Bertha Stebens Charitable Foundation
Wilmington, DE · EIN 42-1280907. Reported 137 grants totalling $530,629 to 56 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. Bertha Stebens Charitable Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $16,076. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Iowa Area Community College Foundation | Mason City, IA | $50,000 | 7 | 4 | 2023 |
| Young Mens Christian Association | Mason City, IA | $32,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Clear Lake Classical Incorporated | Clear Lake, IA | $24,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Caring Pregnancy Center | Mason City, IA | $23,500 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Band Festival Foundation | Mason City, IA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Community Kitchen of North Iowa | Mason City, IA | $19,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Elderbridge Agency on Aging | Mason City, IA | $17,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa | Urbandale, IA | $17,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mason City Chamber of Commerce Foundation | Mason City, IA | $16,076 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Meals on Wheels of Mason City Inc | Mason City, IA | $14,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Central Gardens of North Iowa Inc | Clear Lake, IA | $13,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity International Inc | Mason City, IA | $12,555 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mercy Medical Center Foundation North Iowa | Mason City, IA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of Iowa CASA and Icfcrb | Des Moines, IA | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom | Garner, IA | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Community Action Organization | Mason City, IA | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Vocational Center Inc | Mason City, IA | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Niad Center for Human Development | Mason City, IA | $10,900 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| River City Society for Historic Preservation | Mason City, IA | $10,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| City of Mason City | Mason City, IA | $10,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Humane Society of North Iowa | Mason City, IA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Salvation Army | Mason City, IA | $10,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Community Health Center of Fort Dodge Inc | Fort Dodge, IA | $9,948 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Central Springs Community School District | Manly, IA | $9,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Charlie Brown Community Day Care Center | Mason City, IA | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Childrens Cancer Connection | Johnston, IA | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Stebens Childrens Theatre | Mason City, IA | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| River City Sculptures on Parade Inc | Mason City, IA | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Best Buddies International Inc | Windsor Heights, IA | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Senior Citizens Center | Mason City, IA | $6,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Swaledale Fire Department | Swaledale, IA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Youth and Shelter Services Inc - Francis Lauer You | Mason City, IA | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Handicap Village - One Vision | Clear Lake, IA | $5,250 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Mason City Community School District | Mason City, IA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mason City Foundation | Mason City, IA | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wright on the Park Inc | Mason City, IA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Clear Lake Arts Council | Clear Lake, IA | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Best Buddies International Inc - Iowa Chapter | Windsor Heights, IA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Healthy Harvest of North Iowa | Hampton, IA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Macnider Art Museum Foundation | Mason City, IA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mason City Community Theatre Inc | Mason City, IA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mason City Public Library | Mason City, IA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cerro Gordo County Iowa State University Extension | Mason City, IA | $3,800 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Lutheran Services in Iowa Inc | Des Moines, IA | $3,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Best Buddies International Inc | Miami, FL | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Clear Lake High School | Clear Lake, IA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rockwell Swaledale Emergency Medical Team | Rockwell, IA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of North Central Iowa | Mason City, IA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Youth and Shelter Services Inc | Mason City, IA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Fair Association | Mason City, IA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United to Serve With Passion and Purpose | Clear Lake, IA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mollies Mission | Nora Springs, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| North Iowa Christian School Inc | Mason City, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| North Iowa Cultural Center and Museum | Clear Lake, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Society to Preserve Antiquated Town Strucures - S | Dougherty, IA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Policing Advisory Board | Mason City, IA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
36 of 56 (64%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 75%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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.
- Mason City Chamber of Commerce Foundation
HVAC and professional and administration expenses of the Egloff House Project - Young Mens Christian Association
Mason City Family YMCA fund - Caring Pregnancy Center
Ultrasound Replacement to End Barriers to Effective Client Care - Mercy Medical Center Foundation North Iowa
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Incubator - Clear Lake Classical Incorporated
Band/Music room renovation - Community Kitchen of North Iowa
Purchase of Food and Meal products
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 71 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 33 | $128,053 | $3,000 |
| 2021 | 34 | $139,576 | $3,000 |
| 2022 | 32 | $122,000 | $3,750 |
| 2023 | 38 | $141,000 | $3,000 |
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. 99% 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.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Iowa.
- 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.
- 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 Bertha Stebens Charitable Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE, 19809. 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 42-1280907 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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