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· Community foundation

West Central Initiative

Serving to improve west central minnesota through funding, programs, and technical assistance.

$6.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
185
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$200k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$8.2MCommunity Improvement$6.5MRecreation & Sports$5.5MHuman Services$1.9MFood & Nutrition$1.8MPhilanthropy$1.5MArts & Culture$1.0MPublic Safety & Disaster$995kOther$0
02FY2025 · 185 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 185 grants below total $5,286,099, the rows itemized in this filing. The $6,298,386 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $1,012,287 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k39 grants · $277k
  • $10k–50k116 grants · $2.1M
  • $50k–250k30 grants · $2.9M
$15,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$96M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MOORHEAD CENTER MALL DEVELOPMENT LLC$199,990
BROADWAY WELDING INC$199,990
STERLING DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOUR LLC$199,900
SNIRTSTOPPER LLC$197,538
AMERICAN SPORTS OUTFITTERS LLC$160,000
LAU-GILBERTSON PROPERTIES LLC$158,858
ATKINSON RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENT$144,415
DOUGLAS COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT (SWCD)$140,904
CITY OF PELICAN RAPIDS$136,786
VALLEY HARDWOOD SUPPLY$135,000
MORRIS AREA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT #2769$109,916
GUSTAV L HANDEGARD AMERICAN #181$100,000
HBOO PROPERTIES LLC$91,000
PERHAM-DENT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT #549$85,118
DOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM$67,500
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 (FY17–25, $1.2M) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 47% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 10%FIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $35k → 11%FIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $30k → 11%BRYANT PARKVIEW CARE CENTER INC: $16k → 8%FIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $10k → 11%ECUMEN: $8k → 14%DOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $68k → 9%YMCA OF THE NORTHERN SKY - FERCHO: $20k → 12%YMCA OF CASS AND CLAY COUNTIES: $10k → 12%WOMEN'S INITIATIVE NETWORK OF LIBERIA IN CASS AND CLAY COUNTY: $10k → 12%WOMEN'S INITIATIVE NETWORK OF LIBERIA IN CASS AND CLAY COUNTY: $8k → 12%DOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $25k → 9%ECUMEN BETHEL MANOR AND WINONA SHORES APARTMENTS: $20k → 9%DOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $15k → 9%DOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $15k → 9%LAKER PREP EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $51k → 10%LAKER PREP EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER: $35k → 10%LAKES & PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP (CAP-LP): $101k → 11%LAKES & PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP: $82k → 11%LAKES & PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP (CAP-LP): $46k → 11%ECUMEN DETROIT LAKES: $30k → 10%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES: $10k → 9%CONEXIONES: $12k → 11%LAKES & PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP: $36k → 11%CONEXIONES: $10k → 11%CONEXIONES: $10k → 11%CONEXIONES: $10k → 11%ESHARA: $25k → 11%CONEXIONES: $10k → 11%DETROIT LAKES COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER: $10k → 10%ESHARA: $15k → 11%A PLACE FOR HOPE RECOVERY AND WELLNESS CENTER: $14k → 11%DETROIT LAKES COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER: $10k → 10%LAKES & PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP (CAP-LP): $12k → 11%BATTLE LAKE YOUTH CENTER INC: $43k → 9%SAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN (SFFC): $10k → 9%BATTLE LAKE FOOD SHELF INC: $20k → 9%SAFE FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN (SFFC): $10k → 9%DETROIT LAKES COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER: $10k → 10%EMPOWERING KIDS PERHAM: $10k → 9%THE BRIDGE COMMUNITY PANTRY: $9k → 9%THE BRIDGE COMMUNITY PANTRY: $8k → 9%A PLACE TO BELONG: $28k → 9%FERGUS FALLS AREA YMCA: $23k → 9%FERGUS FALLS AREA YMCA: $17k → 9%COOPERATIVE RESOURCES INC: $12k → 9%FERGUS FALLS AREA YMCA: $11k → 9%FERGUS FALLS AREA YMCA: $11k → 9%LB HOMES FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 9%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

ND
MN
WI
SD
PA
CA
NE
VA
AZ
KS
NC
DC
TX
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.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$21M · 182 repeat orgs$11M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +55% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

182 repeat relationships: 87 still active in FY2025, 95 since wound down; 89 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

182
444

Total granted

$21M
$7.8M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+55%
+20%

Still filing today

47%
17%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 38% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentHealthArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • EM
    ENTERPRISE MINNESOTA
    4× · 2017–2021 · $586k · revenue +17%
  • PA
    PERHAM AREA ACTIVITY CENTER
    5× · 2018–2024 · $457k · revenue +37% · 33% of their budget
  • PR
    PRAIRIE ROSE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH INNOVATION & EDUCATION
    4× · 2022–2025 · $331k · revenue +119% · 45% of their budget

Funded once

  • DL
    DETROIT LAKES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $752k
  • PC
    POPE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    one grant, 2021 · $500k · revenue +20% · 84% of their budget
  • AE
    ALEXANDRIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2020 · $453k · revenue -75% · 85% of their budget
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
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The minnesota chamber of commerce proactively leads the business community statewide to: advance pro-business, responsible minnesota public policy that creates jobs and grows the econony; provde member services to address evolving business…

—
2
Area Partnership for Economic Expansion

Promote and develop economic expansion in duluth and northeastern mn and northwestern wisconsin. the organization leads regional research efforts related to human resources, and emerging industries to inform business development and…

Community Improvement
3
Prairie Pines Childcare Center

Provide quality childcare services at a central facility in the fosston, mn community. childcare is desperately needed in our area.

