Foundations that fund organizations in Grinnell, Iowa
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Grinnell nonprofits
63 private foundations gave $6.9M to Grinnell organizations in their latest filings; 23 of the 63 that say either way accept applications.
118 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Grinnell around $5,000. 21 of these funders are based in Iowa; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 63
- Accept applications
- 23
- of 63 that state a policy
- Dollars to Grinnell
- $6.9M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 118
- Typical median grant
- $5,000
- Based in IA
- 33%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Grinnell organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John M Campbell Trust | Grinnell, IA | 2 | $3.5M | $1.8M | Yes | Aid the worthy poor |
| C W Ahrens Charitable Trust | Grinnell, IA | 2 | $834K | $417K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Claude W & Dolly Ahrens Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 7 | $568K | $5,000 | Preselected only | Programming; Operating Funds, Capital Purchases; Programming, Early Childhood, Educaiton |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $250K | $250K | Preselected only | Strengthening Rural Iowa through Small Business Growth 2.0 |
| Roland & Ruby Holden Foundation C/O Kristen J Wilcox | Mount Vernon, IA | 1 | $243K | $243K | Preselected only | Global learning program for grinnell college |
| Roy J Carver Charitable Trust | Muscatine, IA | 2 | $217K | $108K | Yes | Capital improvements to an environme; Private college carver scholarship p |
| Michael and Susan Witt Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 1 | $173K | $173K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 15 | $162K | $6,000 | Yes | Automatic Door Locking System Grant 2nd of 2 years; Supplies for Ambulance-3rd of 3 Annual payments; Operational Funds 2nd of 5 years commitment |
| The Henry Luce Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $155K | $155K | Yes | Support for two Clare Boothe Luce STEM professorships |
| Paul H Burgett Educational Fund | Dallas, TX | 1 | $128K | $128K | Preselected only | Scholarships for books & |
| Brownell Family Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 7 | $125K | $5,000 | Preselected only | Charitable |
| The Cabin Foundation | Cape Elizabeth, ME | 1 | $100K | $100K | Preselected only | General fund |
| Brown Samuel Rtuw | St Louis, MO | 1 | $80K | $80K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Myrtle Cass Trust | Grinnell, IA | 2 | $52K | $26K | Preselected only | Scholarships for students; General support of hospital |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 1 | $51K | $51K | Preselected only | This project uses an instrumental variable design to estima… |
| Ramsey Family Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 22 | $39K | $650 | Preselected only | Projects; Church activity; Community projectsfor the museum |
| John and Miyoko Davey Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $20K | $20K | Preselected only | To support education programs |
| The Saul Steinberg Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $14K | $14K | Preselected only | Donation of artworkto be displayed |
| Wright Service Corp Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation | West Des Moines, IA | 1 | $14K | $14K | Yes | General charitable support |
| Jim and Dede Bartlett Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $13K | $13K | Preselected only | Scholarship grant |
| The Nancy & Victor S Johnson Jr Foundation | Nashville, TN | 2 | $12K | $6,000 | Preselected only | General support |
| Gupta Family Foundation | Grimes, IA | 1 | $10K | $10K | Preselected only | General |
| The J Paul Getty Trust | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | $10K | $10K | Yes | Employee - arts and educational program |
| Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation | Evanston, IL | 1 | $10K | $10K | Preselected only | In support of organization's mission |
| Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow Foundation Inc | Orlando, FL | 1 | $10K | $10K | Yes | Scholarship |
| Wl and Sydney M Winstrom Charitable Trust C/O Bridges Trust Co | Omaha, NE | 1 | $10K | $10K | Yes | Annual appeal |
| Elkes Foundation III | New York, NY | 1 | $10K | $10K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Schaen Grace - Tua | St Louis, MO | 1 | $9,504 | $9,504 | Preselected only | General support grant |
| The Miccio Foundation | Iowa City, IA | 1 | $8,500 | $8,500 | Yes | Remodling |
| First Interstate Bancsystem Foundation Inc | Billings, MT | 2 | $7,500 | $3,750 | Yes | Volunteer Day Project; General Operating Support |
| Clermont & Kathryn Watson Scholarship Fund | Dallas, TX | 1 | $6,774 | $6,774 | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| Verizon Foundation | Basking Ridge, NJ | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | Other civic / community |
