Les & Ann Biederman Foundation Inc
Traverse City, MI · EIN 38-2449838. Reported 129 grants totalling $1,759,396 to 64 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. Les & Ann Biederman Foundation Inc 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 $20,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $50,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nmc Foundation | Traverse City, MI | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Nmc-Scholarships | Traverse City, MI | $110,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mt Holiday Inc | Traverse City, MI | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Inland Seas Education Association | Suttons Bay, MI | $90,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Traverse City, MI | $85,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Traverse Symphony Orchestra | Traverse City, MI | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Pk | Traverse City, MI | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Gt Regional Land Concervancy | Traverse City, MI | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Child & Family Services | Traverse City, MI | $42,066 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Interlochen Center for the Arts | Interlochen, MI | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army | Traverse City, MI | $37,567 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mid-Michigan Honor Flight | Mecosta, MI | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| US Coast Guard | Traverse City, MI | $34,465 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Benzie Area Christian Neighbors | Benzonia, MI | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| City Opera House | Traverse City, MI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Great Lakes Children's Museum | Traverse City, MI | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Womens Resource Center | Traverse City, MI | $26,189 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Tc St Francis Catholic School | Traverse City, MI | $25,762 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Grand Traverse Industries | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Gt Regional Land Conservancy | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Gt YMCA | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Peninsula Township | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Single Momm | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Traverse Bay Childrens Adv Center | Traverse City, MI | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Traverse City Public Schools | Traverse City, MI | $24,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Generations Ahead | Traverse City, MI | $23,570 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Grand Traverse Pavilions Foundation | Traverse City, MI | $22,850 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Seeds | Traverse City, MI | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Women's Resouce Center | Traverse City, MI | $22,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Big Brothersbig Sisters Nw Mi | Traverse City, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Father Fred Foundation | Traverse City, MI | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Honor Area Restoration Project | Honor, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Parallel 45 Theater | Traverse City, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Tart Trails | Traverse City, MI | $18,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Child and Family Services | Traverse City, MI | $16,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Veterans in Crisis | Traverse City, MI | $16,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Traverse Area District Library | Traverse City, MI | $11,692 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kids on the Go Traverse City | St Clair Shores, MI | $11,650 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Make-a-Wish Michigan | Brighton, MI | $10,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear | Empire, MI | $10,485 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dream Team | Traverse City, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement | Colorado Springs, CO | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Leelanau County Cancer Foundation | Northport, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Newton's Road Nw | Traverse City, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Friendship Community Center | Suttons Bay, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Vasa Ski Club | Traverse City, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Toys for Tots | Triangle, VA | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Flow | Traverse City, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Flow (for Love of Water) | Traverse City, MI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Mary School Lake Leelanau | Lake Leelanau, MI | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Benzie Acquatic Center | Frankfort, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bethany Christian Services | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Girl Scouts of Mi | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Gt Regional Community Foundation | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Michael's Place | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Michigan Crossroads Council | Eagle, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nm Michigan Arts & Culture | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boys Scouts Guardian Membership | Traverse City, MI | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Acme Christian Thrift Store | Williamsburg, MI | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Nw Michigan Vallet Theatre | Traverse City, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Peace Ranch | Traverse City, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Dynamic Foundation | San Jose, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Schwander Headstone Memorials | Traverse City, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
32 of 64 (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 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 45 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | $469,887 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | 34 | $436,411 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 29 | $410,017 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 33 | $443,081 | $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. 93% 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.
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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 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Les & Ann Biederman Foundation Inc'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 564, Traverse City, MI, 49685. 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 38-2449838 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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