Wilderness River Foundation
Wilderness River Foundation is a private foundation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its 2025 filing reports 27 grants totaling $288,000 to charitable organizations. The listed recipients include educational, outdoor-adventure, environmental, community, and human-services organizations.
Wilderness River Foundation at a glance
In short: Wilderness River Foundation gave $288K across 27 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), mostly in Arizona. 4% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $288,000
- +22.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 27
- +3.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $10,667
- +18.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $4,000
- Total assets
- $4,579,001
- +31.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 4% first-time grantees (1 of 27, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Arizona (53% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Wilderness River Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 730 2Nd Ave S Ste 1400, Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 752-1770
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Wilderness River Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Prescott College ($120K). Together the top 10 received $220K.
Grant Size Distribution
121 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 118 grants of 121 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, Arizona recipients received 53% of grant dollars, Minnesota recipients 32%, North Dakota recipients 10%, Colorado recipients 3%, and California recipients 1%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 27 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Wilderness River Foundation open to new grantees?
4%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 27 grantees (4%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $11K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $4K repeat.
- 96% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 127% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 149% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $66K (2020) to $288K (2025). In 2025 it made 27 grants totaling $288K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Prescott College Prescott, AZ | General Operations | $120,000 |
| Children and Nature Network Minneapolis, MN | General Operations | $40,000 |
| Wilderness Inquiry Minneapolis, MN | General Operations | $12,000 |
| Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center Detroit Lakes, MN | General Operations | $10,000 |
| Ecosa Institute Denver, CO | General Operations | $10,000 |
| Young Life Detroit Lakes, MN | General Operations | $8,000 |
| Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch Stewartville, MN | General Operations | $6,000 |
| Pelican Lake Sailing School Fargo, ND | General Operations | $6,000 |
| Ain Dah Yung Center St. Paul, MN | General Operations | $4,000 |
| Amistad Worldwide Fargo, ND | General Operations | $4,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4,579,001 | $1,948,583 | $326,181 | $288,000 | 27 | $291,160 | $931,615 | $195,814 |
| 2024 | $3,494,500 | $2,011,821 | $253,026 | $235,000 | 26 | $237,980 | $986,394 | $125,501 |
| 2023 | $2,534,026 | $475,816 | $177,101 | $165,000 | 25 | $167,885 | $264,127 | $115,694 |
| 2022 | $2,235,311 | $632,322 | $139,688 | $127,000 | 21 | $130,238 | $22,599 | $94,713 |
| 2021 | $1,955,085 | $179,620 | $127,969 | $100,500 | 22 | $103,444 | $55,536 | $105,516 |
| 2020 | $1,903,434 | $878,551 | $93,771 | $66,000 | 21 | — | $339,437 | $68,538 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Wilderness River Foundation reported a distributable amount of $196K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations whose own stated missions span different areas. Prescott College, the largest listed recipient, describes its work as providing interdisciplinary, experiential, and diverse learning environments to prepare leaders for a healthy, just, and sustainable world. Wilderness Inquiry says it connects people through shared outdoor adventures so they can experience the benefits of time in nature. Prescott Creeks Preservation Association describes its mission as protecting and restoring watersheds and clean water in central Arizona through education and advocacy. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated missions of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 27 grants totaling $288,000. Grants ranged from $4,000 to $120,000, with a median of $4,000. Its largest listed awards were $120,000 to Prescott College and $40,000 to Children and Nature Network, both for general operations. Other listed grants included $12,000 to Wilderness Inquiry, $10,000 each to Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center and Ecosa Institute, and $8,000 to Young Life.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Thomas J Barry as president/director, Dean Hoffrogge as treasurer/director, and John Hinck as secretary/director.
Wilderness River Foundation is led by Thomas J. Barry, President & Director since 2023 (on filings since 2020); none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Thomas J. Barry
President & Director
President, Secretary & Director → President & Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dean Hoffrogge
Treasurer & Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John Hinck
Secretary & Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (2)
- Former: Dana Johnson (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Michael Barry (2020–2022) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Wilderness River Foundation
How much does Wilderness River Foundation give each year?
Wilderness River Foundation gave $288K across 27 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $235K across 26 grants.
What is Wilderness River Foundation's typical grant size?
Wilderness River Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $4,000, and its average grant was $10,667, across 27 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Wilderness River Foundation that year got $10K on average.
Where does Wilderness River Foundation give grants?
Wilderness River Foundation gives mostly in Arizona: 53% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Minnesota (32%) and North Dakota (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Prescott, AZ (7 grants), Fargo, ND (5 grants), Detroit Lakes, MN (3 grants) and Minneapolis, MN (2 grants).
Does Wilderness River Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Wilderness River Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (27 of 27) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Wilderness River Foundation's largest grantees?
Wilderness River Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Prescott College ($120,000), Children and Nature Network ($40,000) and Wilderness Inquiry ($12,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 60% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Wilderness River Foundation?
Wilderness River Foundation reported $4.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $291K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $196K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Wilderness River Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations whose own stated missions span different areas. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Wilderness River Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Wilderness River Foundation's EIN?
Wilderness River Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-4490018. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Wilderness River Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 14, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
Live grants for the work Wilderness River Foundation funds
Youth Development Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Wilderness River Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Wilderness River Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/wilderness-river-foundation-morg_0938d6493a314b61a84d3035152fa184
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_814490018_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Wilderness River Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/wilderness-river-foundation-morg_0938d6493a314b61a84d3035152fa184},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Wilderness River Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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