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William & Florence Wheeler Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

William & Florence Wheeler Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$328k
Granted FY2025still arriving
22
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$65k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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.

Health$507kYouth Development$424kHuman Services$390kEducation$381kRecreation & Sports$339kReligion$208kArts & Culture$182kFood & Nutrition$100kOther$0
02FY2025 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k10 grants · $35k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $173k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $120k
$10,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$5.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GARCES MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL$64,750
CMSF HERITAGE FOUNDATION$55,072
Individual grant recipient$31,120
BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE FOUNDATION$30,000
JACK'S HELPING HAND$25,000
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF BAKERSFIELD$20,000
MENDIBURU MAGIC FOUNDATION$15,000
CALIFORNIA REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION$11,500
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF KERN COUNTY$10,000
REDWINGS HORSE SANCTUARY$10,000
ALANO PINTADO EQUINE HEALTH FOUNDATION$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA$5,000
WOUNDED WARRIORS FAMILY SUPPORT$5,000
TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION$5,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $151k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 97% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $20k → 13%HOFFMAN HOSPICE: $13k → 18%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE DIOCESE OF FRESNO: $30k → 19%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $20k → 13%WESPARK CANCER SUPPORT CENTER: $3k → 14%CHALLENGED ATHLETES FOUNDATION: $3k → 11%JACK'S HELPING HAND: $25k → 12%SAN DIEGO YOUTH SERVICES: $3k → 11%JACK'S HELPING HAND: $20k → 12%BAKERSFIELD ANGELS: $10k → 18%BAKERSFIELD ANGELS: $5k → 18%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

NY
OH
CA
VA
MD
DC
GA
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.6M · 47 repeat orgs$229k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +17% for those funded once.

47 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2025, 25 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

47
32

Total granted

$2.6M
$229k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+17%

Still filing today

53%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
Human ServicesEducationHealthAnimalsRecreation & SportsYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • TB
    THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KERN COUNTY
    8× · 2017–2025 · $288k · revenue +147%
  • BC
    BAKERSFIELD CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $254k · revenue +840%
  • CI
    CALM INC
    4× · 2017–2023 · $160k · revenue +85%

Funded once

  • TC
    THE CALIFORNIA 4-H FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue -20%
  • CC
    Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresnograduated
    one grant, 2019 · $30k · revenue +38%
  • C
    CITYSERVE
    one grant, 2022 · $25k
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
Kern County Cancer Foundation

Dedicated to assisting kern county residents who need financial assistance in obtaining treatment for cancer and associated diseases.

Health
2
California State University Bakersfield Foundation

The foundation supports california state university, bakersfield by advocating on behalf of the university, fundraising for university programs and activities, and managing the finances of the foundation and the university endowment.

Education
3
United Way of Central Eastern California Dba United Way of Kern County

The mission of the united way of kern county is to "mobilize donors, advocates and volunteers to improve lives in kern county." the organization accomplishes this by raising and investing financial resources in programs that advance the…

Philanthropy
4
Bakersfield Arc Inc

assist developmentally disabled individuals.

Human Services
5
Kern County Museum Foundation

The specific purpose of the foundation is to raise, gather, collect and receive funds, equipment, donated services and similar contributions for the support, enhancement and enrichment of the kern county museum and to provide operational…

Arts & Culture
6
Bakersfield Recovery Services

Provide residential and outpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

Health
7
Baker Family Foundation of California

To serve individuals and families by providing them with the charitable and educational resources needed to overcome hardship and improve their lives, health and career.

Philanthropy
8
Active Bakersfield Alliance

To bring awareness and stature to our community; to advocate healthy, active lifestyles; and to raise funds for local causes - all through the sport of running. proceeds from the event benefit california state university, bakersfield…

Recreation & Sports
9
California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

To increase awareness and understanding of agriculture among california educators and students.

—
10
Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

The scholarship foundation of santa barbara inspires, encourages and supports santa barbara county students to and through college, graduate and vocational school by providing information, advising, and scholarships.

—
11
Bakersfield Association of Realtors

The organization's primary mission is to promote and advance the real estate industry in bakersfield, ca by providing quality services to its members and by promoting the realtor image through community involvement.

Community Improvement
12
California Farm Bureau Federation

To implement policies and develop work programs that will improve the financial well-being and quality of life of california farmers and ranchers.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is San Diego Youth Services; the most unlike its peers is Saint John Vianney Academy. 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

