Foundations that fund organizations in Sanford, North Carolina
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for Sanford nonprofits
70 private foundations gave $5.5M to Sanford organizations in their latest filings; 25 of the 70 that say either way accept applications.
166 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to Sanford around $4,000. 23 of these funders are based in North Carolina; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 70
- Accept applications
- 25
- of 70 that state a policy
- Dollars to Sanford
- $5.5M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 166
- Typical median grant
- $4,000
- Based in NC
- 33%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to Sanford organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Kresge Foundation | Troy, MI | 3 | $935K | $400K | Yes | Project support to help leading cities advance the practice…; Project support grant to connect sustainability professiona…; Project support grant to aid, support, and empower the equi… |
| Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands | Sanford, NC | 22 | $787K | $20K | Preselected only | Fund recipient's exempt purpose; Fund recipeint's exempt purpose |
| Fidelity Foundation | Boston, MA | 1 | $500K | $500K | Yes | Property care; buildings; renovation |
| V Kann Rasmussen Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $500K | $500K | Preselected only | In support of carbon neutral cities alliance's project "des… |
| State Employees Credit Union Foundation | Raleigh, NC | 1 | $400K | $400K | Yes | Capital grant |
| Live Oak Foundation | Sanford, NC | 2 | $275K | $138K | Preselected only | General support |
| Rockefeller Brothers Fund Inc | New York, NY | 2 | $275K | $138K | Yes | For its project the center for regenerative solutions; For general support |
| The Arthur M Blank Family Foundation | Atlanta, GA | 2 | $250K | $125K | Preselected only | General operating support; Southeast sustainability directors network policy |
| The Summit Charitable Foundation Inc | Washington, DC | 2 | $200K | $100K | Preselected only | Advancing just climate action in the built environment; Leveraging networks to accelerate local climate action |
| Barr Foundation | Boston, MA | 2 | $180K | $90K | Preselected only | To build capacity in northeast cities and towns to pursue c…; To support the carbon neutral cities alliance's climate jus… |
| The McKnight Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 2 | $175K | $88K | Yes | for general operating support; to support training for Midwestern cities transitioning fro… |
| The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation | Menlo Park, CA | 1 | $150K | $150K | Yes | For general operating support |
| Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Inc | Winstonsalem, NC | 1 | $90K | $90K | Preselected only | For general operating support, wnc disaster relief |
| The Duke Endowment | Charlotte, NC | 1 | $80K | $80K | Yes | To support hispanic community outreach. |
| The Perkins Foundation Inc | Sanford, NC | 9 | $72K | $2,000 | Preselected only | Outreach programs |
| Nc Idea | Durham, NC | 5 | $64K | $20K | Yes | Rural impact; Engage grants; Mindset grants |
| O Temple Sloan Jr Foundation | Raleigh, NC | 3 | $55K | $5,000 | Yes | General operation expenses |
| Espere Foundation | Sanford, NC | 9 | $54K | $1,000 | Preselected only | Charity; Sharpe/Jordan Scholarship; Grant |
| Philip L van Every Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $50K | $50K | Preselected only | Support |
| The McSwain Trust | Sanford, NC | 12 | $43K | $3,000 | Preselected only | Fund recipient's exempt purpose; Fund recipient's exempt purposefund recipient's exempt purp… |
| Bca Foundation Inc | Sanford, NC | 12 | $35K | $2,000 | Yes | Charitable |
| Texas Instruments Foundation | Dallas, TX | 1 | $28K | $28K | Yes | Donations to colleges, universities and other organizations… |
| Ksenia Anna Manzo Scholarship Inc | Aberdeen, NC | 1 | $26K | $26K | Preselected only | Scholarship fund |
| Ainslie Foundation | Dallas, TX | 1 | $25K | $25K | Preselected only | Provide education, training, and facilities to veterans |
| The Bullitt Foundation | Seattle, WA | 1 | $25K | $25K | Preselected only | For the usdn western regional meeting in portland. |
| The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Missionpost Pmb #101 | Durham, NC | 1 | $25K | $25K | Yes | Education grant |
| Puffin Foundation West Ltd C/O Judith Kitrick | Raleigh, NC | 1 | $20K | $20K | Yes | Unrestricted grant to support the organization's exempt pur… |
| The Pfizer Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 18 | $19K | $530 | Preselected only | Volunteer program; Matching gifts |
| Denise G Buhrman Trust | Eagan, MN | 1 | $17K | $17K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Good Forever Foundation | Austin, TX | 1 | $11K | $11K | Yes | General program support |
| C Hamilton Sloan Foundation | Raleigh, NC | 1 | $10K | $10K | Yes | Charity |
| Martha Morse Beck von Peccoz Animal Plc | Pennington, NJ | 1 | $6,000 | $6,000 | Yes | Unrestricted general |