| Greenstate Foundation | North Liberty, IA | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | Snacks make the kids happy |
| The Renaissance Foundation | Portland, OR | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | Scholarships |
| The Jeanne Myerson and John Cate Family | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | Unrestricted gift |
| Patricia & Emanuel Papper Foundation Inc | Miami, FL | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | Support contribution |
| Macauley Elise Lennig Ud 5156 | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $4,922 | $4,922 | Preselected only | General operating |
| Gwendolyn and Lucian L Hinecker Scholarship Trust | Marshalltown, IA | 1 | $4,000 | $4,000 | Yes | Scholarships |
| Poweshiek County Fair Foundation | Grinnell, IA | 1 | $3,700 | $3,700 | Preselected only | Support the fair |
| Pgn Foundation | Las Vegas, NV | 1 | $3,000 | $3,000 | Preselected only | General purpose |
| The Summit Foundation Inc | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | $3,000 | $3,000 | Preselected only | Program |
| Lsb Foundation | Reinbeck, IA | 2 | $3,000 | $1,500 | Yes | Dollars for scholars support - annual scholarship gift; Storytime art in the park support |
| Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Foundation | Sac City, IA | 1 | $2,750 | $2,750 | Yes | Charitable |
| Change Create Transform Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $2,500 | $2,500 | Preselected only | Funding scholarship program |
| Xcel Energy Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $2,360 | $2,360 | Yes | Match a previous donation (higher ed) grant, match credit c… |
| Teget Foundation C/O Paul Teget | Hays, KS | 1 | $2,000 | $2,000 | Preselected only | Educational |
| W & a Soneson Scholarship Trust | Eagan, MN | 1 | $2,000 | $2,000 | Yes | Scholarship |
| Peakcu Foundation | Olympia, WA | 1 | $2,000 | $2,000 | Yes | Scholarship |
| James and Cleo Hamilton Family Charitable Trust | Detroit, MI | 1 | $1,846 | $1,846 | Preselected only | Institutional support |
| Morgan Family Foundation | Yellow Springs, OH | 1 | $1,500 | $1,500 | Yes | (matching) women's soccer |
| The Graham Edwin and Sharon Janosik Mitchell Foundation | West Chester, OH | 1 | $1,500 | $1,500 | Preselected only | Providing financial management support to partner nonprofit… |
| Baird Foundation Inc | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | $1,450 | $1,450 | Preselected only | Health and human services |
| Phyllis Perry Hulton Educational Trust | Marshalltown, IA | 1 | $1,250 | $1,250 | Preselected only | Educational |
| One Gas Foundation Inc | Tulsa, OK | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Yes | Employee Matching Grant |
| Bfk Foundation Inc C/O Abram Kaplan President | Granville, OH | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Lenox Foundation | Albany, NY | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | Charitable purpose |
| Hoff Foundation | Omaha, NE | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | Educational scholarships |
| Grinnell Fire Auxiliary | Grinnell, IA | 1 | $947 | $947 | Preselected only | Income from Bake Sale for Fire Dept |
| Marguerite V Brown | Eagan, MN | 1 | $549 | $549 | Yes | Scholarship |
| Mountaintop Foundation | Bokeelia, FL | 1 | $500 | $500 | Preselected only | To support ongoing social prpgrams of the students |
| Alliant Energy Foundation Inc | Madison, WI | 1 | $500 | $500 | Yes | Power team grant - tree planting event |
| Edward Jones Foundation | St Louis, MO | 2 | $350 | $175 | Preselected only | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations; Arts, culture and humanities |
| Lions Boys Basketball Club Inc C/O Halley Griess | Urbandale, IA | 1 | $200 | $200 | Preselected only | Tournaments |
Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV, latest electronic return per foundation (2026-10-28). "Accepts applications" reflects the foundation's own checkbox on Part XV line 2. Grants to individuals excluded.
Common questions
Which foundations give to nonprofits in Grinnell, Iowa?
John M Campbell Trust, C W Ahrens Charitable Trust, Claude W & Dolly Ahrens Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Roland & Ruby Holden Foundation C/O Kristen J Wilcox and 58 others reported grants to Grinnell organizations on their latest Form 990-PF.
How do I approach a foundation that doesn't accept applications?
A foundation that checks "contributes only to preselected organizations" on its 990-PF won't review a cold proposal. Look at who it funds, find a shared board member, grantee or advisor, and ask for an introduction. Foundations that accept applications usually list a contact and deadlines in Part XV; we show that text on each foundation's page.
Is this list complete?
No. It covers private foundations (Form 990-PF filers) whose latest electronic return lists at least one grant to an organization in Grinnell. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.