William S Knight Foundation Inc
Naples, FL · EIN 81-0797771. Reported 99 grants totalling $5,646,356 to 45 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. 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. William S Knight Foundation Inc 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 $30,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $65,000; the smallest was $1,500 and the largest $500,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Country Classical Academy | Oconomowoc, WI | $1,000,000 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| College of the Ozarks | Point Lookout, MO | $750,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hillsdale College | Hillsdale, MI | $408,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Prageru | Sherman Oaks, CA | $330,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Turning Point USA | Lemont, IL | $325,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Badger Institute | Milwaukee, WI | $240,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rock County Christian School | Beloit, WI | $235,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Benedictine College | Atchison, KS | $194,740 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Real Clear Foundation | Northbrook, IL | $190,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Young America's Foundation | Reston, VA | $190,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Dane County | Madison, WI | $150,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Stateline Boys and Girls Club | Beloit, WI | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Northshore Classical Academy | Mequon, WI | $140,725 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Independent Institute | Oakland, CA | $135,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Institute for Humane Studies | Arlington, VA | $115,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Institute for Reforming Government | Delafield, WI | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty | Milwaukee, WI | $85,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Greater Praise Comnty Devel Corp-Jos Project | Milwaukee, WI | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Trinitas Classical Academy | Hayward, WI | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Network of Enlightened Women | Washington, DC | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Belmont Abbey College | Belmont, NC | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fund for American Studies | Washinton, DC | $55,400 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Heritage Foundation | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Libertas Institute | Lehi, UT | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Turning Point USA | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Young Americans for Liberty Foundation | Austin, TX | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Leadership Institute | Arlington, VA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Mercatus Center-George Mason U | Arlington, VA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Forge Leadership Network | Dayton, OH | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Institute for Justice | Arlington, VA | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Junior Achievement of Wisconsin | Milwaukee, WI | $37,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Cato Institute | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Freedom Works Foundation | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Vmts Education Dba Kite & Key Media | Brooklyn, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Open the Books | Burr Ridge, IL | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Foundation for Economic Education | Atlanta, GA | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| David Horowitz Freedom Center | Sherman Oaks, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Just Facts | Conroe, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Junior Achievement South Central Region | Monona, WI | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Discovery World | Milwaukee, WI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Moms for Liberty Foundation | Melbourne, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Brodhead Historical Society | Brodhead, WI | $4,991 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wisconsin 4-H | Madison, WI | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Wisconsin Council on Economic Education | Milwaukee, WI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ozaukee Christian School | West Bend, WI | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
27 of 45 (60%) 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 71%, 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.
- College of the Ozarks
PATRIOTIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMING - Hillsdale College
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL ED. ENDOW. - Turning Point USA
LEADERSHIP SUMMIT AND ALUMNI PROG. - Northshore Classical Academy
EARLY-STAGE DEVELOPMENT COSTS - Rock County Christian School
ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION - Prageru
PRAGERU IN SCHOOLS PROJECT
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 64 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | $1,519,900 | $50,000 |
| 2022 | 22 | $1,594,000 | $45,000 |
| 2023 | 25 | $1,127,991 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 31 | $1,404,465 | $25,000 |
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.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. William S Knight Foundation Inc has 19 of them, worth $4,090,740. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Country Classical Academy | Oconomowoc, WI | $500,000 |
| Lake Country Classical Academy | Oconomowoc, WI | $500,000 |
| College of the Ozarks | Point Outlook, MO | $500,000 |
| Rock County Christian School | Beloit, WI | $365,000 |
| Rock County Christian School | Beloit, WI | $292,000 |
| College of the Ozarks | Point Lookout, MO | $250,000 |
| Kelch Aviation Museum | Brodhead, WI | $250,000 |
| Lake Country Classical Academy | Oconomowoc, WI | $250,000 |
| Rock County Christian School | Beloit, WI | $219,000 |
| Hillsdale College | Hillsdale, MI | $216,000 |
| Northshore Classical Academy | Mequon, WI | $200,000 |
| Hillsdale College | Hillsdale, MI | $112,000 |
| Stateline Boys and Girls Club | Beloit, WI | $100,000 |
| Prageru | Sherman Oaks, CA | $100,000 |
| Benedictine College | Atchison, KS | $82,740 |
Where its money goes
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 41% of this one's giving went to organizations in Wisconsin. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 $30,000. 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 Wisconsin.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from William S Knight Foundation Inc'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: 3630 Grand Cypress Dr, Naples, FL, 34119. 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 81-0797771 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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