Minnesota · Nonprofit
PROPEL NONPROFITS
PROPEL NONPROFITS (Minnesota) receives grants from 91 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,545,520 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($8,000,000). 47 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $23M
- Funders on record
- 91
- Grants received
- $37M
- Net assets
- $27M
What Propel Nonprofits does
Mission
The mission of Propel Nonprofits is to fuel the impact and effectiveness of nonprofits with guidance, expertise, and capital. Propel Nonprofits provides loans to nonprofits for facilities and working capital. We train nonprofit staff and boards to understand and build financial health, clear strategy, and strong governance practices. We provide expert knowledge, guidance, and insight for nonprofits about governance, planning, financial strategy, and sustainability. We consult and guide on strategy, organizational structure and financial plans, strategic alliances, and governance. We offer nonprofit accounting services and financial systems review. We provide fiscal sponsorship and support for emerging organizations and collaborations.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Lending:as a community development financial institution (cdfi) certified by the u.s. Treasury, Propel Nonprofits makes loans to nonprofit organizations to expand programs and services, bridge cash flow gaps, consolidate debt, and make capital improvements. We believe that access to capital is essential to the growth and stability of the nonprofit sector. Propel Nonprofits makes loans to nonprofits of all sizes and stages of development, many of which have been historically under-served by traditional markets. Loans are as large as $1.2 million and as small as $5,000. Overall, we made 73 new loans in fy2025 totaling $17,120,090. Our lending impacted nonprofit organizations working in health care, human services, arts and humanities, charter schools, community development, affordable housing, and more. By partnering with other capital providers, we also leveraged additional funds of $5.1 million into the community.
$3,870,652 spentof which $60,000 as grants$2,179,905 earned by the program36% of program spendingCapacity building initiatives:Propel Nonprofits intermediary capacity building initiatives aim to provide funding and relevant infrastructure to support minnesota nonprofits. In fy25, there were four active initiatives: seeding cultural treasures, nonprofit infrastructure grant program (nigp), cbi target, and rooted to last.in fy25, propel awarded $2.2 million to 55 culturally led nonprofit organizations for infrastructure funding through nigp. The 2023 - 2025 round of nigp funding is made possible through a $4 million appropriation coming through the minnesota department of employment and economic development (deed)also in fy25, propel continued work on the seeding cultural treasures initiative designed to nourish and cultivate the landscape of emerging arts and culture organizations run by and for black, indigenous, and other people of color.
$3,010,891 spentof which $2,338,306 as grants28% of program spendingFiscal sponsorship:Propel Nonprofits fiscal sponsorship program supports emerging nonprofit organizations and projects that advance charitable causes and uplift their communities. We provide resources, consulting, technical assistance, and the ability to accept donations to our fiscally sponsored partners, especially those from historically excluded groups.-60 fiscally sponsored projects in fy25-$5,111,256 raised by/for clients in fy25-63% bipoc-led-10% greater minnesota
$2,434,398 spentof which $1,956,071 as grants$220,008 earned by the program23% of program spendingStrategic services and accounting and finance services:Propel Nonprofits' strategy consultants are experienced at providing strategic planning, succession planning, board development, strategic financial planning and other strategic services to organizations of all budget sizes, staff sizes, and more. In fy25, propel provided strategic consulting to 116 organizations, of which 69% were bipoc-led, 8% were in greater minnesota, and 63% were first-time clients of strategic services.Propel Nonprofits accounting & finance services: Propel Nonprofits accounting & finance program offers accounting and financial management services along with customized technical assistance which helps organizations understand their financial situation, identify priorities, and develop a plan of action for the near and long-term future.
$1,008,648 spent$436,420 earned by the program9% of program spendingTraining, guidance, and knowledge sharing:Propel Nonprofits provides ongoing training, and technical assistance on topics ranging from financial management, accounting, governance, nonprofit business models, and organizational strategy.in fy25 propel presented a total of 102 trainings to 3,544 participants:-45 governance trainings-46 finances trainings-10 combined trainings and and finance trainings -1 custom training eventin fy25 there were 90 leaders circles participants; 30 board connector listings and 42 board member connections made.
$467,840 spent$163,598 earned by the program4% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $10,792,429.
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 2024 to 2025, from $50M to $62M (+23%).
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.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 20% · 2018 15% · 2019 17% · 2020 3% · 2021 21% · 2022 18% · 2023 20% · 2024 26% · 2025 25%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
84% of PROPEL NONPROFITS’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (80% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Scott Marquardt
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 12 funders to 25 funders, grant income rose $1.4M → $3.4M.
19 of 91 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 45% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $131k from one payer (the same organization on both sides, largest Propel Nonprofits). These are real filings, and they are not money PROPEL NONPROFITS raised.
From the IRS filings of PROPEL NONPROFITS’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 91 funders by total. 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
PROPEL NONPROFITS has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 22% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
51% 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 PROPEL NONPROFITS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 19% · 2019 31% · 2020 32% · 2021 38% · 2022 20% · 2023 19% — diversifying over time.
“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.
How long its funders stay
30% of PROPEL NONPROFITS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
87% of PROPEL NONPROFITS's grant income comes from Minnesota funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $16M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
PROPEL NONPROFITS runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 490 philanthropy nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 490 philanthropy nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding PROPEL NONPROFITS receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $11.3M on record.
- Department of the Treasury$10.8M
- Department of Agriculture$522k
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 PROPEL NONPROFITS
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.
Where the money goes
86% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
74%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PROPEL NONPROFITS: 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 PROPEL NONPROFITS?
- PROPEL NONPROFITS (Minnesota) receives grants from 91 organizations whose IRS filings report $36,545,520 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($8,000,000). 47 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PROPEL NONPROFITS have?
- IRS filings report 91 organizations giving $36,545,520 in grants to PROPEL NONPROFITS, 47 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PROPEL NONPROFITS?
- The Chicago Community Trust is the largest funder on record, with $8,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PROPEL NONPROFITS 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.
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 91 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing