Jonathan P Formanek Foundation
Memphis, TN · EIN 82-3557941. Reported 111 grants totalling $2,196,000 to 64 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. Jonathan P Formanek 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 $5,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $575,000. 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formanek Foundation | Memphis, TN | $575,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Memphis Brooks Museum | Memphis, TN | $275,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Jacob's Pillow | Becket, MA | $248,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Dallas Black Dance Theatre | Dallas, TX | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Undermain Theatre | Dallas, TX | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Stage West Theatre | Fort Worth, TX | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Turtle Creek Conservancy | Dallas, TX | $65,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bruce Wood Dance | Dallas, TX | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Kera | Dallas, TX | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Bruce Woods Dance | Dallas, TX | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Amphibian Stage Produtions | Fort Worth, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Amphibian Stage Productions | Fort Worth, TX | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kuaf Public Radio | Fayetteville, AR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ochre House Theater | Dallas, TX | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation | Scottsdale, AZ | $22,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fallingwater Conservancy | Pittsburgh, PA | $21,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Bldg Conservancy | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Trust | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Jubliee Theatre | Fort Worth, TX | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| The Nature Conservancy | Arlington, VA | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Glass House | New Canaan, CT | $16,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Amphibian Stage | Fort Worth, TX | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Charles Moore Foundation | Austin, TX | $12,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Edith Farnsworth House | Plano, IL | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Martin House | Buffalo, NY | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Tulsa Foundation for Architecture | Tulsa, OK | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Civil Liberties Union Foundation | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Amnesty International USA | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ashoka | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Currier Museum of Art | Manchester, NH | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Education Is Freedom | Dallas, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Global Green Grants | Boulder, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Helen Keller International | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Himalayan Cataract Project | Waterbury, VT | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Housing Crisis Center | Dallas, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Human Rights Watch | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kufa Public Radio | Fayetteville, AR | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Museum of Design Atlanta | Atlanta, GA | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Resources Defense Council | New York, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Paul Quinn College | Dallas, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Price Tower | Bartleville, OK | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Seva Foundation | Berkley, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Conservation Fund | Arlington, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vision to Learn | Los Angeles, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Soul Rep Theatre | Dallas, TX | $8,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Chamber Music International | Dallas, TX | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Frank Lloyd Wright Westcott House | Springfield, OH | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| US Modernist | Durham, NC | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| ACLU Membership Dept | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Adex (dallas Architecture & Design Exchange) | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for Urban Pedagogy | Brooklyn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Clui (center for Land Use Interpretation) | Culver City, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dallas Chamber Music | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Graycliff Conservancy | Derby, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| National Building Arts Center | Sauget, IL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ochre House Theatre | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Second Though Theatre | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Second Thought | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Storefront for Art & Architecture | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vickery Meadow Neighborhood Alliance | Dallas, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Carrol & Madison Co Library Foundation | Eureka Springs, AR | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Girls Garage | Berkeley, CA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Dallas Architecture Forum | Dallas, TX | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends of Kebyar | Staunton, VA | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
29 of 64 (45%) 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 52%, 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.
- Formanek Foundation
TO SUPPORT A VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS, ART, JUSTICE, AND OTHER CULTURAL PROGRAMS - Memphis Brooks Museum
TO PROMOTE THE PROVISION OF VISUAL ART MEDIUM THROUGH DIVERSE EXHIBITS - Jacob's Pillow
TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC'S APPRECIATION AND SUPPORT FOR DANCE WITH RESPECT TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE - Dallas Black Dance Theatre
FOR COSTS OF PERFORMANCES, ARTS EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH - Bruce Wood Dance
TO SUPPORT A DANCE COMPANY IN ITS EFFORTS TO ENTERTAIN AND ENRICH THE PUBLICTO SUPPORT A DANCE COMPANY IN ITS EFFORTS TO ENTERTAIN AND ENRICH THE PUBLIC - Bruce Woods Dance
TO SUPPORT THE DANCE COMPANY IN ITS EFFORTS TO ENTERTAIN AND ENRICH THE PUBLIC
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 54 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 | 9 | $670,000 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 50 | $588,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 33 | $520,500 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 19 | $417,500 | $5,000 |
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
39% of its giving went to organizations in Tennessee. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $10,000. 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 Tennessee.
- 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 Jonathan P Formanek 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: 6075 Poplar Avenue 726, Memphis, TN, 38119. 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 82-3557941 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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