Minnesota · Nonprofit
Rainbow Research Inc
Rainbow Research Inc (Minnesota) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,046,724 to it, the largest being POHLAD FAMILY FOUNDATION ($345,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 15
- Grants received
- $1.0M
- Net assets
- $22k
What Rainbow Research Inc does
Mission
Rainbow Research, inc. is a transformative research, elaluation and capacity-building firm that works toward amplifying the voices of marginalized people and distrupting/dismantling oppressive systems and structures to contribute to a world in which all people have the freedom to thrive.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Capacity Building: Rainbow Research, Inc. strengthened the internal capacity of nonprofit organizations and public agencies nationwide by developing customized evaluation frameworks, tools, and protocols tailored to each client's context and goals. The organization provided training and technical assistance to staff at all levels, enabling clients to independently collect, analyze, and use data to drive continuous learning and program improvement. This work advanced systems-level change by equipping partners to identify structural barriers, assess service delivery, and use evidence to inform strategies that improve equity, coordination, and long-term outcomes for the communities they serve. Capacity-building services engaged 50 organizations and 5,000 people. In addition, numerous initiatives focused on coalition development and intercultural relationship building to strengthen climate resilience, improve watershed planning, and advance environmental justice outcomes.
$429,930 spent$397,972 earned by the program50% of program spendingResearch: Rainbow Research, Inc. conducted applied research and program evaluations for government agencies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations across the country. Using rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods, the organization assessed program performance, measured outcomes, and produced actionable findings to inform evidence-based decision-making. A core focus of this work was environmental justiceidentifying disparities and community-level impacts related to environmental conditions, and incorporating community perspectives into policy development and advocacy. Rainbow Research's research methodology centers on community-engaged approaches that amplify the voices of marginalized people and surface structural inequities often invisible in conventional data. We provided research services for 12 initiatives in the Midwest United States, one global initiative, and one continent-wide initiative in Africa. A highlight of our work was the development of a Just Transition Planning Guide to support communities in developing strategies to shift the trajectories of communities and regions toward ecological, economic, and intercultural health.
$214,965 spent$198,986 earned by the program25% of program spendingEvaluation: Rainbow Research, Inc. designed and conducted evaluations for a diverse portfolio of clients, delivering findings that supported program improvement, accountability, and organizational learning. The organization applied culturally responsive and equity-centered evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness of programs serving communities that have historically been underserved. By combining data rigor with deep community engagement, Rainbow Research helped clients understand not only what their programs achieved, but also how systemic barriers shaped those outcomes and what changes are needed to advance equity at scale. We provided evaluation services for three organizations over one- to multi-year time spans. A highlight of our evaluation work was supporting 14 people with lived experience of homelessness who served as partners with the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness. These consultants worked alongside state agencies and community advocates to implement and evaluate the statewide strategy to reduce homelessness.
$214,965 spent$198,986 earned by the program25% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $859,860.
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 2023 to 2024, from $928k to $129k (−86%).
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: 2020 1% · 2021 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
22% of Rainbow Research Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (61% 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.
Chief executive
Samuel Grant
Executive Director
Board chair
Nina Vongpheth
Board Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 6 funders, grant income rose $10k → $173k.
5 of 15 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 Rainbow Research Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 14 of 15 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
Rainbow Research Inc has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 33% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
25% 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 Rainbow Research Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 74% · 2018 84% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 90% · 2022 47% · 2023 47% — 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
25% of Rainbow Research Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 60% 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
76% of Rainbow Research Inc's grant income comes from Minnesota funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $147k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
Rainbow Research Inc's funding base is broadening — from 2 funders to 6 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,127 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like Rainbow Research Inc
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
75% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
97%
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 Rainbow Research Inc: 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 Rainbow Research Inc?
- Rainbow Research Inc (Minnesota) receives grants from 15 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,046,724 to it, the largest being POHLAD FAMILY FOUNDATION ($345,000). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Rainbow Research Inc have?
- IRS filings report 15 organizations giving $1,046,724 in grants to Rainbow Research Inc, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Rainbow Research Inc?
- POHLAD FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $345,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Rainbow Research Inc 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 Rainbow Research →
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 15 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