FundersMinnesota

The Shared Fund

Bloomington, MN · EIN 41-1797725. Reported 153 grants totalling $689,366 to 62 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,000median grant
$689,366granted, 2021-2024
62organizations funded
79%of grantees funded again the next year
$3,083,426assets, 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 $1,000. 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
10 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
96 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
30 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
13 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
3 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
San Diego Symphony OrchestraSan Diego, CA$158,681442024
Mingei International MuseumSan Diego, CA$69,000442024
Various CharitableFalls Church, VA$45,500112024
North Coast Repertory TheatreSolana Beach, CA$39,500442024
Give Tax FreeFredericksburg, VA$25,000222022
Temple SolelCardiffbythesea, CA$24,025332024
New Israel FundLos Angeles, CA$23,500442024
Conflict Resolution CenterMinneapolis, MN$23,000442024
La Jolla Music SocietyLa Jolla, CA$20,000442024
Voices for ChildrenOwosso, MI$19,450442024
Museum of Photographic ArtSan Diego, CA$17,000442024
Seacrest FoundationEncinitas, CA$16,600332023
Jewish Federation of San Diego CountySan Diego, CA$16,000222022
Museum of Contemporary Art - San DiegoLa Jolla, CA$14,500442024
Jewish Family and Children's ServiceGolden Valley, MN$13,200442024
San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego, CA$12,500442024
KpbsSan Diego, CA$8,500442024
Wild Salmon CenterPortland, OR$7,500222024
Jewish Federation of Greater OkcOkalahoma City, OK$6,600222023
St Jude Childrens Research HospitalMemphis, TN$5,500442024
Dakota Child & Family ClinicBurnsville, MN$5,400112024
Abundance Educational InstituteYazoo City, MS$5,000112024
Avera Marshall FoundationMarshall, MN$5,000112021
Desire Childcare OrganizationSuwanee, GA$5,000112024
GuthrieMinneapolis, MN$5,000442024
Habitat for HumanityAmericus, GA$5,000112022
Ndn CollectiveRapid City, SD$5,000112024
Oklahoma Contemporary ArtOklahoma City, OK$5,000222024
Seeds Worth SewingHarlan, IA$5,000112024
Skidmore FundSarasota Springs, NY$5,000112024
The Minneapolis Institute of ArtsMinneapolis, MN$5,000222022
Heifer InternationalLittle Rock, AR$4,000442024
San Diego Humane SocietySan Diego, CA$4,000332024
Scripps Health FoundationLa Jolla, CA$4,000442024
Ucsd Foundation IncLa Jolla, CA$4,000442024
Wounded Warrior ProjectJacksonville, FL$4,000442024
Helen Woodward Animal CenterRancho Santa Fe, CA$3,500332024
Cure EpilepsyChicago, IL$3,000222024
Feeding San DiegoSan Diego, CA$3,000332024
Harlem AcademyNew York, NY$3,000332024
La Jolla PlayhouseLa Jolla, CA$3,000332023
North County Food BankSan Diego, CA$3,000332024
Rancho Coastal Humane SocietyEncinitas, CA$3,000332024
San Diego Zoo Critical NeedsSan Diego, CA$3,000332024
Serving SeniorsEdina, MN$3,000332024
Doctors Without Borders USANew York, NY$2,050222023
National Tay-Sachs & AlliedBrighton, MA$2,000222023
San Diego River Valley ConservatorySan Diego, CA$2,000222024
Shelter to SoldierOceanside, CA$2,000222023
Minnesota Landscape Arboritum FoundationMinneapolis, MN$1,500222022
Jewish Historical SocietyMinneapolis, MN$1,360222023
MazonSherman Oaks, CA$1,000112023
Michael J Fox FoundationNew York, NY$1,000222024
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
Together RisingFalls Church, VA$1,000112023
Zoom HouseMinneapolis, MN$1,000112022
Promises to KidsSan Diego, CA$500112022
San Diego Repertory TheatreSan Diego, CA$500112021

44 of 62 (71%) 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 79%, 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 kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 88 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Arts & Culture
29 grants
International Affairs
10 grants
Health Care
9 grants
Animal Welfare
8 grants
Education
7 grants
Food & Nutrition
6 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
5 grants
Medical Research
4 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

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. 66% of this one's giving went to organizations in California. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

California
$457K
Virginia
$72K
Minnesota
$67K
Michigan
$19K
Oklahoma
$12K
New York
$11K
Georgia
$10K
Oregon
$8K

Find more foundations like The Shared Fund

We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.

No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.

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 Fund27 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc26 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program22 shared recipientsJewish Community Foundation of San Diego20 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation20 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust19 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,000. 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 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 group, rankedFoundations funding international affairs in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding health care in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding animal welfare in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, ranked

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 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

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, 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 hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.