45 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. 45 of the 79 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.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/45
Grantees still filing
32/45
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST FRANCIS CHURCH: $167,500 · OtherST FRANCIS CHURCHKERN COUNTY MUSEUM: $110,000 · OtherKERN COUNTY MUSEUMCMSF HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $100,263 · OtherCMSF HERITAGE FOUNDATIONALANO PINTADO EQUINE HEALTH FOUNDATION: $85,000 · OtherALANO PINTADO EQUINE HEALTH FOUNDATIONIndividual grant recipient: $67,620 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $60,000 · OtherBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA: $55,000 · OtherTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $95,000 · OtherTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION+47 more: $463,870 · Other+47 moreTHE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KERN COUNTY: $287,625 · Youth DevelopmentTHE BOYS AND …THE CALIFORNIA 4-H FOUNDATION: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentTHE CALIFORNI…BAKERSFIELD CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $254,018 · EducationBAKERSFIELD C…BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 · EducationBAKERSFIELD C…JIM BURKE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $19,500 · EducationJIM BURKE EDU…+3 more: $20,150 · Education+3 moreFriends of the Kern County Fair: $142,770 · Recreation & SportsFriends of …CALIFORNIA REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION: $141,875 · Recreation & SportsCALIFORNIA …+1 more: $1,000 · Recreation & SportsMENDIBURU MAGIC FOUNDATION AGAINST CANCER: $185,000 · HealthMENDIBURU …BAKERSFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $55,000 · HealthBAKERSFIEL…HEALING FUTURES: $25,000 · HealthHEALING FU…+1 more: $3,000 · HealthJACKS HELPING HAND INC: $95,000 · Human ServicesASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $40,000 · Human ServicesCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresno: $30,000 · Human ServicesTRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS: $15,000 · Human ServicesHoffmann Hospice of The Valley: $13,000 · Human Services+3 more: $7,500 · Human ServicesCALM INC: $160,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$1,204,253Youth Development$337,625Education$333,668Recreation & Sports$285,645Health$268,000Human Services$200,500Crime & Legal$160,000

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 budgetTHE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KERN COUNTY: $287,625 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetBAKERSFIELD CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $254,018 over 9y, 10% of budgetMENDIBURU MAGIC FOUNDATION AGAINST CANCER: $185,000 over 8y, 46% of budgetCALM INC: $160,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetFriends of the Kern County Fair: $142,770 over 3y, 35% of budgetCALIFORNIA REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION: $141,875 over 4y, 28% of budgetTHE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: $95,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJACKS HELPING HAND INC: $95,000 over 6y, 1.7% of budgetBAKERSFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetTHE CALIFORNIA 4-H FOUNDATION: $50,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetJUNIOR LEAGUE OF BAKERSFIELD: $40,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBAKERSFIELD COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $40,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetBakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art: $37,500 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresno: $30,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetHORSEPOWER SANCTUARIES INC DBA REDWINGS HORSE SANCTUARY: $27,500 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetHEALING FUTURES: $25,000 over 2y, 90% of budgetMARE Riding Center: $22,000 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetJIM BURKE EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $19,500 over 8y, 6.5% of budgetFrontier Ag Boosters Inc: $16,000 over 8y, 44% of budgetTRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS: $15,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetREFLECTIONS FOR WOMEN INC: $15,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetHoffmann Hospice of The Valley: $13,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCatholic Charities San Bernardino & Riverside Counties: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMIKEROWEWORKS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetWOODS HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $9,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKern High School District Educational Foundation: $5,950 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetSt Francis School Foundation Inc: $5,250 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetCOURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF KERN COUNTY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE PLANK FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 2y, 4.6% of budgetFRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $4,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRM PYLES BOYS CAMP: $3,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetVV Family Foundation: $3,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetWESPARK INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSAN DIEGO YOUTH SERVICES: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN QUARTER HORSE FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCHALLENGED ATHLETES INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWESLEY HOUSE STUDENT RESIDENCE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAQUA-NUT DIVERS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetBakersfield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: $500 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.

  • Who funds THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF KERN COUNTY ↗
  • Who funds BAKERSFIELD CATHOLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MENDIBURU MAGIC FOUNDATION AGAINST CANCER ↗
  • Who funds CALM INC ↗
  • Who funds Friends of the Kern County Fair ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds JACKS HELPING HAND INC ↗
  • Who funds BAKERSFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE CALIFORNIA 4-H FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds JUNIOR LEAGUE OF BAKERSFIELD ↗
  • Who funds ASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Bakersfield Art Foundation Inc DBA Bakersfield Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresno ↗
  • Who funds AFRICAN AMERICAN NETWORK OF KERN COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds HORSEPOWER SANCTUARIES INC DBA REDWINGS HORSE SANCTUARY ↗
  • Who funds HEALING FUTURES ↗
  • Who funds MARE Riding Center ↗
  • Who funds JIM BURKE EDUCATION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Frontier Ag Boosters Inc ↗
  • Who funds TRANSFORMATIONS BY AUSTIN ANGELS ↗
  • Who funds REFLECTIONS FOR WOMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC ↗
  • Who funds Hoffmann Hospice of The Valley ↗
  • Who funds STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION ↗

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.

Kern Community Founda…Diane S Lake Charitab…Lazzerini Family Foun…Robert Grimm Family F…The Virginia and Alfr…Valley Strong Cu Fka …Seedcore FoundationBakersfield West Rota…Bakersfield Memorial …Sempra FoundationCalifornia Community …The California Endowm…
Kern Community FoundationCA44.2× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Kern Community Foundation · Diane S Lake Charitable Trust Lake Diane S Ttee · Lazzerini Family Foundation · Robert Grimm Family Foundation · The Virginia and Alfred Harrell Foundation · Valley Strong Cu Fka Kern Schools Federal Credit Union · Seedcore Foundation · Bakersfield West Rotary-Stroope Family Foundation · Bakersfield Memorial Hospital · Sempra Foundation · California Community Foundation · The California Endowment

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 William & Florence Wheeler Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from William & Florence Wheeler Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 10%
  • Associated Catholic Charities Inc: 10% of 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
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 79 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 William & Florence Wheeler’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