Funders › Iowa

Wolf Foundation

West Des Moines, IA · EIN 39-1869906. Reported 44 grants totalling $195,376 to 23 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,118median grant
$195,376granted, 2021-2024
23recipients, as named on its returns
73%of grantees funded again the next year
$1,641,588assets, 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. Wolf 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 $2,118. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,036 and $6,888; the smallest was $180 and the largest $24,800. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
7 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
24 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
8 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
5 grants

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
United HatzalahNew York, NY$45,300442024
Holocaust Heroes WorldwideAventura, FL$37,000442024
Chabad of South BeachMiami Beach, FL$20,348442024
Jewish Federation of Broward CoDavie, FL$11,620442024
Asl Cancer Research FundGolden Valley, MN$10,000112024
Chevra Simchas Shabbos V'yom TBrooklyn, NY$10,000112024
Food Bank of IowaDes Moines, IA$9,697442024
Friends of Asor Fund USAColorado Srpings, CO$8,000112024
Pef Israel Endowment FundsNew York, NY$8,000112024
Hidabroot CorpEncino, CA$7,200112024
Lubavitch of IowaDes Moines, IA$5,260442024
Gush Etzion FoundationBrookline, MA$5,000112024
Chabad of AmesAmes, IA$3,590332024
Als AssociationWest Des Moines, IA$3,500112022
JoppaDes Moines, IA$3,000112024
Redwood Empire Food BankSanta Rosa, CA$3,000222023
Klm InternationalDes Moines, IA$1,667112023
World Central Kitchen IncWashington, DC$1,000112022
Ia Jewish Historical SocietyWaukee, IA$974112024
Matter of Trust IncSan Francisco, CA$500112021
Temple IsraelVestal, NY$360112021
Dor LdorRichardson, TX$180112022
Susan G KomenWashington, DC$180112023

8 of 23 (35%) 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. 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 22 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.

Arts & Culture
8 grants
Food & Nutrition
6 grants
Religion
4 grants
International Affairs
1 grant
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
1 grant
Human Services
1 grant
Community Improvement
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
20218$54,257$2,848
202211$50,278$3,000
202310$23,031$1,583
202415$67,810$3,000

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

35% of its giving went to organizations in Florida. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

Florida
$69K
New York
$64K
Iowa
$28K
California
$11K
Minnesota
$10K
Colorado
$8K
Massachusetts
$5K
District of Columbia
$1K

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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.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc8 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust6 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund6 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc5 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program4 shared recipientsAmerican Endowment Foundation4 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,118. 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 Florida.
  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 arts & culture in FloridaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding arts & culture in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding religion in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding international affairs in New YorkEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Wolf Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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: 4350 Westown Pkwy Ste 100, West Des Moines, IA, 50266. 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 39-1869906 · 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.