Skip to content
Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society

Uniting hardworking americans to secure their financial future while strengthening our communities and country.

$1.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
24
Grants FY2024still arriving
6
States reached
$178k
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 2024.

Human Services$1.6MFood & Nutrition$928kCommunity Improvement$270kArts & Culture$242kHealth$190kPhilanthropy$180kHousing & Shelter$148kYouth Development$112kOther$0
02FY2024 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 24 grants below total $567,714, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,057,606 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $489,892 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k12 grants · $77k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $212k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $278k
$10,000
Median grant
6
States reached
$11.3B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND$178,329
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION$100,000
UNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS$44,200
OMAHA PARKS FOUNDATION$25,000
CINCO DE MAYO OMAHA$25,000
NEBRASKA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE$22,500
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA$20,100
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$18,915
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$16,000
CRESCENT FOOD PANTRY$15,775
SAVING GRACE PERISHABLE FOOD RESCUE$15,000
JENNIE EDMUNDSON MEMORIAL$10,000
AGING WITH SPIRIT FOUNDATION$8,750
GREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE$8,500
OFFUTT ADVISORY COUNCIL$8,500
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 (FY17–24, $187k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 90% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%FOSTER LOVE INCORPORATION: $10k → 6%FOSTER LOVE INCORPORATION: $9k → 6%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $6k → 12%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $6k → 12%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $6k → 12%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $5k → 12%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $5k → 12%OPEN DOOR MISSION: $5k → 12%URBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA: $6k → 12%URBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA: $6k → 12%URBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA: $5k → 12%CHILD SAVING INSTITUTE: $8k → 12%FOSTER HEART AND HOPE: $5k → 12%YMCA: $5k → 12%YMCA: $5k → 12%YMCA: $5k → 12%HEARTLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $11k → 12%AGING WITH SPIRIT FOUNDATION: $9k → 12%HEARTLAND FAMILY SERVICES: $7k → 12%WOMEN'S CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT: $7k → 12%WOMEN'S CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT: $7k → 12%WOMEN'S CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT: $5k → 12%CINCO DE MAYO OMAHA: $25k → 12%HEARTLAND HOPE MISSION: $13k → 12%HEARTLAND HOPE MISSION: $6k → 12%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

IL
MI
NY
IA
CA
NE
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.9M · 36 repeat orgs$239k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +40% since the first grant, against +34% for those funded once.

36 repeat relationships: 18 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
17

Total granted

$3.9M
$161k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+40%
+34%

Still filing today

89%
82%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $77k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesArts & CulturePhilanthropyEducationFood & NutritionHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • GARY SINISE FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.5M · revenue +75%
  • FB
    FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND
    8× · 2017–2024 · $778k · revenue +136%
  • GO
    GREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
    6× · 2017–2024 · $215k · revenue +14%

Funded once

  • CO
    CITY OF OMAHA - DEPARTMENT OF PARKS RECREATION AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
    one grant, 2019 · $21k
  • WO
    Woodmen of the World SETX Youth Association
    one grant, 2017 · $20k · revenue -82%
  • DO
    DOWNTOWN OMAHA INC FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $15k · revenue -86%
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
One Omaha

One omaha empowers people where they live with education, training, and engagement to develop thriving neighborhoods.

Community Improvement
2
Omaha Community Foundation

To serve the community by cultivating generosity and strengthening nonprofits.

Philanthropy
3
Share Omaha

Our mission is to help nonprofits fulfill theirs.

Philanthropy
4
Omaha Economic Development Corporation

The mission of oedc is to implement economic development projects, housing, and community revitalization programs that create jobs, business ownership opportunities and other economic benefits for area residents.

—
5
Omaha Sports Commission

The mission of the omaha sports commission is to foster a positive socio-economic impact on and a heightened awareness and image of omaha by attracting, hosting, & supporting amateur sporting events.

Recreation & Sports
6
Great Plains Food Bank

End hunger together.

Food & Nutrition
7
Mutual of Omaha Foundation
Philanthropy
8
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
9
Opera Omaha Inc

Enriching the quality of life in the community by creating professional opera and music theater, which uniquely combine the visual and performing arts to express humanity's deepest emotions and highest aspirations.

Arts & Culture
10
Nebraska Realtors Association

Unite realtor boards to be able to influence matters affecting real estate state wide, unify laws and regulations and promote education among members

—
11
Omaha ForUs Inc

Omaha forus builds intentional community and creates equitable space in service to lgbtq+ individuals and families of eastern nebraska and western iowa.

