F Ross Birkhill and Laura Jean Birkhill
Detroit, MI · EIN 41-2184583. Reported 50 grants totalling $263,258 to 23 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. F Ross Birkhill and Laura Jean Birkhill 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 $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $525 and the largest $28,374. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Salvation Army | Southfield, MI | $73,832 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Corning Museum of Glass | Corning, NY | $64,700 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Humane Society of Huron Valley | Ann Arbor, MI | $12,956 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Purple Rose Theatre Company | Chelsea, MI | $11,915 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Orlando Health Foundation Inc | Orlando, FL | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Forgotten Harvest Inc | Oak Park, MI | $9,040 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Edchoice | Indianapolis, IN | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ann Arbor Film Festival Inc | Ann Arbor, MI | $6,003 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| A2ETHICS Org | Ann Arbor, MI | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Oakland Literacy Council | Bloomfield Hills, MI | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hospice of Michigan Inc | Detroit, MI | $4,395 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Arnold and Winnie Palmer Foundation | Orlando, FL | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Detroit Public Tv | Wixom, MI | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Henry Ford | Dearborn, MI | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Gleaners Community Food Bank Inc | Detroit, MI | $3,917 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Fisher House Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Team Red White & Blue Inc | Atlanta, GA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Leader Dogs for the Blind | Rochester Hills, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Warrior Dog Foundation | Dallas, TX | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Covenant House Michigan | Detroit, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Jacksonville, FL | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
14 of 23 (61%) 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 64%, 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.
- The Salvation Army
SUPPORT OF DAILY OPERATIONS - Forgotten Harvest Inc
SUPPORT FOR DAILY OPERATION - Edchoice
GENERAL CHARITABLE PURPOSES - Leader Dogs for the Blind
SUPPORT OF DAILY OPERATONS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 32 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | $70,099 | $2,500 |
| 2022 | 10 | $67,164 | $3,500 |
| 2023 | 14 | $64,082 | $3,708 |
| 2024 | 15 | $61,913 | $3,000 |
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. 63% of this one's giving went to organizations in Michigan. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
Find more foundations like F Ross Birkhill and Laura Jean Birkhill
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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 $3,000. 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 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 F Ross Birkhill and Laura Jean Birkhill'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: Po Box 75000, Detroit, MI, 48275. 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 41-2184583 · 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.