FundersMichigan

William F Courtney Foundation

Detroit, MI · EIN 34-1905199. Reported 82 grants totalling $418,450 to 39 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$3,250median grant
$418,450granted, 2021-2024
39organizations funded
73%of grantees funded again the next year
$2,183,402assets, 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. William F Courtney 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 $3,250. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $30,000. 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
49 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
15 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
12 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
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
Duke UniversityDurham, NC$78,000442024
Washington Jesuit AcademyWashington, DC$72,000442024
Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca CollegesEl Cajon, CA$25,000332024
The Salvation ArmyWest Nyack, NY$21,990442024
Holy Trinity SchoolWashington, DC$18,300332024
Tunnel to Towers FoundationStaten Island, NY$16,290442024
The V FoundationCary, NC$15,775442024
Ecad Educated Canines Assisting With DisabilitiesTorrington, CT$15,665442024
United Service Organization IncArlington, VA$15,665442024
St Thomas More Newman CenterColumbus, OH$15,000112024
Young Kings MovementLeesburg, VA$11,165332024
Cardinal Mooney Catholic High SchoolSarasota, FL$10,000112021
Eric Parede Save a Life FdnEl Cajon, CA$10,000222024
Ursuline High School Endowment FundYoungstown, OH$10,000112024
Salvation Army Disaster ReliefAlexandria, VA$8,500222023
Any Body Can Youth FoundationSan Diego, CA$7,500332024
The Wingman FoundationMinden, NV$7,000222023
Rancho Santa Fe FoundaitonRancho Santa Fe, CA$6,000112024
Santa Sophia Catholic ChurchSpring Valley, CA$5,800332024
Nativity Prep Academy of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$5,500332024
Salvation ArmyBrookhaven, GA$5,000112021
Golden Retriever Rescue Education and Training IncMerrifield, VA$4,500332023
Washington School for GirlsWashington, DC$4,000332024
St Rita's Catholic SchoolSan Diego, CA$3,900222024
San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego, CA$3,800332024
Kitchens for GoodSan Diego, CA$3,000112024
Saint Augustine High SchoolSan Diego, CA$3,000112024
Abc Youth FoundationSan Diego, CA$2,700112021
Mobile Hope AssociationLeesburg, VA$2,000112022
Vital Ground Foundation IncMissoula, MT$2,000112022
Our Lady of Grace Catholic ParishSan Diego, CA$1,600112021
Brite PathsFairfax City, VA$1,500112021
Als AssociationTustin, CA$1,000112023
Big Brothers Big Sisters of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$1,000112023
Boys to Men Mentoring NetworkLa Mesa, CA$1,000112023
Eric Parede Save a Life FndnEl Cajon, CA$1,000112021
Save StarlightSan Diego, CA$1,000112021
Armed Services YMCA of the USASan Diega, CA$800112021
Knights of ColumbusSpring Valley, CA$500112021

20 of 39 (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 73%, 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 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 44 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Education
20 grants
Youth Development
8 grants
Public & Societal Benefit
6 grants
Medical Research
4 grants
Animal Welfare
3 grants
Arts & Culture
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202125$124,100$2,700
202213$66,000$3,000
202322$94,200$2,500
202422$134,150$4,470

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. 23% of this one's giving went to organizations in District of Columbia. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

District of Columbia
$94K
North Carolina
$94K
California
$84K
Virginia
$43K
New York
$38K
Ohio
$25K
Connecticut
$16K
Florida
$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 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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund16 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc14 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc14 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc11 shared recipientsThe Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc11 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program9 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,250. 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 District of Columbia.
  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 District of ColumbiaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding public & societal benefit in District of ColumbiaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in North CarolinaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from William F Courtney 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: Po Box 75000, Detroit, MI, 48275. 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 34-1905199 · 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.