FundersIowa

Jd Nelson and Debra Nelson

Clear Lake, IA · EIN 87-3928548. Reported 93 grants totalling $1,269,400 to 74 organizations across tax years 2022-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$8,000median grant
$1,269,400granted, 2022-2024
74organizations funded
38%of grantees funded again the next year
$9,067,055assets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Jd Nelson and Debra Nelson did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $8,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $15,000; the smallest was $200 and the largest $100,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
12 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
25 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
12 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
26 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
9 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
8 grants
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Redeemer Bible ChurchMinnetonka, MN$150,000222024
Clear Lake ClassicalClear Lake, IA$115,000332024
World Harvest OutreachShell Lake, WI$95,000222024
Plymouth Bible Baptist ChurchPlymouth, IA$90,000222024
Open Bible ChurchClear Lake, IA$79,500332024
InfaithExton, PA$50,000112024
Southwest Christian High SchoolChaska, MN$50,000222024
Trinity Academy IncWichita, KS$50,000112024
Youth HorizonsWichita, KS$45,000332024
Goserv Global IncEagle Grove, IA$38,000222024
Fellowship of Christian AthletesWichita, KS$35,000222024
Youth for ChristMason City, IA$30,000222023
Together for GoodSt Paul, MN$28,000222024
Clear Lake Community ShoolsClear Lake, IA$27,000112024
Mason City Family YMCAMason City, IA$25,000112024
River City Community ChurchWichita, KS$25,000112024
Salvation ArmyMason City, IA$25,000332024
St Johns Lutheran SchoolChaska, MN$25,000112024
Hawkeye Harvest Food BankMason City, IA$20,000332024
Iowa Regular Baptist CampVentura, IA$20,000112023
Clear Lake Community SchoolsClear Lake, IA$16,000112023
Bethel CollegeSaint Paul, MN$15,000112024
Cedar Springs CampFloyd, IA$15,000112022
Christian Assn of Youth MentoringWitchta, KS$15,000112024
Northern Lights Alliance for the HomelessMason City, IA$15,000112022
United to Serve With Passion & PurpClear Lake, IA$13,000112024
Clear Lake Wrestling ClubClear Lake, IA$11,000112023
Church Ministries International IncPlano, TX$10,000112023
Clear Lake Open Bible ChurchClear Lake, IA$10,000112023
Helps MinistryAsheville, NC$10,000112022
Kansas University Christian ChallengeLawrence, KS$10,000112023
Onelink InternationalWichita, KS$10,000112023
Bethel CollegeRedding, CA$8,000112023
Lifepointe Church of AmesAmes, IA$8,000112023
Community Kitchen of North IowaMason City, IA$7,000112023
Freedom in His GraceMason City, IA$7,000222024
Cheer FundMason City, IA$5,000112024
ETHNOS360Sanford, FL$5,000112023
Globe Gazette Cheer FundMason City, IA$5,000112022
Serving Workers for the HarvestRiverview, FL$5,000112024
United to Serve With Passion & PurposeClear Lake, IA$5,000112023
Christian Association of Youth MentoringWichita, KS$4,000112023
Ksu Christian ChallengeManhattan, KS$4,000112023
Clear Lake Booster ClubClear Lake, IA$3,000112024
Concerned Women for AmericaWashington, DC$3,000112023
Samaritans PurseBoone, NC$3,000112023
Caring Pregnancy CenterMason City, IA$2,500112023
Fischer House Foundation IncRockville, MD$2,500112023
Alliance Defending FreedomScottsdale, AZ$2,000112023
Judicial Watch IncWashington, DC$2,000112023
American Bible AssociationPhiladelphia, PA$1,000112023
American Family AssociationTupelo, MS$1,000112023
Campus Crusade for Christ IncOrlando, FL$1,000112023
Clear Lake Volunteer Fire DeptClear Lake, IA$1,000112023
Community Foundation of Northeast IowaCedar Falls, IA$1,000112023
Heritage Foundation IncThomasville, GA$1,000112023
Hillsdale CollegeHillsdale, MI$1,000112023
Igor I Sikorsky Historical ArchivesStratford, CT$1,000112023
Iowa Profile AllianceUrbandale, IA$1,000112023
Medecins San Frontiers USA IncNew York, NY$1,000112023
Mercy ShipsLindale, TX$1,000112023
Mission Aviation FellowshipNampa, ID$1,000112023
Athletes in ActionOrlando, FL$500112023
Boys TownBoys Town, NE$500112023
Iowa PBSJohnston, IA$500112023
National Pro-Life AllianceSpringfield, VA$500112023
Smile Train IncNew York, NY$500112023
D James KennedyFort Lauderdale, FL$200112023
Hoover Presidential FoundationWest Branch, IA$200112023
Iowa Special Olympics IncGrimes, IA$200112023
Jack Van Impe MinistriesRochester, MI$200112023
Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum IncChanute, KS$200112023
Our Daily Bread MinistriesGrand Rapids, MI$200112023
Zions Hope IncWinter Garden, FL$200112023

14 of 74 (19%) received money in more than one year over the 3 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 38%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 41 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Religion
11 grants
Education
8 grants
Food & Nutrition
4 grants
Arts & Culture
3 grants
Human Services
3 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
2 grants
Public & Societal Benefit
2 grants
Public Safety & Disaster Relief
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202211$125,000$10,000
202357$379,900$2,500
202425$764,500$25,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 47% of this one's giving went to organizations in Iowa. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Iowa
$596K
Minnesota
$268K
Kansas
$198K
Wisconsin
$95K
Pennsylvania
$51K
North Carolina
$13K
Florida
$12K
Texas
$11K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund22 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc19 shared recipientsNatl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc15 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust12 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program12 shared recipientsThe Blackbaud Giving Fund12 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $8,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Iowa.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Jd Nelson and Debra Nelson's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 607, Clear Lake, IA, 50428. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 87-3928548 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.