Minnesota · Nonprofit
EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER
EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER (Minnesota) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $35,026 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($22,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 63% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $144k
- Funders on record
- 3
- Grants received
- $35k
- Net assets
- $7k
What Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center does
Mission
The mission of the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center is to provide education and interpretation of the history, culture, and natural resources of the Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway, Chippewa National Forest, and Edge of the Wilderness area of Northern Minnesota.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.
Programs
Interpretive bookstore: assisted the us forest service: chippewa national forest in furthering customer service, interpretation, and conservation of public lands on the national forest by producing and/or offering appropriate interpretive or educational materials and by providing visitors with these, and other related materials through sales or free distribution. This was completed by the continued operation of the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center visitor center and bookstore/gift shop and its interpretive and educational efforts.
$29,790 spent46% of program spendingFacilities and equipment: provided overall management of the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center site in marcell, mn. The Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center site includes an interpretive trail, public fishing pier, public picnic area, outdoor amphitheater, exterior interpretive displays, public restrooms, 4 civilian conservation corps structures that are listed on the national register of historic places, and a visitor center with interpretive displays, an education room, educational materials, administrative space, and an interpretive bookstore.
$30,124 spent47% of program spendingProvided education and interpretation of the history, culture, and natural resources of the edge of the wilderness national scenic byway, chippewa national forest, and edge of the wilderness area of northern minnesota to thousands of visitors in 2025. Examples are attached: 2025 naturalist/environmental education schedule and 2025 kid's fishing day flyer and 2025 summer youth programs.enhanced the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center visitor's experience and knowledge of the edge of the wilderness national scenic byway, chippewa national forest, and edge of the wilderness area of northern minnesota by providing interesting and interactive interpretive materials and displays, information, customer service, environmental education, and amenities.provided education and interpretation of the historic civilian conservation corps structures located on the site of the Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center. There was significant public use of the historic former marcell ranger's quarters (marcell lodge). Maintenance and rehabilitation was also completed to preserve historic and other site structures.provided outdoor recreation opportunities through a public fishing pier, picnic area,…
$4,623 spent7% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $64,537.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $28k to $101k (+256%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
69% of EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
Leadership and staff
Board chair
Joel Karels
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990-EZ.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income fell $10k → $3k.
2 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 63% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 63% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
63% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 100% — broadly stable.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
63% of EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $13k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from Minnesota funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $22k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Government funding EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $115k on record.
- Department of Agriculture$115k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Minnesota
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER?
- EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER (Minnesota) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $35,026 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($22,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 63% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $35,026 in grants to EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $22,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS DISCOVERY CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Minnesota. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Edge of the Wilderness Discovery Center →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 3 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing