Skip to content
Wlsr Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Wlsr 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.

$150k
Granted FY2025still arriving
18
Grants FY2025still arriving
6
States reached
$80k
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.

Education$417kHealth$206kHuman Services$16kReligion$15kEnvironment$9kRecreation & Sports$8kArts & Culture$3kEmployment$500Other$0
02FY2025 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k16 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $45k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $80k
$1,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$3.2M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$80,000
ALBION COLLEGE$45,000
LEELANAUE CONSERVANCY$5,000
GLEN LAKE ASSOCIATION$5,000
HANOVER HORTON HIGH SCHOOL$3,950
DENVER CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION$2,500
PLAY RIGHT SPORTS ACADEMY$1,500
SPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER$1,000
LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY$1,000
ANDERSON EDUCATION FOUNDATION$1,000
NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN$750
FRIENDS OF WINTON HILLS ACADEMY$750
GLEN LAKE FIRE & RESCUE$500
MIAMI UNIVERSITY$500
CASS COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES$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 (FY21–25, $4k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 14% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $3k → 8%KANSAS CITY HOSPICE: $500 → 15%ORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES: $500 → 8%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

WA
ID
IL
MI
IN
OH
MO
KY
TX
FL
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.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$408k · 18 repeat orgs$22k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +2% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 11 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
9

Total granted

$408k
$6k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+2%

Still filing today

50%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k 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
EducationEnvironmentHuman ServicesInternationalRecreation & SportsPublic BenefitOther
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

  • UO
    University of Michigan
    6× · 2018–2025 · $205k · revenue +195%
  • GC
    GEORGETOWN COLLEGE
    3× · 2019–2021 · $15k · revenue +29%
  • OC
    ORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC
    2× · 2021–2022 · $3k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • CS
    CINCINNATI STATE UNIVERSTIY
    one grant, 2018 · $3k
  • WH
    WOMEN HELPING WOMENgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $600 · revenue +115%
  • TS
    THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOLgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $600 · revenue +41%
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
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
2
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
3
Saint Anselm College

Saint anselm is a catholic, benedictine college providing all of its students a distinctive liberal arts education that incorporates opportunities for professional and career preparation. it does so in a learning community that encourages…

Education
4
University of the Ozarks

True to our christian heritage, we prepare students from diverse religious, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds to live life fully.

Education
5
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
6
Ashland University

Ashland university, guided by our christian heritage, is a comprehensive, private university that provides a transformative learning experience, shaping graduates who work, serve and lead with integrity in their local, national, and global…

Education
7
LaGrange College

Education - lagrange college challenges the minds and inspires the souls of its students. founded in 1831 and committed to its relationship with the united methodist church and its wesleyan and liberal arts traditions, the college supports…

Education
8
Lake Erie College

Lake erie college provides an excellent, inclusive, and highly personalized education grounded in the liberal arts tradition. guided by hope and care, our students are empowered to lead lives of personal significance and professional…

Education
9
Hollins University Corporation

Hollins university is an independent liberal arts university dedicated to academic excellence and humane values. hollins university offers undergraduate liberal arts education for women, selected graduate programs for men and women, and…

Education
10
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
11
Louisville Collegiate School

Louisville collegiate school inspires academic excellence, extraordinary character and global citizenship.

Education
12
Illinois College

Illinois college is a co-educational institution of higher education learning providing a four-year educational program leading to the baccalaureate degree. illinois college is a community committed to the highest standards of scholarship…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Seven Hills School; the most unlike its peers is Kansas City Hospice 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

22 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. 22 of the 39 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/22
Grantees still filing
14/22
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

University of Michigan: $204,547 · OtherUniversity of MichiganWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: $100,959 · OtherWESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYSPRINGER SCHOOL: $30,329 · OtherSPRINGER SCHOOLMISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP: $14,500 · Other+20 more: $42,075 · Other+20 moreALBION COLLEGE: $244,411 · EducationALBION COLLEGEGEORGETOWN COLLEGE: $14,500 · EducationGEORGETOWN COLLEGE+6 more: $6,350 · EducationLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $5,000 · EnvironmentNAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $1,150 · EnvironmentORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesKansas City Hospice Inc: $500 · Human ServicesPLAY RIGHT SPORTS ACADEMY INC: $2,500 · Recreation & SportsALL GOD'S CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL: $2,500 · InternationalHANOVER-HORTON AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $2,000 · Public Benefit
Other$392,410Education$265,261Environment$6,150Human Services$3,500Recreation & Sports$2,500International$2,500Public Benefit$2,000

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 budgetALBION COLLEGE: $244,411 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Michigan: $204,547 over 6y, 15% of budgetGEORGETOWN COLLEGE: $14,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLEELANAU CONSERVANCY: $5,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $3,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLAY RIGHT SPORTS ACADEMY INC: $2,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSigma Chi Foundation: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetALL GOD'S CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL: $2,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN INC: $1,150 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLeTourneau University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANDERSON EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetWOMEN HELPING WOMEN: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL: $600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNaples Therapeutic Riding Center Inc: $525 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBEACON OF HOPE BUSINESS ALLIANCE: $500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Mercantile Library: $250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCITY GOSPEL MISSION AND AFFILIATES: $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.

  • Who funds ALBION COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds University of Michigan ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds GLEN LAKE ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds LEELANAU CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds ORCHARDS CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds PLAY RIGHT SPORTS ACADEMY INC ↗
  • Who funds Sigma Chi Foundation ↗
  • Who funds ALL GOD'S CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds HANOVER-HORTON AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN INC ↗
  • Who funds LeTourneau University ↗
  • Who funds SPRINGER SCHOOL AND CENTER ↗
  • Who funds ANDERSON EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WOMEN HELPING WOMEN ↗
  • Who funds THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds Naples Therapeutic Riding Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds Kansas City Hospice Inc ↗
  • Who funds BEACON OF HOPE BUSINESS ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds The Mercantile Library ↗
  • Who funds CITY GOSPEL MISSION AND AFFILIATES ↗

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 Greater Cincinnat…Fidelity FoundationLouise Taft Semple Fo…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Johnson Charitable Gi…American Endowment Fo…Duke Energy FoundationGe Aerospace Foundati…Charities Aid Foundat…Baird Foundation IncRaymond James Charita…Morgan Stanley Global…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH20.3× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Fidelity Foundation · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · American Endowment Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · Baird Foundation Inc · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 3%
  • Naples Botanical Garden Inc: 3% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get 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 39 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 Wlsr’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