Human Services
4
Minnesota Chamber Foundation

The organization's mission is to bring stakeholders together to promote prosperity and long-term growth of minnesota's economy.

Public Benefit
5
Leadership Matters Mn

Leadership matters mn is focused on advancing a policy agenda that places working minnesotans first. we support economic growth, job creation and equitable tax and education policies that will allow every minnesotan to thrive.

Education
6
Minnesota Business Partnership

The minnesota business partnership's mission is to maintain a high quality of life for all minnesotans by ensuring that the state's economy remains strong, globally competitive and its prospects for growth bright by working with elected…

—
7
Goodhue County 4-H Federation Mn

To engage youth, in partnership with adults, in quality learning opportunities that enable them to shape and reach their full potential as active citizens in a global community.

Youth Development
8
Association of Minnesota Counties

The association of minnesota counties is a voluntary non-partisan statewide organization that assists the state's 87 counties in providing effective county governance to the people of minnesota.

—
9
Mill City Farmers Market Inc

Mission: to inspire and nurture a healthy community by building a local, sustainable, and organic food economy in a vibrant experiential marketplace.vision: to be a nationally recognized marketplace model that connects, educates, and…

—
10
North Dakota Natural Resources Trust
—
11
Nd Natural Resources Conservation Trust

To promote the conservation of natural resources in the state of north dakota

Environment
12
African Development Center

Grow businesses, build wealth and increase reinvestement in the african communities of minnesota

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership Inc; the most unlike its peers is Browns Valley Food Shelf Inc. 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

200 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. 200 of the 720 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.

15
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
65
Early backer (in before they grew)
192/200
Grantees still filing
134/200
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CITY OF PARKERS PRAIRIE: $1,820,587 · OtherCITY OF PARKERS PRAIRIECITY OF PELICAN RAPIDS: $1,686,685 · OtherCITY OF PELICAN RAPIDSCITY OF FERGUS FALLS: $1,199,139 · OtherCITY OF FERGUS FALLSMORRIS AREA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT #2769: $872,375 · OtherDETROIT LAKES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION: $751,713 · Other+154 more: $15,613,264 · Other+154 morePERHAM AREA ACTIVITY CENTER: $456,750 · EducationALEXANDRIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $453,134 · EducationTHE GIFTED LEARNING PROJECT: $95,095 · EducationAUGSBURG UNIVERSITY: $92,500 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $61,000 · EducationNDSCS FOUNDATION: $52,000 · EducationLAKES AREA ENRICHMENT CENTER: $50,000 · Education+3 more: $90,500 · EducationLAKES AND PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC: $282,545 · Human ServicesDOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $127,500 · Human ServicesLAKER PREP EARLY CHILDHOOD: $86,106 · Human ServicesFIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $75,000 · Human ServicesFERGUS FALLS AREA FAMILY YMCA: $61,000 · Human ServicesCONEXIONES: $52,000 · Human ServicesBATTLE LAKE YOUTH CENTER INC: $47,500 · Human ServicesWOMEN INITIATIVE NETWORK OF LIBERIA: $44,500 · Human ServicesECUMEN SBC INC: $43,000 · Human ServicesYMCA of the Northern Sky: $42,800 · Human ServicesESHARA: $40,000 · Human ServicesDLCCC INC: $39,950 · Human ServicesA PLACE TO BELONG: $39,000 · Human Services+1 more: $25,050 · Human ServicesPOPE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $500,000 · Arts & CultureFERGUS FALLS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $93,400 · Arts & CulturePERHAM CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $51,750 · Arts & CultureKADDATZ GALLERIES LTD: $29,000 · Arts & CultureSPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS: $27,000 · Arts & CultureART OF THE LAKES ASSOCIATION INC: $26,500 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $25,000 · Arts & CultureTHE GIVING BACK FUND: $325,367 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF DOUGLAS & POPE COUNTIES: $224,125 · PhilanthropyFARGO-MOORHEAD AREA FOUNDATION CORPORATION: $100,000 · PhilanthropyNORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $35,000 · PhilanthropyMinnesota Council of Nonprofits Inc: $30,000 · PhilanthropyENTERPRISE MINNESOTA: $586,167 · Public BenefitPRAIRIE ROSE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH INNOVATION & EDUCATION: $331,433 · Food & NutritionNORTHERN PLAINS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SOCIETY: $45,000 · Food & NutritionSUSTAINABLE FARMING ASSOCIATION OF MINNESOTA: $39,990 · Food & NutritionBECKER COUNTY FOOD PANTRY INC: $31,244 · Food & Nutrition
Other$21,943,763Education$1,350,979Human Services$1,005,951Arts & Culture$752,650Philanthropy$714,492Public Benefit$586,167Food & Nutrition$447,667

