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Indiana · Nonprofit

THE STEM CONNECTION

THE STEM CONNECTION (Indiana) receives grants from 26 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,580,446 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($584,844). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$957k
Funders on record
26
Grants received
$1.6M
Net assets
$675k
20/26 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 60%
01What it does

What The STEM Connection does

Mission

The STEM Connection (tsc) is a 501(c)(3) corporation aimed at facilitating science, technology, engineering and math experiences at moore road farm and other educational sites. Tsc educates and empowers children and adults in stem principles through relevant hands-on stem experiences for an increasingly stem-related workforce and world.

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Stem day camps:opportunities for youth to participate in summer-long stem experiences at moore road farm.

    $258,194 spent$63,332 earned by the program
    37% of program spending
  2. Stem family kits:The STEM Connection provides pre-packaged materials for children andfamilies to carry out stem activities.

    $184,805 spent$56,875 earned by the program
    27% of program spending
  3. Stem field trips:opportunities for groups of students to participate in outdoor hands-on stem activities at moore road farm. Field trip participants engage in at least two stem activities connected to a chosen theme from the tsc activity menu. Activities connect stem to state educational standards by aligning to content, process, and employability skills.

    $207,595 spent$32,817 earned by the program
    30% of program spending
  4. Opportunities for youth, educators, and families to engage in extended stem learning through leadership development, webinars, and videos.

    $45,663 spent$1,809 earned by the program
    7% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $696,257.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($108k) Expenses 100 ($83k) Net assets 100 ($35k)2018 Revenue 126 ($136k) Expenses 151 ($125k) Net assets 131 ($45k)2019 Revenue 149 ($160k) Expenses 163 ($135k) Net assets 207 ($71k)2020 Revenue 204 ($220k) Expenses 222 ($184k) Net assets 294 ($102k)2021 Revenue 380 ($410k) Expenses 378 ($313k) Net assets 574 ($199k)2022 Revenue 429 ($463k) Expenses 548 ($454k) Net assets 600 ($208k)2023 Revenue 797 ($861k) Expenses 693 ($575k) Net assets 1364 ($472k)2024 Revenue 772 ($834k) Expenses 871 ($722k) Net assets 1662 ($575k)2025 Revenue 886 ($957k) Expenses 1034 ($857k) Net assets 1951 ($675k)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Revenue (886)Expenses (1034)Net assets (1951)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $208k to $476k (+129%).

$35k
$45k
$71k
$102k
$199k
$208k
$476k
$598k
$687k
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2021 10%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

86% of THE STEM CONNECTION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (83% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 6,418 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.

$25k
’17
$11k
’18
$26k
’19
$36k
’20
$97k
’21
$9k
’22
$286k
’23
$112k
’24
$100k
’25
2.6
months of
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

Vera Vander Kooy

Executive director

As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.

202020212022202320242025
Listed9109121214
Joined·+3+4+4+4+3
No longer listed·25141
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 14 funders, grant income rose $6k → $517k.

6 of 26 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 8% 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 THE STEM CONNECTION’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

THE STEM CONNECTION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 37% of grant income and the top three 62%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

37%
largest funder
62%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 55% · 2018 50% · 2019 19% · 2020 65% · 2021 22% · 2022 22% · 2023 63% — growing more concentrated.

“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

90% of THE STEM CONNECTION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 77% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y

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

91% of THE STEM CONNECTION's grant income comes from Indiana funders.

NY
MA
IN
CA
DC

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
Indiana out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $129k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

THE STEM CONNECTION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 3,734 youth development nonprofits its size.

Operating margin10% · above the median
Months of reserve2.6mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)31% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,734 youth development nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025

Organizations like THE STEM CONNECTION

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 Indiana

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

81% of spending goes to programs.

Program 81%Management 11%Fundraising 7%

Governance

13
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

51%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

IN

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE STEM CONNECTION: 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.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

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 THE STEM CONNECTION?
THE STEM CONNECTION (Indiana) receives grants from 26 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,580,446 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($584,844). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does THE STEM CONNECTION have?
IRS filings report 26 organizations giving $1,580,446 in grants to THE STEM CONNECTION, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of THE STEM CONNECTION?
LILLY ENDOWMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $584,844 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like THE STEM CONNECTION find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Indiana. 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 STEM Connection →

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 26 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