Funders › Virginia

The Houff Family Foundation

Mount Sidney, VA · EIN 81-4490534. Reported 246 grants totalling $1,354,400 to 72 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$3,000median grant
$1,354,400granted, 2021-2025
72recipients, as named on its returns
86%of grantees funded again the next year
$5,789,943assets, 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. The Houff Family 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 $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $7,500; the smallest was $200 and the largest $106,500. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
5 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
147 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
39 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
49 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
5 grants
$100,000 and Up
1 grant

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
Blue Ridge Christian SchoolBridgewater, VA$136,500552025
Samariton's PurseBoone, NC$110,000552025
Alice Lloyd CollegePippa Passes, KY$65,000442025
Blue Ridge Community CollegeWeyers Cave, VA$55,000552025
Central Valley Habitat for HumanityBridgewater, VA$55,000552025
Hope DistributedHarrisonburg, VA$52,000552025
Augusta Christian AcademyFishersville, VA$50,000222024
Bridgewater Healthcare FoundationBridgewater, VA$50,000552025
CompassGlen Allen, VA$47,500552025
Bridgewater CollegeBridgewater, VA$45,000552025
Redeemer Classical SchoolHarrisonburg, VA$45,000552025
Young LifePrescott, AZ$32,500442024
Blue Ridge Free ClinicHarrisonburg, VA$30,500552025
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship USAMadison, WI$28,000552025
Isaiah 117 HouseElizabethton, TN$25,000222025
Warm ShelterWaynesboro, VA$24,000442025
Village to Village IncWeyers Cave, VA$21,500552025
Isaiah 61 Ministries IncWaynesboro, VA$20,000552025
Open DoorsHarrisonburg, VA$20,000552025
Harrisonburg First Church of the NazareneBridgewater, VA$19,500442025
New CreationHarrisonburg, VA$18,000332025
Advancing Native MissionsAfton, VA$16,500552025
Pleasant Valley Church of the BrethrenWeyers Cave, VA$16,000552025
Blue Ridge Area Food BankVerona, VA$15,500552025
Mercy HouseHarrisonburg, VA$15,500552025
Boys' Home of VirginiaCovington, VA$15,200552025
Augusta Health FoundationFishersville, VA$15,000112025
Third ChurchRichmond, VA$15,000222022
CASA for ChildrenStaunton, VA$14,500442024
Fort Defiance High SchoolFt Defiance, VA$14,500552025
Appalachia Service Project IncJohnson City, TN$14,000442025
Explore More Discovery Childrens Museum of HarrisonburgHarrisonburg, VA$14,000552025
Virginia FFA Foundation IncWeyers Cave, VA$14,000552025
Wingfield MinistriesHarrisonburg, VA$12,500112021
Rmh FoundationHarrisonburg, VA$10,500552025
Skyline LiteracyHarrisonburg, VA$10,500442025
Augusta ExpoFishersville, VA$10,000552025
Equipping the SaintsWeyers Cave, VA$10,000552025
Fellowship of Christian AthletesKansas City, MO$10,000112021
Nations of CoachesDecature, AL$10,000112025
Salvation Army of HarrisonburgHarrisonburg, VA$10,000112025
Young LifeColorado Springs, CO$10,000112025
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Harrisonburg & Rockingham CountyHarrisonburg, VA$9,700552025
Weyers Cave Recreation AssociationWeyers Cave, VA$9,000112021
Way to Go IncMassanutten, VA$8,000552025
Agriculture in the ClassroomRichmond, VA$7,000552025
Grottoes Swim Pool FoundaitonGrottoes, VA$7,000112025
National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyGlen Allen, VA$6,750552025
For RichmondRichmond, VA$6,000442025
Still Meadows Enrichment Center and CampLinville, VA$6,000442024
The Family Foundation of VirginiaRichmond, VA$6,000552025
Brethern & Mennonite Heritage CenterHarrisonburg, VA$5,000112024
Help (health Equipment Loan Program Inc)Churchville, VA$5,000112021
Mental Health America of AugustaStaunton, VA$5,000442024
Sonshine MinistriesHarrisonburg, VA$4,750442025
Camp Brethern WoodsKeeztletown Va, VA$4,500332025
National FFA Foundation IncIndianapolis, IN$4,500552025
Augusta County Fair AssociationVerona, VA$4,000442025
Blue Ridge CASA for ChildrenStaunton, VA$3,500112025
Oasis ChurchRadford, VA$3,500112022
National Child Safety Council & Local Law EnforcementJackson, MI$3,000332025
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran ChurchDayton, VA$3,000112025
Appalachian Christian SchoolWaynesboro, VA$2,500112022
Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy FoundationWeyers Cave, VA$2,500112025
Friendship IndustriesHarrisonburg, VA$2,500112021
Martha Jefferson HospitalCharlottesville, VA$2,500112021
Wmra National Public RadioHarrisonburg, VA$2,500442024
Augusta County Sheriff's Office FoundationVerona, VA$2,000222022
Brain Injury Connections of the Shenandoah ValleyHarrisonburg, VA$2,000222022
Camp Still Meadows Enrichment Center and CampLinville, VA$1,500112025
Generations CrossingRockingham, VA$1,000112022
Valley Mission IncStaunton, VA$1,000112021

52 of 72 (72%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 86%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 126 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.

Human Services
28 grants
Education
22 grants
Religion
18 grants
Health Care
12 grants
Food & Nutrition
10 grants
Recreation & Sports
9 grants
Youth Development
8 grants
Diseases & Disorders
7 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202150$235,500$2,750
202248$221,250$3,000
202348$220,750$3,000
202448$267,000$3,000
202552$409,900$4,000

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

77% of its giving went to organizations in Virginia. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Virginia
$1.0M
North Carolina
$110K
Kentucky
$65K
Tennessee
$39K
Arizona
$32K
Wisconsin
$28K
Missouri
$10K
Alabama
$10K

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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.

The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg22 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc19 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund16 shared recipientsSentara Health12 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program11 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc11 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,000. 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 Virginia.
  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.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in VirginiaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from The Houff Family Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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: 3006 Lee Hwy, Mount Sidney, VA, 24467. 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 81-4490534 · 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.