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Foundations that fund nonprofits in District of Columbia
In the IRS filings in CivicVane's data (tax years 2021–2025), 19,062 grantmakers listed 115,294 grants totaling $14.3 billion to 17,382 organizations in District of Columbia. 18,162 of them are private foundations reporting on Form 990-PF and 900 are grantmaking public charities, such as community foundations, reporting on Form 990 Schedule I. 360 are based in District of Columbia; the rest give in from other states.
The median grant to a District of Columbia organization was $10,000. Organizations in District of Columbia received 98,712 grants from 17,286 funders. Matching grant purposes and recipient names to cause areas, the most common were education & literacy (11,980 grants), environment & conservation (9,320 grants) and arts & culture (5,553 grants).
Greater Washington Community Foundation (Washington, DC) funded the most different District of Columbia organizations: 676, through 1,027 grants with a typical size of $25,000.
The 15 grantmakers that funded the most District of Columbia organizations
Ranked by the number of different District of Columbia organizations each funded in its filings for tax years 2021–2025. Typical grant = median of those grants. Donor-advised fund sponsors, workplace-giving and matching-gift programs are left out.
| # | Funder | Grants to DC organizations | Organizations funded | Typical grant | Most recent tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Washington Community Foundation Washington, DC · EIN 23-7343119 | 1,027 | 676 | $25,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 2 | The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Washington, DC · EIN 52-6036989 | 565 | 384 | $35,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 3 | The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Princeton, NJ · EIN 22-6029397 | 853 | 356 | $145,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 4 | The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation Menlo Park, CA · EIN 94-1655673 | 777 | 272 | $200,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 5 | The Ford Foundation New York, NY · EIN 13-1684331 | 790 | 270 | $220,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 6 | The Chicago Community Trust Chicago, IL · EIN 36-2167000 | 325 | 240 | $50,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 7 | Gates Foundation Seattle, WA · EIN 56-2618866 | 894 | 225 | $538,043 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 8 | WK Kellogg Foundation Battle Creek, MI · EIN 38-1359264 | 487 | 192 | $185,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 9 | Annie E Casey Foundation Inc Baltimore, MD · EIN 52-1951681 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 602 | 182 | $75,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 10 | Shell USA Company Foundation Houston, TX · EIN 13-6066583 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 434 | 170 | $832 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 11 | The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Los Altos, CA · EIN 94-2278431 | 276 | 168 | $200,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 12 | John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation Chicago, IL · EIN 23-7093598 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 271 | 140 | $200,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 13 | Carnegie Corporation of New York New York, NY · EIN 13-1628151 | 397 | 138 | $219,600 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 14 | Foundation to Promote Open Society New York, NY · EIN 26-3753801 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 281 | 138 | $250,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 15 | Conrad N Hilton Foundation Westlake Village, CA · EIN 94-3100217 | 242 | 136 | $180,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
Counties with the most grants
| County | Grants | Funders | Total listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 98,712 | 17,286 | $13.2 billion | Top 5 funders |
County = where the recipient's ZIP code is.
Cause areas
Grants whose purpose or recipient name, as filed, contains keywords for each cause area. A grant can match more than one, and many grants (such as "general support") match none.
| Cause area | Grants matched | |
|---|---|---|
| Education & literacy | 11,980 | Top 5 funders |
| Environment & conservation | 9,320 | Top 5 funders |
| Arts & culture | 5,553 | Top 5 funders |
| Health & mental health | 5,074 | Top 5 funders |
| Children & youth | 4,544 | Top 5 funders |
| Food & hunger | 3,370 | Top 5 funders |
| Animal welfare | 2,048 | Top 5 funders |
| Housing & homelessness | 945 | Top 5 funders |
| Disability | 856 | Top 5 funders |
| Immigrants & refugees | 739 | Top 5 funders |
| Basic needs & anti-poverty | 730 | Top 5 funders |
| Jobs & workforce | 665 | Top 5 funders |
| Older adults | 585 | Top 5 funders |
Want the funders that fit your organization? Grant Prospect Report, $149
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Order a Prospect Report for District of Columbia ($149) See a full sampleSource: grant lists on IRS Form 990-PF (private foundations) and Form 990 Schedule I (grantmaking public charities) from the IRS e-file releases of 2024 to 2026, tax years 2021–2025, one filing per funder and tax year. Filings are often one to two years old, and a past grant doesn't mean a funder will accept your application or fund you. CivicVane is not affiliated with any funder listed.