The Peterson Family Foundation focuses almost exclusively on international health and safety programs in developing countries, directing the vast majority of its funding to a single overseas health organization while making a smaller grant to a girl-safety/education initiative. Their giving signals a hands-on, targeted approach to improving health outcomes and protective services for vulnerable populations abroad, with an emphasis on one core partner.
Highly concentrated: few, large gifts with repeat funding to one principal grantee (Empower Tanzania), supplemented by occasional single grants to complementary international nonprofits.
Peterson Family Foundation Inc’s giving is dominated by one overseas health partner: Empower Tanzania Inc received the foundation’s three largest recent grants, including $133,710 in 2023, $88,308 in 2024, and $105,673 in 2025. That repeated support points to a concentrated funding style rather than a broad portfolio. The foundation also extended program support to She Is Safe, which received $10,000 in 2024 and $20,000 in 2025 for education/charitable purposes. Together, those awards show a clear preference for direct service delivery in health, safety, and education settings, especially for vulnerable populations. The rest of the recent record is made up of smaller grants across religious, health care, and education categories, often at $1,000 to $4,000 levels, suggesting a mix of anchor support and modest supplemental gifts. The foundation’s current grant history is national in scope, but the pattern centers on a handful of organizations rather than many one-time recipients.
International health programming is the clearest theme in the recent grants. Empower Tanzania Inc received $105,673 in 2025 for Health Care, following $88,308 in 2024 and $133,710 in 2023, indicating sustained support for health-related work in Tanzania. In girls’ safety and education, She Is Safe received $20,000 in 2025 and $10,000 in 2024 for Education/Charitable purposes. Smaller awards also reached direct-service organizations in other categories: Columbia Mennonite Guest Home received $4,000 in 2025 and $2,500 in 2024 for Health Care, while SE Iowa Hospice received $2,500 in 2024 for Health Care. The grants show a preference for operating support tied to practical service delivery rather than broad, generalized philanthropy.
Typical grant sizes are modest, with a 25th percentile of $1,000, a median of $2,500, and a 75th percentile of $7,000. The distribution is highly uneven because a few large awards sit alongside many small grants. The recent record also shows repeat support to several recipients across multiple years, including Empower Tanzania Inc, She Is Safe, Columbia Mennonite Guest Home, PlenFleri, and Stem. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-off gifts. The foundation appears to make program-specific grants, and it does not fund individuals or program-related investments.
$80K
$2.9M
$252K
$120K
Most grants fall between $1K and $7K, with a median of $3K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$3K
75th Percentile
$7K
About 11% of grants go to recipients in IA.
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Notable grantees: Empower Tanzania Inc, She Is Safe
The foundation gives nationally, with all recent grants going to U.S. recipients. Iowa appears most often in the recipient list, including Ames, West Burlington, and Keokuk. Other recurring locations include Scottsdale, Arizona; Roswell, Georgia; Columbia, Missouri; and St. Cloud, Florida. Arizona recipients account for 9% of grants, which is separate from the Scottsdale headquarters. The geography is therefore broad across U.S. states, while the largest grantmaking concentration is in Iowa.
Recent grants show a focus on health care, education/charitable work, religious organizations, and poverty or disaster relief. The largest continuing theme is international health programming, alongside support for girls’ safety and education and smaller direct-service grants to care-focused organizations.
Yes. Empower Tanzania Inc received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025. She Is Safe received grants in both 2024 and 2025, and Columbia Mennonite Guest Home also appeared in two consecutive years. That indicates repeated funding relationships.
The foundation’s grant sizes are generally small to mid-sized. The 25th percentile is $1,000, the median is $2,500, and the 75th percentile is $7,000. Recent awards include both these smaller gifts and a few much larger grants to the same core recipient.
Its grantmaking is national, but the top state by grant count is Iowa. Recent recipient cities in Iowa include Ames, West Burlington, and Keokuk. Arizona recipients also appear, though they make up 9% of grants rather than the largest share.
No. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. Its recent grants are all organizational awards, with amounts concentrated in a small set of nonprofits.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empower Tanzania Inc | Ames, IA | $49,280 | 2026 | Health Care |
| She Is Safe | Roswell, GA | $28,000 | 2026 | Education/Charitable |
| Caring Hearts Ministry Inc | Cranberry Township, PA | $3,000 | 2026 | Charitable/Education |
| Empower Tanzania Inc | Ames, IA | $105,673 | 2025 | Health Care |
| She Is Safe | Roswell, GA | $20,000 | 2025 | Education/Charitable |
| PlenFleri | Huntington Beach, CA | $4,000 | 2025 | Religious |
| Columbia Mennonite Guest Home | Columbia, MO | $4,000 | 2025 | Health Care |
| STEM | St Cloud, FL | $2,000 | 2025 | Religious |
| YouCanFreeUs | Flower Mound, TX | $2,000 | 2025 | Education |
| The Timothy Initiative | Raleigh, NC | $2,000 | 2025 | Religious |
| Scottsdale Bible Church | Scottsdale, AZ | $1,000 | 2025 | Religious |
| Empower Tanzania Inc | Ames, IA | $88,308 | 2024 | Health Care |
| She Is Safe | Roswell, GA | $10,000 | 2024 | Education/Charitable |
| Columbia Mennonite Guest Home | Columbia, MO | $2,500 | 2024 | Health Care |
| SE Iowa Hospice | W Burlington, IA | $2,500 | 2024 | Health Care |
| EMPOWER TANZANIA INC | AMES, IA | $133,710 | 2023 | HEALTH CARE |
| HANNAH HOUSE | GILMER, TX | $4,000 | 2023 | RELIGIOUS |
| PLEN FLERI | HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA | $2,000 | 2023 | POVERTY DISASTER RELIEF |
| GOD'S WAY CHRISTIAN CENTER | KEOKUK, IA | $1,000 | 2023 | RELIGIOUS |
| JOHNSON UNIVERSITY FLORIDA | KISSIMMEE, FL | $1,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| STEM | ST CLOUD, FL | $1,000 | 2023 | RELIGIOUS |
| HEART CITY | GLENDALE, AZ | $1,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
She Is Safe
$28,000Education/Charitable
Caring Hearts Ministry Inc
$3,000Charitable/Education
She Is Safe
$20,000Education/Charitable
PlenFleri
$4,000Religious
Columbia Mennonite Guest Home
$4,000Health Care
STEM
$2,000Religious
YouCanFreeUs
$2,000Education
Scottsdale Bible Church
$1,000Religious
She Is Safe
$10,000Education/Charitable
Columbia Mennonite Guest Home
$2,500Health Care
SE Iowa Hospice
$2,500Health Care
HANNAH HOUSE
$4,000RELIGIOUS
PLEN FLERI
$2,000POVERTY DISASTER RELIEF
GOD'S WAY CHRISTIAN CENTER
$1,000RELIGIOUS
JOHNSON UNIVERSITY FLORIDA
$1,000EDUCATION
STEM
$1,000RELIGIOUS
HEART CITY
$1,000CHARITABLE