Funders › Pennsylvania

Esther N Simmons Charitable Trust

Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 34-6743541. Reported 47 grants totalling $605,786 to 30 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$12,378median grant
$605,786granted, 2021-2024
30recipients, as named on its returns
27%of grantees funded again the next year
$3,809,101assets, latest filing

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. Esther N Simmons Charitable Trust did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $12,378. Half of everything it gave fell between $7,000 and $16,500; the smallest was $2,407 and the largest $35,442. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

$1,000 - $5,000
9 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
11 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
21 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Ohio Valley Youth NetworkStuebenville, OH$119,641442024
Prime Time Office on AgingSteubenville, OH$45,000222024
United Way of Jefferson CountySteubenville, OH$33,700222024
Ohio Valley Health CenterSteubenville, OH$32,256222024
Smithfield Evangelica Friend ChurchSmithfield, OH$32,119222023
The Salvation ArmySteubenville, OH$30,000222023
Old Fort Steuben Project IncSteubenville, OH$29,500112022
The Steubenville Cultural TrustSteubenville, OH$27,500222024
Valley HospiceSteubenville, OH$27,378222024
Eastern Gateway Community CollegeSteubenville, OH$25,000112021
Coleman Professional Services IncKent, OH$21,510222022
Hilltop Childrens HouseSteubenville, OH$17,500222024
American Red CrossCleveland, OH$16,030112021
Vagabond MissionSteubenville, OH$15,500222024
Labelle Neighbors Who CareSteubenville, OH$14,500222023
Urban Mission MinistriesSteubenville, OH$13,020112023
Friendship RoomSteubenville, OH$12,500112023
The Harmonium ProjectSteubenville, OH$12,500112024
National Society to Prevent BlindnessColumbus, OH$10,085222022
Mary Seat of Wisdom Classical CommunitySteubenville, OH$10,000112022
A Childs Place CASA LtdFollansbee, WV$9,400112021
Ethan Shaddinger C/O Pnc Bank NaPittsburgh, PA$8,000222023
Zoe Nocera C/O Pnc Bank NaPittsburgh, PA$8,000222022
A Caring Place Child AdvocacyWinterville, OH$7,486112023
Capital Univ Fbo Ethan ShaddingerColumbus, OH$6,627112024
West Liberty Univ Fbo Mason StollWest Liberty, WV$6,627112024
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh FoundaPittsburgh, PA$4,000112021
Mason Stoll C/O Pnc Bank NaPittsburgh, PA$4,000112023
Rise Community Youth GroupBrooklyn, NY$4,000112021
Edison LocalHammondsville, OH$2,407112021

15 of 30 (50%) 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 27%, 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 21 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.

Youth Development
4 grants
Health Care
2 grants
Housing & Shelter
2 grants
Religion
2 grants
Arts & Culture
2 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
2 grants
Mental Health
2 grants
Diseases & Disorders
2 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202113$152,459$8,180
202212$162,085$12,309
202311$139,654$12,500
202411$151,588$12,500

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

93% of its giving went to organizations in Ohio. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Ohio
$562K
Pennsylvania
$24K
West Virginia
$16K
New York
$4K

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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 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.

John C Williams Charitable Tr 802411 shared recipientsCharles M Pugliese and Thelma M6 shared recipientsCommunity Foundation for the Ohio Valley6 shared recipientsRobert H Reakirt Fdn Equities6 shared recipientsHancock County Savings Charitable4 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc4 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $12,378. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Ohio.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Esther N Simmons Charitable Trust'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: 500 First Ave P7-Pfsc-03-Z, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219. 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 34-6743541 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.