| Nchsaa Foundation Inc | Chapel Hill, NC | 3 | $5,348 | $1,872 | Preselected only | Athletic program grant |
| The Kendeda Fund | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | Southeast Sustainability Director's Network to participate… |
| Chaney Foundation Ltd | Annapolis, MD | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | Unrestricted support of organization's exempt purpose |
| John M Belk Endowment | Charlotte, NC | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | JMBE Next NC Acceleration Grant |
| Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation D/B/A Wyndham Championship | Greensboro, NC | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Preselected only | To promote and market downtown sanford as the primary econo… |
| Firehole Foundation | Miami, FL | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | General contribution |
| Stephenson Family Foundation Inc | Cary, NC | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | Health care |
| Glore Fund | West Boxford, MA | 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 | Yes | General support |
| The Summerlee Foundation | Dallas, TX | 1 | $4,000 | $4,000 | Yes | General support |
| Janie M Hardy Charitable Tr | Raleigh, NC | 1 | $2,989 | $2,989 | Preselected only | General purpose |
| Verizon Foundation | Basking Ridge, NJ | 4 | $2,592 | $759 | Preselected only | Other civic / community |
| The Aaron and Renee Harari Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $2,500 | $2,500 | Preselected only | Unrestricted charitable purpose |
| Engelhardt Family Foundation | St Louis, MO | 1 | $2,500 | $2,500 | Preselected only | To support and empower youth athletes who have faced trauma |
| The Salomon and Sarah Harari Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $2,500 | $2,500 | Preselected only | Unrestricted charitable purpose |
| Co2 Foundation | Seattle, WA | 1 | $2,475 | $2,475 | Yes | Resilience hubs video series: sharing community wisdom and… |
| The Jerry & Alice Womack Foundation Inc | Chesapeake, VA | 1 | $2,000 | $2,000 | Preselected only | Community welfare/outreach |
| Diamond Sports Foundation Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | 1 | $1,598 | $1,598 | Preselected only | To support fund for developing student-athletes. |
| Sharp Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $1,500 | $1,500 | Preselected only | Assist with financial help in their non-profit needs |
| Surdna Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $1,050 | $1,050 | Yes | General support |
| The Byrne Foundation Inc | Morrisville, NC | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | General operating fund |
| The McEwen Family Foundation | Merrick, NY | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | Operational |
| The Oscar C Rixson Foundation Inc | Asheville, NC | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | Healthlne grant |
| Huffman Foundation | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted |
| Jean Lykes Grace Foundation | Houston, TX | 1 | $1,000 | $1,000 | Preselected only | Support |
| The Woodforest Charitable Foundation | The Woodlands, TX | 1 | $500 | $500 | Preselected only | Support of general programs |
| Ronnie & Gwen Briggs Foundation | Abita Springs, LA | 1 | $500 | $500 | Yes | Support |
| The Carson Family Foundation Inc | Fort Myers, FL | 1 | $500 | $500 | Preselected only | General support |
| Tractor Supply Company Foundation | Brentwood, TN | 1 | $500 | $500 | Yes | Hometown heroes donation |
| Edward Jones Foundation | St Louis, MO | 2 | $400 | $200 | Preselected only | Food, agriculture and nutrition |
| The Janus Henderson Foundation | Denver, CO | 1 | $250 | $250 | Preselected only | Donations for Doers |
| Weiner Foundation | Gig Harbor, WA | 1 | $250 | $250 | Preselected only | Animal preservation |
| Mahir & Helene Reiss Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $120 | $120 | Preselected only | Charitable contribution |
| The Ezra Charitable Trust | Lawrence, NY | 1 | $100 | $100 | Preselected only | General support |
| George Smedes Poyner Foundation Inc | Raleigh, NC | 1 | $100 | $100 | Preselected only | Support of charitable activities |
| American Tower Corporation Foundation Inc | Boston, MA | 1 | $50 | $50 | Preselected only | General purpose |
| C Funding | Hackensack, NJ | 1 | $38 | $38 | Preselected only | Educational and religious |
| Jemys Foundation | Monsey, NY | 1 | $36 | $36 | Preselected only | Educational |
| Zurn Foundation Inc (fka Rexnord Foundation Inc) | Milwaukee, WI | 1 | — | Yes | Grant |
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 Sanford, North Carolina?
The Kresge Foundation, Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands, Fidelity Foundation, V Kann Rasmussen Foundation, State Employees Credit Union Foundation and 65 others reported grants to Sanford 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 Sanford. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.