

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

Arts & Culture
7
Oratorio Society of Minnesota

Performance and Promotion of Choral Music

—
8
The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association Inc

To promote and encourage development, awareness, and appreciation of the art of chamber music and its role in our culture through education programs, chamber music performances, and sponsorshop of the fischoff chamber music competition.

Arts & Culture
9
Minnesota Fringe Festival

Minnesota fringe connects adventurous artists with adventurous audiences by creating open, supportive forums for free and diverse artistic expression.

Arts & Culture
10
Nielsen Chorale
Arts & Culture
11
Madison Symphony Orchestra Inc

To sponsor, develop, and promote programs of musical excellence for the people of madison and the surrounding area, and to provide music education.

Arts & Culture
12
The Arts Partnership

The arts partnership is organized for the benefit of and to carry out the purposes of ordway center for the performing arts (the ordway); the saint paul chamber orchestra society; the minnesota opera; and the schubert club. the arts…

Arts & Culture

For reference, the grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Minnesota Orchestral Association and the most unlike its peers is Owatonna Soccer 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 backsteadyRegional Economic & Sustain…Youth Development and Educa…Youth Sports LeaguesArts & Cultural Organizatio…Choral and Orchestral Music
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 49 years old; the field is 18. You back the established end — and your money leans older still.

THE FIELDby orgYOUR GRANTEESby number19%0%<5yr13%0%5–10yr20%8%10–20yr19%25%20–35yr15%35%35–55yr14%33%55yr+
THE FIELDby orgYOUR MONEYby value19%0%<5yr13%0%5–10yr20%1%10–20yr19%89%20–35yr15%6%35–55yr14%5%55yr+

The field is 19% startups (under 5 years old) — 0% of your grantees by number, and just 0% of your money.

Closures · last 5 years

The orgs you fund almost never close — 0.0% lost their exemption, against 14% of the field you don’t fund.

orgs you fund
0.0%0/42
the rest of the field
14%
1,970/14,041

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

40 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. 40 of the 53 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
40/40
Grantees still filing
27/40
Grew since you first funded

Where your money sits — by cause, then by grantee

DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $12,490,724 · PhilanthropyDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC+1 more — $20,000 · PhilanthropyOWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION — $137,000 · Arts & CultureOWATONNA …The Minnesota Opera — $125,000 · Arts & CultureThe Minne…Children's Theatre Company and School — $105,000 · Arts & CultureChildren'…VOCALESSENCE — $100,000 · Arts & CultureVOCALESSE…The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society — $100,000 · Arts & CultureThe Saint…MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS — $58,000 · Arts & CultureMINNESOTA ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION — $50,301 · Arts & CultureWALKER ART CENTER — $50,000 · Arts & CultureLITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA INC — $50,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET WORKS INC — $50,000 · Arts & CultureCANTUS — $45,000 · Arts & Culture+12 more — $338,500 · Arts & Culture+12 moreOWATONNA ISD #761- DONATION FOR INSTRUMENTS — $200,000 · OtherBESTPREP — $165,000 · OtherOWATONNA AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION — $100,000 · OtherHARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND FESTIVAL INC — $96,000 · OtherBENEDICTINE LIVING COMMUNITY - OWATONNA — $40,000 · OtherSteele County Historical Society — $40,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient — $40,000 · OtherE-PIANO JR COMPETITION CO SCHOOL OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA — $40,000 · Other+15 more — $139,930 · OtherMINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND — $132,000 · EducationOWATONNA FOUNDATION INC — $100,000 · EducationYOUNG LIFE — $93,500 · Youth DevelopmentJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT NORTH — $60,000 · InternationalOwatonna Soccer Association — $50,000 · Recreation & Sports
Philanthropy$12,510,724Arts & Culture$1,208,801Other$860,930Education$232,000Youth Development$93,500International$60,000Recreation & Sports$50,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ your share of their budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC — $12,490,724 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetBESTPREP — $165,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetOWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION — $137,000 over 6y, 72% of budgetMINNESOTA PRIVATE COLLEGE FUND — $132,000 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetThe Minnesota Opera — $125,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetChildren's Theatre Company and School — $105,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetVOCALESSENCE — $100,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetOWATONNA AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION — $100,000 over 2y, 19% of budgetThe Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society — $100,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetOWATONNA FOUNDATION INC — $100,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetYOUNG LIFE — $93,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT NORTH — $60,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS — $58,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMINNESOTA ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION — $50,301 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWALKER ART CENTER — $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetLITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA INC — $50,000 over 6y, 7.9% of budgetBALLET WORKS INC — $50,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetCANTUS — $45,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetSteele County Historical Society — $40,000 over 1y, 8.6% of budgetMINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA — $40,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMUSICIANS IN DEBUT INTERNATIONAL — $40,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetAMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM — $40,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetGUTHRIE THEATER FOUNDATION — $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSINGERS MINNESOTA CHORAL ARTISTS — $35,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetMINNESOTA BOYCHOIR — $32,500 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetAMERICAN CHORAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION OF MN — $25,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetTHE LOFT INC — $21,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION INC — $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSCHUBERT CLUB THE — $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE — $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSTAGES THEATRE COMPANY INC — $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMINNESOTA YOUTH SYMPHONIES — $20,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA — $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHEATER LATTE DA — $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTHE ROSE ENSEMBLE — $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION — $2,520 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHILDREN'S TUMOR FOUNDATION — $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

The McKnight Foundati…Saint Paul & Minnesot…Anna M Heilmaier Char…William Boss Foundati…Xcel Energy FoundationTarget FoundationMightycause Charitabl…The Minneapolis Found…The Elizabeth C Quinl…Ea Michelson Philanth…Hardenbergh FoundationFred C and Katherine …
The McKnight FoundationMN27.1× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The McKnight Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Anna M Heilmaier Charitable Fdn · William Boss Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Target Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The Minneapolis Foundation · The Elizabeth C Quinlan Foundation · Ea Michelson Philanthropy Co Family Philanthropy Advisors · Hardenbergh Foundation · Fred C and Katherine B Andersen Foundation

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 Wenger 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%6%13%19%25%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    9report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–25%
    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 Wenger Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Wenger 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 53 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-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2022, released 2022. 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 camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home
    State money flows
    the interactive map of money crossing state lines