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Wenger Foundation at a glance

· 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 it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

99% of Wenger Foundation’s FY2023 grant dollars went to Schwab Charitable Fund, 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 it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

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
WALKER ART CENTER$10,000
YOUNG LIFE-AG480$10,000
VOCALESSENCE$10,000
JAMES SEWELL BALLET$10,000
YOUNG LIFE$10,000
LITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA$10,000
ST PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA$10,000
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 (FY18–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its 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%Steele County Historical Society: $40k → 9%MINNESOTA OPERA: $25k → 11%KODA LIVING COMMUNITY: $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%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $30k → 11%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY: $30k → 11%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%YOUNG LIFE: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%OWATONNA ARTS CENTER FOUNDATION: $20k → 9%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND FESTIVAL: $20k → 9%HARRY WENGER MARCHING BAND FESTIVAL INC: $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
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.

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

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +10% for those 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
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

  • 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%
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
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Minnesota Orchestral Association; 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.
04the grantee network

40 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, 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.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

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

Where the money sits, by cause and 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'…The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society: $100,000 · Arts & CultureThe Saint…VOCALESSENCE: $100,000 · Arts & CultureVOCALESSE…MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS DBA MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS: $58,000 · Arts & CultureMINNESOTA ORCHESTRAL ASSOCIATION: $50,301 · Arts & CultureLITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureBALLET WORKS INC: $50,000 · Arts & CultureWALKER ART CENTER: $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 · OtherE-PIANO JR COMPETITION CO SCHOOL OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $40,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $40,000 · OtherSteele County Historical Society: $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 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 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 budgetThe Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society: $100,000 over 5y, 0.6% of budgetOWATONNA FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 6.4% of budgetVOCALESSENCE: $100,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetOWATONNA AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 19% 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 budgetLITTLE THEATRE OF OWATONNA INC: $50,000 over 6y, 7.9% of budgetBALLET WORKS INC: $50,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetWALKER ART CENTER: $50,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCANTUS: $45,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetMUSICIANS IN DEBUT INTERNATIONAL: $40,000 over 1y, 29% of budgetAMERICAN COMPOSERS FORUM: $40,000 over 4y, 0.9% 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 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 budgetTHE PHILANTHROPY ROUNDTABLE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSCHUBERT CLUB THE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetMINNESOTA YOUTH SYMPHONIES: $20,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetTWIN CITIES PUBLIC TELEVISION INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSTAGES THEATRE COMPANY INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetTHEATER LATTE DA: $15,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA: $15,000 over 3y, 0.1% 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
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.

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

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 Wenger Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wenger 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%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
    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 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 from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 53 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 2022, released 2022. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Wenger’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