Human Services
12
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce

Our mission is to inspire the iowa city area to be greater by: 1) elevating business, 2) investing in strategic initiatives, and 3) advocating for the economic resiliency of the greater community.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Heartland Family Service; the most unlike its peers is Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation 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

51 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. 51 of the 59 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)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/51
Grantees still filing
32/51
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

GARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $1,451,040 · PhilanthropyGARY SINISE FOUNDATIONUNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS: $166,950 · PhilanthropyUNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS+2 more: $16,500 · PhilanthropyFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND: $778,319 · OtherFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLANDGREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $215,150 · OtherGREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCEBOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA: $67,550 · OtherCRESCENT FOOD PANTRY INC: $61,939 · OtherFIRST RESPONDERS FOUNDATION: $85,200 · OtherOMAHA PARKS FOUNDATION: $70,000 · OtherOMAHA COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE: $71,774 · Other+25 more: $438,450 · Other+25 moreOPEN DOOR MISSION D/B/A OPEN DOOR MISSION & LYDIA HOUSE: $33,950 · Human ServicesCASA DE LA CULTURA D/B/A CINCO DE MAYO OMAHA: $25,000 · Human ServicesFOSTER HEART & HOPE: $23,506 · Human ServicesHEARTLAND HOPE MISSION: $18,890 · Human ServicesWOMEN'S CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT: $18,875 · Human ServicesHEARTLAND FAMILY SERVICE: $18,000 · Human ServicesURBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA: $17,000 · Human ServicesYMCA OF GREATER OMAHA: $15,900 · Human ServicesAging With Spirit Foundation: $8,750 · Human ServicesCHILD SAVING INSTITUTE INC: $7,500 · Human ServicesOMAHA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $90,000 · Arts & CultureAPPLIED INFORMATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE: $22,500 · Arts & CultureDOWNTOWN OMAHA INC FOUNDATION: $15,000 · Arts & CulturePATRIOTIC PRODUCTIONS INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureOMAHA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY: $10,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+2 more: $11,000 · Arts & CultureAmerican Heart Association Inc: $157,378 · HealthHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF OMAHA INC: $92,729 · Housing & ShelterMICAH HOUSE CORPORATION: $20,975 · Housing & ShelterNEBRASKA VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 · Civil RightsCity of Omaha Police Foundation Inc: $23,250 · Civil Rights
Philanthropy$1,634,490Other$1,788,382Human Services$187,371Arts & Culture$168,500Health$157,378Housing & Shelter$113,704Civil Rights$98,250

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 budgetGARY SINISE FOUNDATION: $1,451,040 over 5y, 1.0% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND: $778,319 over 8y, 0.3% of budgetGREATER OMAHA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $215,150 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetUNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS: $166,950 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $157,378 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF OMAHA INC: $92,729 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetOMAHA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $90,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetFIRST RESPONDERS FOUNDATION: $85,200 over 6y, 1.8% of budgetNEBRASKA VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION INC: $75,000 over 3y, 7.5% of budgetOMAHA COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE: $71,774 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetOMAHA PARKS FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MIDLANDS INC: $46,803 over 8y, 3.6% of budgetFeeding America: $40,015 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGREATER OMAHA ALLIANCE FOR BUSINESS ETHICS: $35,500 over 4y, 3.5% of budgetOPEN DOOR MISSION D/B/A OPEN DOOR MISSION & LYDIA HOUSE: $33,950 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNEBRASKA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY: $32,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPartnership 4 Kids Inc: $30,535 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetCASA DE LA CULTURA D/B/A CINCO DE MAYO OMAHA: $25,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetSAVING GRACE PERISHABLE FOOD RESCUE INC: $23,837 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetFOSTER HEART & HOPE: $23,506 over 3y, 4.5% of budgetCity of Omaha Police Foundation Inc: $23,250 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION: $22,955 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetAPPLIED INFORMATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE: $22,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMICAH HOUSE CORPORATION: $20,975 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetWoodmen of the World SETX Youth Association: $20,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetFILM STREAMS INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetHEARTLAND HOPE MISSION: $18,890 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetWOMEN'S CENTER FOR ADVANCEMENT: $18,875 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetHEARTLAND FAMILY SERVICE: $18,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF NEBRASKA: $17,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetGIRL SCOUTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: $16,300 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOFFUTT ADVISORY COUNCIL: $16,000 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetYMCA OF GREATER OMAHA: $15,900 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDOWNTOWN OMAHA INC FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 3.9% of budgetOMAHA EQUESTRIAN FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetIOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetOmaha Botanical Center Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetPATRIOTIC PRODUCTIONS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetOMAHA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMETRO AREA YOUTH FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 1y, 6.1% of budgetAging With Spirit Foundation: $8,750 over 1y, 22% of budgetWoodmen of the World NFA: $8,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetMIDLANDS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCHILD SAVING INSTITUTE INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetABIDE NETWORK INC: $7,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBELLEVUE JUNIOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION: $7,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetNATIONAL FIRE SAFETY COUNCIL INC: $6,000 over 1y, 1.8% 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 Sherwood Foundati…Robert B Daugherty Fo…The Lozier FoundationThe Charles and Mary …Peter Kiewit Foundati…The Hawks FoundationWeitz Family Foundati…Nebraska Community Fo…Charles E Lakin Found…Suzanne & Walter Scot…Mutual of Omaha Found…Union Pacific Foundat…
The Sherwood FoundationNE56.3× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Sherwood Foundation · Robert B Daugherty Foundation · The Lozier Foundation · The Charles and Mary Heider Family Foundation · Peter Kiewit Foundation · The Hawks Foundation · Weitz Family Foundation · Nebraska Community Foundation · Charles E Lakin Foundation Inc · Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation · Mutual of Omaha Foundation · Union Pacific 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 Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    18report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society?

    Find your warmest path to Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society 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 59 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society’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