Funders › Georgia

The Ra Bowen Trust

Macon, GA · EIN 58-6032145. Reported 329 grants totalling $1,849,000 to 97 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,500median grant
$1,849,000granted, 2021-2025
97recipients, as named on its returns
88%of grantees funded again the next year
$9,536,738assets, 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 Ra Bowen Trust 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 $2,500. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $7,000; the smallest was $250 and the largest $52,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
28 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
168 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
79 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
39 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
14 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
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
Mercer UniversityMacon, GA$205,750652025
Wesleyan CollegeMacon, GA$205,5001152025
University of GeorgiaAthens, GA$122,250552025
Stratford AcademyMacon, GA$102,250552025
Goodwill Works FoundationMacon, GA$88,000442025
Museum of Arts & SciencesMacon, GA$60,000752025
Meals on Wheels of Middle GaMacon, GA$59,000552025
Georgia Southern UniversityStatesboro, GA$56,500552025
Samford UniversityHomewood, AL$53,750552025
Macon Little TheatreMacon, GA$50,000552025
Ronald Mcdonald House of Central GaMacon, GA$45,000552025
University of North GeorgiaDahlonega, GA$42,000552025
Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA$39,750552025
Navicent Health Foundation IncMacon, GA$37,500552025
Georgia College & State UniversityMilledgeville, GA$35,750552025
Cherry Blossom FestivalMacon, GA$35,000552025
Middle Georgia State UniversityMacon, GA$34,000552025
Campus Clubs of MaconMacon, GA$30,000552025
Rescue Mission of Middle GeorgiaMacon, GA$25,000552025
Vine Ingle Little LeagueMacon, GA$25,000552025
University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL$24,750552025
Kennesaw State UniversityKennesaw, GA$24,500552025
Middle Georgia Community Food BankMacon, GA$23,500552025
Macon Outreach at MulberryMacon, GA$23,000552025
Georgia Industrial Children's HomeMacon, GA$21,000552025
Methodist Home for ChildrenMacon, GA$20,000552025
Fort Valley State UniversityFort Valley, GA$18,000552025
Community Foundation of Central GaMacon, GA$17,500442025
Jays Hope FoundationMacon, GA$15,000332025
Macon Volunteer ClinicMacon, GA$15,000552025
Middle Georgia Art AssociationMacon, GA$15,000552025
Boys & Girls ClubMacon, GA$13,000552025
Salvation ArmyMacon, GA$12,500552025
Abraham Baldwin Agriculture CollegeTifton, GA$12,000552025
United in PinkMacon, GA$11,500552025
Berry CollegeMount Berry, GA$11,000332025
Benedict CollegeColumbia, SC$9,500442024
Belmont UniversityColumbia, SC$9,000442025
Meals on WheelsMacon, GA$9,000112021
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA$8,000442025
Alzheimer's AssociationChicago, IL$7,500332025
Central Ga CASAWarner Robins, GA$7,500332025
Macon Book EmMacon, GA$7,500552025
Ocmulgee Natl Park and Presv IniMacon, GA$7,000442025
Piedmont UniversityDemorest, GA$6,250222025
Auburn UniversityAuburn, AL$6,000332023
Clemson UniversityClemson, SC$6,000332023
Crisis Line & Safe House of CentralMacon, GA$6,000332025
Elon UnivesityElon, NC$6,000332023
Goodwill IndustriesMacon, GA$6,000112021
Cannonball HouseMacon, GA$5,000552025
Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL$5,000332023
Georgia State UniversityAtlanta, GA$5,000112025
Macon North Rotary ClubMacon, GA$5,000332025
Otis Redding FoundationMacon, GA$5,000552025
St Jude's Childrens HospitalMemphis, TN$5,000552025
University of West GeorgiaCarrollton, GA$4,500222025
Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH$4,000222022
Ocmulgee National Monument AssocMacon, GA$4,000442025
Pendleton Historic FoundationPendleton, SC$3,750552025
Wofford CollegeSpartanburg, SC$3,750222025
Rooms From the HeartMacon, GA$3,500332023
Clayton State UniversityMorrow, GA$3,000222022
Georgia Sheriffs Youth Home IncMadison, GA$3,000332025
Georgia State UniveristyAtlanta, GA$3,000222022
Huntington CollegeMontgomery, AL$3,000222023
MD Anderson FoundationHouston, TX$3,000332024
Boy Scouts of AmericaMacon, GA$2,500552025
Central Ga GSAWarner Robins, GA$2,500112022
Covenant CollegeLookout Mountain, GA$2,500112025
Georgia Tech Foundation IncAtlanta, GA$2,500552025
Gordon State CollegeBarnesville, GA$2,500112025
IptayClemson, SC$2,500552025
Kappa Alpha Order Educational FoundLexington, VA$2,500552025
Lee UniversityCleveland, TN$2,500112025
Georgia Sheriffs AssociationDonough, GA$2,000222022
Historic Riverside Cemetary ConservMacon, GA$2,000222025
Sheperd CenterAtlanta, GA$2,000222023
Shepherd CenterAtlanta, GA$2,000222025
Shorter UniversityRome, GA$2,000112021
Sleep in Heavenly PlaceMacon, GA$2,000222025
Southern Wesleyan UiversityCentral, SC$2,000112021
Western CarolinaCulowhee, NC$2,000112021
American Heart AssociationMacon, GA$1,500112021
Campbell UniversityBuies Creek, NC$1,250112025
Augusta UniversityAugusta, GA$1,000112021
Ave Maria UniversityAve Maria, FL$1,000112022
Boys & Girls Club of Central GaMacon, GA$1,000112021
Central Georgia CASAMacon, GA$1,000112021
College of Coastal GeorgiaBrunswick, GA$1,000112022
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA$1,000112021
MD Anderson Annual FundHouston, TX$1,000112025
MD Anderson Cancer CenterHouston, TX$1,000112021
Shepard CenterAtlanta, GA$1,000112021
The Golden VoicesTuskegee, AL$1,000112024
Western Carolina UniversityCulowhee, NC$1,000112022
The USOWashington, DC$250112021

73 of 97 (75%) 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 88%, 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 133 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.

Education
69 grants
Health Care
20 grants
Arts & Culture
12 grants
Mental Health
8 grants
Diseases & Disorders
8 grants
Recreation & Sports
5 grants
Youth Development
5 grants
Employment
4 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202168$312,500$2,500
202265$337,000$2,500
202366$381,000$3,000
202463$397,250$3,000
202567$421,250$2,500

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

91% of its giving went to organizations in Georgia. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Georgia
$1.7M
Alabama
$88K
South Carolina
$36K
North Carolina
$10K
Illinois
$8K
Tennessee
$8K
Florida
$6K
Texas
$5K

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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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund29 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc27 shared recipientsGeorgia Power Foundation Inc23 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc22 shared recipientsCharities Aid Foundation America20 shared recipientsWatson-Brown Foundation Inc19 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,500. 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 Georgia.
  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 The Ra Bowen Trust'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: 5064 Wesleyan Woods Drive, Macon, GA, 31210. 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 58-6032145 · 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.