Americana Foundation
Novi, MI · EIN 38-2269431. Reported 141 grants totalling $2,717,338 to 90 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Americana Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $15,900. Half of everything it gave fell between $7,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $214 and the largest $130,360. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | $559,626 | 17 | 4 | 2024 |
| Thomas Jefferson Foundation Inc | Charlottesville, VA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Colonial Williamsburg Foundation | Williamsburg, VA | $99,184 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Make Food Not Waste | Detroit, MI | $63,514 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Earth University Foundation | Atlanta, GA | $60,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Huron Pines | Gaylord, MI | $53,500 | 4 | 2 | 2024 |
| Edsel and Eleanor Ford House | Grosse Pointe Shores, MI | $51,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Asbury Community Development Corporation | Flint, MI | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Historic New England | Saunderstown, RI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Museum of Fine Arts Boston | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| United Way of Northeast Michigan | Alpena, MI | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Diplomatic Reception Rooms | Washington, DC | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Growing Hope Inc | Ypsilanti, MI | $45,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Micah 6 Community Coleman | Pontiac, MI | $45,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Legacy Land Conservancy | Ann Arbor, MI | $40,900 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Michigan Enviornmental Council | Lansing, MI | $38,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Six Rivers Land Conservancy | Rochester, MI | $36,599 | 4 | 3 | 2024 |
| Keep Growing Detroit | Detroit, MI | $36,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Central Lake Superior Watershed Partners | Marquette, MI | $32,500 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Edison Institute | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Greening of Detroit | Detroit, MI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Southwest Detroit Enviornmental Vision | Detroit, MI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Washtenaw County Conservation District | Ann Arbor, MI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Worcester Art Museum (wam) | Worcester, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Winterthur Museum Garden & Library | Winterthur, DE | $28,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ecology Center | Ann Arbor, MI | $27,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Black to the Land Coalition | Detroit, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior | Marquette, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Clinton River Watershed Council | Rochester, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Concord Antiquarian Society | Concord, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Crooked Tree Arts Council | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Denver Art Museum | Denver, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Eastern Market Corporation | Detroit, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Edible Flint | Flint, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Fair Food Network | Ann Arbor, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Freshwater Future | Petoskey, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Historic Deerfield Inc | Deerfield, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Historic Locust Grove | Louisville, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation | Williamsburg, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kalamazoo Nature Center | Kalamazoo, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Michigan History Foundation | Lansing, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Michigan Sustainable Business Forum | Grand Rapids, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Muskegon River Watershed Assembly | Big Rapids, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Old Sturbridge Village Inc | Sturbridge, MA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Regents of University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Soo Locks Childrens Museum | Sault Ste Marie, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St James Episcopal Church | Birmingham, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Valley Forge Park Alliance | King of Prussia, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Little Traverse Conservancy | Harbor Springs, MI | $22,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Partridge Creek Compost | Ishpeming, MI | $21,840 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Stewardship Network | Ann Arbor, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Farmland Trust | Washington, DC | $18,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Detroit Hives | Detroit, MI | $18,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ser Metro- Detroit | Detroit, MI | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Wdet | Detroit, MI | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Henry Ford Estate | Dearborn, MI | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch | Petoskey, MI | $16,975 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Headwaters Land Conservancy | Gaylord, MI | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Environmental Law and Policy Center | Chicago, IL | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hessel School House Corporation | Hessel, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Historical Society of Michigan | Lansing, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Made By US | Atlanta, GA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rada Foundation | Ashville, NC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy | Marquette, MI | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Alliance for Leadership Fellows | Houston, TX | $11,850 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Asheville Art Museum | Ashville, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Charter Township of Calumet | Calumet, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology | Bellaire, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Genesee County Agricultural Society | Mt Morris, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Health Unit on Davison Avenue | Detroit, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Kid's Food Basket | Grand Rapids, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Leelanau Conservancy | Leland, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Live Zero Waste Inc | Ann Arbor, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Wildlife Federation | Merrifield, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Village of Calumet | Calumet, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Slave Dwelling Project Inc | Ladson, SC | $8,100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Scrap Soils | Detroit, MI | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Detroit Public Schools Foundation | Detroit, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| For Love of Water (flow) | Traverse City, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Metro Food Rescue | West Bloomfield, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Allen Neighborhood Center | Lansing, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bethany Housing Ministries Dba Community Encompass | Muskegon, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tiny Seed Project | East Hardwick, VT | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Exponent Philanthropy | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Detroit Horse Power | Detroit, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Animal Barn | Wixom, MI | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Calvary United Methodist Church | Flint, MI | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| First United General Baptist Church | Flint, MI | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hasselbring Senior Center | Flint, MI | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
20 of 90 (22%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 25%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Michigan State University
2022 MSU TOLLGATE FARM OPERATIONS & PROGRAMS GRANT - Thomas Jefferson Foundation Inc
MONTICELLO CURATORIAL INTERNSHIP - Historic New England
RECOVERING NEW ENGLAND'S VOICES - Museum of Fine Arts Boston
HEAR ME NOW: THE BLACK POTTERS OF OLD EDGEFIELD, SOUTH CAROLINA - Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN HANDS - Keep Growing Detroit
ORGANIC FARMER TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 94 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | $683,939 | $15,000 |
| 2022 | 39 | $788,393 | $15,000 |
| 2023 | 35 | $598,332 | $15,000 |
| 2024 | 31 | $646,674 | $25,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
71% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $15,900. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Americana Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: 28115 Meadowbrook Road, Novi, MI, 48377. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 38-2269431 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.