FundersMichigan

Miller Foundation

Battle Creek, MI · EIN 38-6064925. Reported 311 grants totalling $2,630,843 to 102 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$1,000median grant
$2,630,843granted, 2021-2024
102organizations funded
59%of grantees funded again the next year
$23.3Massets, 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. Miller 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.

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 $1,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $500 and $7,500; the smallest was $50 and the largest $150,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
131 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
97 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
10 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
34 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
22 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
16 grants
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Legal Services of South Central MichiganBattle Creek, MI$289,500642024
Charitable UnionBattle Creek, MI$254,1501842024
Music Center of Sc MiBattle Creek, MI$211,2481942024
Sprout Urban Farms IncBattle Creek, MI$200,550932024
Safe PlaceBattle Creek, MI$122,0651442024
Leila Arboretum Society IncBattle Creek, MI$110,9001142024
VocesBattle Creek, MI$109,000842024
New Level SportsBattle Creek, MI$106,585942024
Nonprofit NetworkJackson, MI$106,520442024
What a Do TheatreBattle Creek, MI$105,3261542024
Burmese American InitiativeBattle Creek, MI$96,500222023
Big Brothers Big SistersBattle Creek, MI$85,8901242024
Substance Abuse CouncilBattle Creek, MI$54,000842024
Bc Habitat for HumanityBattle Creek, MI$50,000112024
The Barn Theatre School for Advanced TtAugusta, MI$50,000222024
Sld ReadKalamazoo, MI$49,500642024
Food Bank of ScmBattle Creek, MI$45,600432024
Bronson Health FoundationKalamazoo, MI$40,500322024
Washington Heights Uw ChurchBattle Creek, MI$35,000112022
Share CenterBattle Creek, MI$33,1001042024
Olivet CollegeOlivet, MI$31,000212021
Kcc FoundationBattle Creek, MI$28,200322022
Neighborhoods IncBattle Creek, MI$26,450412024
Local Initiative Support CorporationKalamazoo, MI$26,000222024
Band CampBattle Creek, MI$24,300112023
Lakeview School District (band Camp)Battle Creek, MI$23,250112022
Battleground Skate House & YouthBattle Creek, MI$20,000222024
Harper Creek Public SchoolsBattle Creek, MI$19,762222024
Lakeview Band CampBattle Creek, MI$19,600112024
Junior AchievementBattle Creek, MI$19,500222022
Lakeview School DistrictBattle Creek, MI$17,800112021
Salvation ArmyBattle Creek, MI$15,600322024
Guardian Finance & Advocacy ServiceBattle Creek, MI$15,500212022
Calhoun Intermediate School DistrictMarshall, MI$15,000112022
Junior Achievement of BcBattle Creek, MI$15,000542024
Sexual Assault Svc of Calhoun CtyBattle Creek, MI$10,400112021
Our World of ChildrenBattle Creek, MI$10,326332024
Brass Band of Battle CreekMarshall, MI$10,100442024
Beadle Lake ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$9,608112023
Blue Lake Fine Arts CampTwin Lake, MI$8,855442024
Girl Scouts Heart of MiKalamazoo, MI$6,000112024
Bc Community FdnBattle Creek, MI$5,500222023
Kambly Living CenterBattle Creek, MI$5,500212021
Westlake ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$5,212222024
Battle Creek Public SchoolsBattle Creek, MI$5,095442024
Lakeview Middle SchoolBattle Creek, MI$4,706222024
Minges BrookBattle Creek, MI$4,634222024
Sonoma ElemBattle Creek, MI$4,100112022
Guardian IncBattle Creek, MI$4,000322024
Lakeview School District (spartaniares)Battle Creek, MI$3,750112022
Kellogg Community CollegeBattle Creek, MI$3,500322024
Cresendo Academy of MusicKalamazoo, MI$3,013222022
South Michigan Food BankBattle Creek, MI$3,000112021
Wk Kellogg Biological StationmsuEast Lansing, MI$3,000442024
CisdBattle Creek, MI$2,745222024
Humane Society of ScmiBattle Creek, MI$2,700442024
Battle Creek UnlimitedBattle Creek, MI$2,660532024
