Tri-County Telephone Foundation
Belhaven, NC · EIN 56-1742130. Reported 60 grants totalling $196,606 to 46 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. 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. Tri-County Telephone 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 $1,492. Half of everything it gave fell between $471 and $5,000; the smallest was $65 and the largest $19,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Pregnancy Center | Washington, NC | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| (19) Scholarships | Belhaven, NC | $19,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| (16) Scholarships | Belhaven, NC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Open Door Community Center | Washington, NC | $13,300 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Wilkinson Community Event Center | Belhaven, NC | $11,485 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Terra Ceia Christian School | Pantego, NC | $11,015 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pungo Christian Academy | Belhaven, NC | $10,250 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bath High School Preservation | Bath, NC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Beaufort County Community College Small Business Center | Washington, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Beaufort County Cooperative Extension | Washingtion, NC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Beaufort County United Way Safe Harbor Helpline | Washington, NC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Blind Center | Washingtion, NC | $5,275 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Pantego Fire Department | Pantego, NC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| (6) Scholarships | Belhaven, NC | $4,950 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northeast Elementary School | Pikeville, NC | $4,400 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| (5) Scholarships | Belhaven, NC | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northside Booster Club | Pinetown, NC | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washington High School Diamond Club | Washingtion, NC | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washington Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce Bright Future | Washingtion, NC | $3,024 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Beaufort County Pantego Community Center | Pantego, NC | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Beaufort County Community College Foundation | Washington, NC | $2,950 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| St Thomas Episcopal Church | Bath, NC | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Old Ford Volunteer Fire Department | Washington, NC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Town of Belhaven | Belhaven, NC | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Washingtonbeaufort County Chamber of Commerce | Washington, NC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ruth's House | Washington, NC | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Belhaven Pantego Rotary Club | Belhaven, NC | $1,080 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Hyde County Hotline Inc | Engelhard, NC | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Nc Black Bear Festival Inc | Plymouth, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ingalls Printing | Washington, NC | $927 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bath Fest | Bath, NC | $600 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Bccc Foundation | Washingtion, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children | Washington, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Blackbeard District Boy Scouts of America | Kinston, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Darleen's Flamingo 5K | Belhaven, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| East Carolina Council Boy Scouts of America | Kinston, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Shepard Cancer Center Development Council | Washington, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Washington Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce | Washingtion, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Washingtonbeaufort County Chamber of Commerce Foundation | Washington, NC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Belhavenpantego Rotary Club Foundation Co First Bank | Belhaven, NC | $300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Heather Brock Benefit Co Evan Woolard | Bath, NC | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tee Cup Farms Trail Ride | Pantego, NC | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Beaufort County Swcd | Washingtion, NC | $195 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Keyzar Catering | Pantego, NC | $180 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Pantego Vol Fire Dept | Pantego, NC | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Methodist Retirement Homes Foundation | Durham, NC | $75 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
12 of 46 (26%) 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 24%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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 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.
- (6) Scholarships
EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPSEDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 22 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 19 | $54,844 | $500 |
| 2021 | 9 | $33,776 | $4,000 |
| 2022 | 17 | $38,611 | $1,500 |
| 2023 | 15 | $69,375 | $1,485 |
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
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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 $1,492. 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 North Carolina.
- 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 Tri-County Telephone Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 91, Belhaven, NC, 27810. 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 56-1742130 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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