Funders › Minnesota

The Shared Fund

Bloomington, MN · EIN 41-1797725. Reported 200 grants totalling $907,731 to 72 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,500median grant
$907,731granted, 2021-2025
72recipients, as named on its returns
82%of grantees funded again the next year
$3,108,148assets, 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. The Shared Fund 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 $1,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $360 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
11 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
124 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
44 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
15 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
4 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
1 grant
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
San Diego Symphony OrchestraSan Diego, CA$183,681552025
Various CharitableFalls Church, VA$100,500222025
Mingei International MuseumSan Diego, CA$74,000552025
North Coast Repertory TheatreSolana Beach, CA$49,500552025
Conflict Resolution CenterMinneapolis, MN$28,000552025
Temple SolelCardiffbythesea, CA$26,290442025
Give Tax FreeFredericksburg, VA$25,000222022
Voices for ChildrenOwosso, MI$24,450552025
La Jolla Music SocietyLa Jolla, CA$24,000552025
New Israel FundLos Angeles, CA$23,500442024
Museum of Photographic ArtSan Diego, CA$18,000552025
Seacrest FoundationEncinitas, CA$16,600332023
Jewish Federation of San Diego CountySan Diego, CA$16,000222022
Museum of Contemporary Art - San DiegoLa Jolla, CA$15,500552025
Jewish Family and Children's ServiceGolden Valley, MN$14,200552025
San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego, CA$13,500552025
Planned ParenthoodMinneapolis, MN$12,000112025
Desire Childcare OrganizationSuwanee, GA$10,100222025
Abundance Educational InstituteYazoo City, MS$10,000222025
Ndn CollectiveRapid City, SD$10,000222025
Seeds Worth SewingHarlan, IA$10,000222025
Wild Salmon CenterPortland, OR$10,000332025
KpbsSan Diego, CA$9,500552025
St Jude Childrens Research HospitalMemphis, TN$8,000552025
Avera Health FoundationSioux Falls, SD$7,500112025
Oklahoma Contemporary ArtOklahoma City, OK$7,500332025
Jewish Federation of Greater OkcOkalahoma City, OK$6,600222023
GuthrieMinneapolis, MN$6,000552025
Wounded Warrior ProjectJacksonville, FL$6,000552025
Dakota Child & Family ClinicBurnsville, MN$5,400112024
Avera Marshall FoundationMarshall, MN$5,000112021
California Community FoundationLos Angeles, CA$5,000112025
Feeding San DiegoSan Diego, CA$5,000442025
Gillette Childrens FoundationMinneapolis, MN$5,000112025
Glass Wing InternationalNew York, NY$5,000112025
Habitat for HumanityAmericus, GA$5,000112022
Harlem AcademyNew York, NY$5,000442025
Heifer InternationalLittle Rock, AR$5,000552025
North County Food BankSan Diego, CA$5,000442025
Regional Food Bank of OklahomaOklahoma City, OK$5,000112025
San Diego Humane SocietySan Diego, CA$5,000442025
Scripps Health FoundationLa Jolla, CA$5,000552025
Serving SeniorsEdina, MN$5,000442025
Shir TikvahMinneapolis, MN$5,000112025
Skidmore FundSarasota Springs, NY$5,000112024
The Minneapolis Institute of ArtsMinneapolis, MN$5,000222022
Ucsd Foundation IncLa Jolla, CA$5,000552025
Unidos Mn Education FundMinneapolis, MN$5,000112025
Helen Woodward Animal CenterRancho Santa Fe, CA$4,500442025
Rancho Coastal Humane SocietyEncinitas, CA$4,000442025
San Diego Zoo Critical NeedsSan Diego, CA$4,000442025
Cure EpilepsyChicago, IL$3,500332025
Doctors Without Borders USANew York, NY$3,050332025
La Jolla PlayhouseLa Jolla, CA$3,000332023
San Diego River Valley ConservatorySan Diego, CA$3,000332025
Nbcf National Breast Cancer FundFrisco, TX$2,500112025
Michael J Fox FoundationNew York, NY$2,000332025
National Tay-Sachs & AlliedBrighton, MA$2,000222023
Shelter to SoldierOceanside, CA$2,000222023
Minnesota Landscape Arboritum FoundationMinneapolis, MN$1,500222022
Jewish Historical SocietyMinneapolis, MN$1,360222023
MazonSherman Oaks, CA$1,000112023
Minneapolis Jewish Community FoundationMinnetonka, MN$1,000112021
National Ms SocietyMinneapolis, MN$1,000222022
Pancreatic Cancer ActionManhattan Beach, CA$1,000112023
Planned Parenthood MplsMinneapolis, MN$1,000112024
Sholom Covid-19 FundMinneapolis, MN$1,000112022
Special OlympicsMinneapolis, MN$1,000112025
Together RisingFalls Church, VA$1,000112023
Zoom HouseMinneapolis, MN$1,000112022
Promises to KidsSan Diego, CA$500112022
San Diego Repertory TheatreSan Diego, CA$500112021

49 of 72 (68%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 82%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 116 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.

Arts & Culture
35 grants
Animal Welfare
13 grants
International Affairs
12 grants
Health Care
12 grants
Education
10 grants
Food & Nutrition
9 grants
Medical Research
6 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
6 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202129$212,800$3,000
202242$172,950$1,275
202342$131,716$1,000
202440$171,900$1,000
202547$218,365$2,265

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

58% of its giving went to organizations in California. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

California
$524K
Virginia
$126K
Minnesota
$104K
Michigan
$24K
New York
$20K
Oklahoma
$19K
South Dakota
$18K
Georgia
$15K

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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 a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund31 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc31 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust24 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program24 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc23 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation22 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,500. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in California.
  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.

Related guides

Foundations funding arts & culture in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding animal welfare in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding international affairs in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding health care in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Shared Fund's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.

Address of record on the latest return: 8500 Normandale Lake Blvd 350, Bloomington, MN, 55437. 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 41-1797725 · 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.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.