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetENTERPRISE MINNESOTA: $586,167 over 4y, 4.2% of budgetPOPE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $500,000 over 1y, 84% of budgetPERHAM AREA ACTIVITY CENTER: $456,750 over 5y, 33% of budgetALEXANDRIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $453,134 over 1y, 85% of budgetPRAIRIE ROSE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH INNOVATION & EDUCATION: $331,433 over 4y, 45% of budgetTHE GIVING BACK FUND: $325,367 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetLAKES AND PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC: $282,545 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF DOUGLAS & POPE COUNTIES: $224,125 over 9y, 5.9% of budgetCONCORDIA COLLEGE CORPORATION: $185,807 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE PRAIRIE WETLANDS LEA: $165,121 over 7y, 46% of budgetDOUGLAS COUNTY CAR CARE PROGRAM: $127,500 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetMAHUBE-OTWA COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC: $124,450 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetUNITED WAY OF OTTER TAIL & WADENA COUNTIES INC: $121,340 over 6y, 6.8% of budgetCORNERSTONE: $120,000 over 4y, 19% of budgetFARGO-MOORHEAD AREA FOUNDATION CORPORATION: $100,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetFERGUS FALLS CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $93,400 over 7y, 8.7% of budgetAUGSBURG UNIVERSITY: $92,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetLAKER PREP EARLY CHILDHOOD: $86,106 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetIMMIGRANT LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA INC: $84,750 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetWEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA COMMUNITIES ACTION INC: $81,300 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetHUMANE SOCIETY OF OTTER TAIL COUNTY: $80,250 over 2y, 6.3% of budgetCULTURAL DIVERSITY RESOURCES: $77,500 over 8y, 14% of budgetFIRST CHILDREN'S FINANCE: $75,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetBECKER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $69,842 over 7y, 2.8% of budgetSOUTH SUDANESE FOUNDATION: $65,000 over 4y, 3.0% of budgetBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF DETROIT LAKES: $61,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOUNDATION: $61,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFERGUS FALLS AREA FAMILY YMCA: $61,000 over 4y, 1.8% of budgetGLENDALOUGH STATE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE: $60,850 over 2y, 28% of budgetPRODUCTIVE ALTERNATIVES INC: $60,450 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetCHILDRENS DISCOVERY CENTER: $55,000 over 1y, 7.2% of budgetOTTER COVE CHILDRENS MUSEUM: $53,275 over 6y, 4.6% of budgetAFRO AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION: $52,500 over 4y, 9.9% of budgetSOMEPLACE SAFE: $52,350 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetFERGUS FALLS YMCA FOUNDATION: $52,134 over 3y, 72% of budgetNDSCS FOUNDATION: $52,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCONEXIONES: $52,000 over 6y, 15% of budgetPERHAM CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $51,750 over 1y, 35% of budgetAPPLE TREE DENTAL: $50,250 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCREATORS PLACE LLC: $50,210 over 4y, 35% of budgetChampions for Youth Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetBATTLE LAKE YOUTH CENTER INC: $47,500 over 2y, 9.7% of budgetFERGUS FALLS COMMUNITY FOOD SHELF: $45,400 over 5y, 6.3% of budgetNORTHERN PLAINS SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE SOCIETY: $45,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetRICHLAND WILKIN EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY: $45,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetWOMEN INITIATIVE NETWORK OF LIBERIA: $44,500 over 4y, 21% of budgetYMCA of the Northern Sky: $42,800 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetESHARA: $40,000 over 2y, 11% 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.

  • Who funds ENTERPRISE MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds POPE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds PERHAM AREA ACTIVITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds ALEXANDRIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PRAIRIE ROSE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH INNOVATION & EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds THE GIVING BACK FUND ↗
  • Who funds LAKES AND PRAIRIES COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITED WAY OF DOUGLAS & POPE COUNTIES ↗
  • Who funds CONCORDIA COLLEGE CORPORATION ↗

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 Barry FoundationND63.8× affinity39 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Barry Foundation · Otter Tail Power Company Foundation · Lake Region Arts Council · Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation Corporation · St Mary's Regional Health Center · Roger L & Agnes C Dell Charitable Trust · The Lundeen Foundation · Innovis Health LLC · Frank W Veden Charitable Trust · C K Blandin Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Dakota Medical 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 West Central Initiative funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from West Central Initiative. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    23report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    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 720 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 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

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