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Wonder Institute at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Wonder Institute

We empower leaders by providing vital community spaces and innovative programming.

$35k
Granted FY2023
1
Grants FY2023
1
States reached
$24k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2023.

Arts & Culture$393kFood & Nutrition$46kEducation$34kScience & Tech$10k
02FY2023 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1 grants below total $23,607, the rows itemized in this filing. The $35,139 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $11,532 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.
$23,607
Median grant
1
States reached
$176k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Fund for Public Education$23,607
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 (FY17–23) land where the poverty rate runs at 5%, against an area that typically sits at 6%. 0% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 6%DANCER'S WORKSHOP: $68k → 5%VERTICAL HARVEST L3C: $46k → 5%DANCER'S WORKSHOP: $42k → 5%GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL: $41k → 5%DANCER'S WORKSHOP: $38k → 5%DANCER'S WORKSHOP: $29k → 5%Fund for Public Education: $24k → 5%OFF SQUARE THEATRE CO: $16k → 5%GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL: $15k → 5%ART ASSOCIATION OF JH: $13k → 5%JH PUBLIC ART: $11k → 5%Fund for Public Education: $10k → 5%pARTners: $10k → 5%CULTIVATE ABILITY: $10k → 5%OFF SQUARE THEATRE CO: $10k → 5%OFF SQUARE THEATRE CO: $9k → 5%GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL: $8k → 5%JH CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: $8k → 5%JH LAND TRUST: $7k → 5%NATL MUSEUM WILDLIFE ART: $6k → 5%JH WRITERS: $6k → 5%JACKSON HOLE WILD: $6k → 5%pARTners: $5k → 5%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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$372k · 7 repeat orgs$110k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +51% since the first grant, against +40% for those funded once.

7 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2023, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
8

Total granted

$372k
$110k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+40%

Still filing today

100%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’22’23
Arts & CultureEnvironmentEducationPhilanthropyScience & 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

  • DW
    DANCERS WORKSHOP
    4× · 2017–2020 · $177k · revenue +29%
  • GRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INC
    3× · 2017–2019 · $64k · revenue +77%
  • OS
    OFF SQUARE THEATRE COMPANY
    3× · 2017–2019 · $35k · revenue +65%

Funded once

  • VH
    VERTICAL HARVEST L3C
    one grant, 2017 · $46k
  • TA
    The Art Association of Jackson Hole
    one grant, 2017 · $13k · revenue +16%
  • JH
    Jackson Hole Public Artgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $11k · revenue +71%
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
Wind River Valley Artist Guild
—
2
Jackson Wild

Jackson wild is a catalyst for our industry recognizing excellence in storytelling, celebrating innovative ideas and creating connections for deeper impact. our global community of passionate storytellers, thought leaders and change agents…

Arts & Culture
3
The Jackson Hole Technology Partnership

To fuel local, regional and global tech ecosystems to shape a better future.

Science & Tech
4
Bozeman Art Museum

To inspire and foster creativity and a love of art through diverse and high quality exhibits programs classes and lectures.

Arts & Culture
5
Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation

Jackson hole wildlife foundation advances wildlife conservation driven by science, collaboration, and a community of volunteers.

Animals
6
Downtown Driggs Association Inc

Mission: to foster a thriving and vibrant downtown driggs. downtown driggs association is a donor supported nonprofit. as a designated main street america organization, our mission is to foster a thriving and vibrant downtown driggs. we do…

Community Improvement
7
Grand Teton National Park Foundation

Grand Teton National Park Foundation (the Foundation) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to partner with Grand Teton National Park to steward, protect, and enhance all that is special in the park. Budget limitations,…

Philanthropy
8
Southwest Washington Center for the Arts
Philanthropy
9
Montana Center for the Arts

Montana center for the arts purpose is to nurture, promote and expand cultural engagement and opportunity in our region. through collaboration with the community at large, and in partnership with the area's diverse cultural and educational…

Arts & Culture
10
Tigerlion Arts
Arts & Culture
11
Arts Along the Bighorns

Arts Along the Bighorns operates the Cowboy Carousel Center to provide community-based arts, culture, and educational programs for all ages. The organization offers public and private event space, STEAM Saturday learning activities, youth…

Arts & Culture
12
The Michael Murphey Western Institute in
Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Jackson Hole Land Trust; the most unlike its peers is National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States. 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

14 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. 14 of the 15 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/14
Grantees still filing
12/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

DANCERS WORKSHOP: $177,103 · Arts & CultureDANCERS WORKSHOPGRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $63,608 · Arts & CultureGRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INCTETON ARTLAB: $36,000 · Arts & CultureTETON ARTLABOFF SQUARE THEATRE COMPANY: $34,692 · Arts & CultureOFF SQUARE THEATRE COMPANYArt Partners: $15,255 · Arts & CultureThe Art Association of Jackson Hole: $13,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $31,000 · Arts & Culture+3 moreVERTICAL HARVEST L3C: $45,500 · OtherVERTICAL HARV…CULTIVATE ABILITY: $10,000 · OtherCULTIVATE ABI…EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $33,607 · PhilanthropyWyoming Star Gazing: $10,000 · Science & TechJACKSON HOLE LAND TRUST: $6,500 · EnvironmentJACKSON HOLE WRITERS: $6,000 · Education
Arts & Culture$370,658Other$55,500Philanthropy$33,607Science & Tech$10,000Environment$6,500Education$6,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDANCERS WORKSHOP: $177,103 over 4y, 3.6% of budgetGRAND TETON MUSIC FESTIVAL INC: $63,608 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetTETON ARTLAB: $36,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetOFF SQUARE THEATRE COMPANY: $34,692 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetEDUCATION FOUNDATION OF JACKSON HOLE: $33,607 over 2y, 1.9% of budgetArt Partners: $15,255 over 2y, 7.7% of budgetThe Art Association of Jackson Hole: $13,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART OF THE UNITED STATES: $12,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJackson Hole Public Art: $11,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetCULTIVATE ABILITY: $10,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetWyoming Star Gazing: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetJackson Hole Childrens Museum Inc: $8,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetJACKSON HOLE LAND TRUST: $6,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJACKSON HOLE WRITERS: $6,000 over 1y, 5.4% 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.

Community Foundation …Wyoming Humanities Co…The Brooks FoundationJackson Hole Public A…Stoneriver FoundationThe Portland Trust IIThe Opatrny Family Fo…William E Weiss Found…Ac and Penney Hubbard…Kenneth and Caroline …Hughes Charitable Fou…First Interstate Banc…
Community Foundation of Jackson HoleWY30.2× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Community Foundation of Jackson Hole · Wyoming Humanities Council · The Brooks Foundation · Jackson Hole Public Art · Stoneriver Foundation · The Portland Trust II · The Opatrny Family Foundation · William E Weiss Foundation Inc · Ac and Penney Hubbard Foundation Inc · Kenneth and Caroline Taylor Family Foundation · Hughes Charitable Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation 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 Wonder Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Wonder Institute. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%4%8%11%15%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 · 0–15%
    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 Wonder Institute?

    Find your warmest path to Wonder Institute 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 15 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2023, the most recent year this funder made grants.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Wonder Institute’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