Family Enrichment CenterBattle Creek, MI$2,500112023
Planned ParenthoodKalamazoo, MI$2,500322022
Sexual Assault Svc of CalhounBattle Creek, MI$2,500322023
SpartanairesBattle Creek, MI$2,400112023
Bc Christian Early Learning CenterBattle Creek, MI$2,000442024
Greater Battle Creek Ice Hockey AssociationBattle Creek, MI$2,000332024
Minges Brook ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$2,000112022
Calhoun Christian SchoolBattle Creek, MI$1,920222024
Verona ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$1,850222023
Lakeview School District (dance)Battle Creek, MI$1,566112022
Family Y CenterBattle Creek, MI$1,500222024
Music CenterBattle Creek, MI$1,500112021
Crescendo Academy of MusicKalamazoo, MI$1,200112023
Barn Theather School for Advanced TestingAugusta, MI$1,000112021
Barn Theatre School for Advanced TestingAugusta, MI$1,000112023
Bc Chamber of CommerceBattle Creek, MI$1,000112022
Bc Metro Moustache SocietyBattle Creek, MI$1,000222023
Wattles ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$899112022
Sherman Lake YMCAAugusta, MI$895222024
Kingman MuseumBattle Creek, MI$750112022
Battle Creek Area Catholic SchoolBattle Creek, MI$700332024
Praireview ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$676222024
Blu Fish ConsultingMarshall, MI$515112021
Calhoun County Sheriff DeptBattle Creek, MI$500112021
Family Heatlh Centergrace HealthBattle Creek, MI$500112021
Washington Heights Comm MinBattle Creek, MI$500112024
Women's Co-OpBattle Creek, MI$500112022
Sonoma ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$441112023
Camp WakeshmaSt Joseph, MI$415112024
Ann J KelloggBattle Creek, MI$285112023
Kalamazoo Civic Threatre'Kalamazoo, MI$275112022
Cereal City Concert BandBattle Creek, MI$250112022
Community Inclusive RecreationBattle Creek, MI$250112023
Milk Like MineBattle Creek, MI$250112024
Binder Park ZooBattle Creek, MI$200112024
Life Care AmbulanceBattle Creek, MI$200222024
Riverside ElementaryBattle Creek, MI$200112024
The Arc of Calhoun CountyBattle Creek, MI$179112021
Fisher Spiegel Kunkle & GerberBattle Creek, MI$150112021
Grace HealthBattle Creek, MI$100112021
Habitat for HumanityBattle Creek, MI$100112022
Haven of RestBattle Creek, MI$100112024
Leila ArboretumBattle Creek, MI$100112021
University of OlivetOlivet, MI$100112024
American Heart Association-BcGrand Rapids, MI$77112023

52 of 102 (51%) 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 59%, 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 133 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Human Services
56 grants
Arts & Culture
24 grants
Environment
10 grants
Youth Development
9 grants
Food & Nutrition
9 grants
Community Improvement
5 grants
Crime & Legal
5 grants
Health Care
4 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202170$787,223$1,000
202282$709,210$1,000
202375$546,820$1,000
202484$587,590$950

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

Battle Creek, MI
$2.3M
Kalamazoo, MI
$128K
Jackson, MI
$107K
Augusta, MI
$53K
Olivet, MI
$31K
Marshall, MI
$26K
Twin Lake, MI
$9K
East Lansing, MI
$3K

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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.

Wk Kellogg Foundation27 shared recipientsBattle Creek Community Foundation27 shared recipientsUnited Way of South Central Michigan20 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc11 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund9 shared recipientsConsumers Energy Foundation7 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $1,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
  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 Miller 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: 310 Wahwahtaysee Way, Battle Creek, MI, 49015. 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 38-6064925 · 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, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

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