Ayers Foundation
Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 20-3272241. Reported 85 grants totalling $1,674,325 to 44 organizations 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. Ayers 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $25,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $110,000. 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. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agahozo-Shalomn Youth Village | New York, NY | $267,265 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Peruvian Hearts | Golden, CO | $223,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| People of Peru Project | Walla Walla, WA | $152,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Angels' Place Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $126,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Corazon De Esperanza Inc | Gypsum, CO | $113,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Peru Champs Association | Catalina La Victoria, Lima | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Park Association | Zelienople, PA | $52,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Peru Champs Association | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Homeless Children's Education Fund | Pittsburgh, PA | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Industrial Arts Workshop Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Jewish Family & Community Service | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead, KY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hamburger Home | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Heritage Community Initiatives | Braddock, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hosanna House | Wilkinsburg, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Pittsburgh Trust for Cultural Resources | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Robin Hood Foundation | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Trying Together | Pittsburgh, PA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| York Street Project | Jersey City, NJ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Zebra Youth | Orlando, FL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Society for Arts in Crafts | Pittsburgh, PA | $19,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Urban Impact | Pittsburgh, PA | $17,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Appalachian Regional Healthcare | Hazard, KY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank | Duquesne, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| James Connection | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Arh Foundation for Healthier Communities Inc | Lexington, KY | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Neighbors Helping Neighbors | Ardmore, PA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ablegamers Foundation Inc | Kearneysville, WV | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Broad Street Ministry | Philadelphia, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Catholic Charities of Los Angeles Inc | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Education Matters Africa Foundation | New Haven, CT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wonderspring | Narberth, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Westminster College | New Wilmington, PA | $9,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Contemporary Craft | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| First Alliance Church | Mckees Rocks, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Glade Run Lutheran Services | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pittsburgh Center for the Arts | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The American Red Cross | Cincinnati, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Zero Prostate Cancer | Alexandria, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief | New York, NY | $4,360 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Zelienople Pa Revitalization Inc | Zelienople, PA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
21 of 44 (48%) 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 67%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
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.
- Agahozo-Shalomn Youth Village
VILLAGE TIME GALA SPONSHORSHIP (ISHEMA LEVEL) - Corazon De Esperanza Inc
LUZ DE VIDA/THIRD FLOOR YOUTH TRANSITIONAL HOME - Morehead State University
DANIEL L. MCGOWAN LIFETIME LEARNING SCHOLARSHIP - Zebra Youth
IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH - Heritage Community Initiatives
HERITAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS - Industrial Arts Workshop Inc
INCREASING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 51 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | $386,200 | $12,500 |
| 2022 | 20 | $475,360 | $12,500 |
| 2023 | 24 | $404,500 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 23 | $408,265 | $10,000 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 35% of this one's giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Pennsylvania.
- 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 Ayers Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 300 Fifth Avenue 27TH Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. 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 20-3272241 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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