Ellis Center for Educational Excellence
Phoenix, AZ · EIN 20-2822602. Reported 94 grants totalling $7,290,721 to 61 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Ellis Center for Educational Excellence, by its IRS classification it raises and distributes funds for education (NTEE B122).
- How spread out its giving is. 61 distinct organizations, with 10% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 33% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% private foundations manage. A list that turns over this much is one a newcomer can realistically join.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $60,000. Half of what it reported fell between $25,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $696,300. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afc Public Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $696,300 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Arizona Community Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $683,839 | 5 | 3 | 2022 |
| Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University | Tempe, AZ | $533,817 | 6 | 4 | 2023 |
| Partnership for Economic Innovation | Tempe, AZ | $375,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Make Way for Books | Tucson, AZ | $345,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Arizona Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $332,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Earn to Learn | Tucson, AZ | $300,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting | Phoenix, AZ | $225,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Arizona Technology Council Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $225,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Education Design Lab | Washington, DC | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Education Forward Arizona | Phoenix, AZ | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Children - Phoenix | Phoenix, AZ | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Arizona Center for African American Resources | Scottsdale, AZ | $190,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Common Sense Media | San Francisco, CA | $180,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Million Dollar Teacher Project | Phoenix, AZ | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Save Our Schools Arizona Network | Phoenix, AZ | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| National Center for Youth Law | Oakland, CA | $140,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Arizona Business & Education Coalition | Phoenix, AZ | $135,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Tntp Inc | New York, NY | $130,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Advocacy 31NINE | Gilbert, AZ | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| City Center for Collaborative Learning | Tucson, AZ | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Instituto Lab LLC | Phoenix, AZ | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Maricopa County Community College District Foundation | Tempe, AZ | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Read Better Be Better | Phoenix, AZ | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest | Phoenix, AZ | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Jobs for Arizonas Graduates Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| New Classrooms Innovation Partners Inc | Jersey City, NJ | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Teach for America Inc | New York, NY | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Northern Arizona University Fdn Inc | Flagstaff, AZ | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sounds Academy | Phoenix, AZ | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Phoenix Public Library Foundation | Phoenix, AZ | $55,000 | 2 | 1 | 2020 |
| Aliento Education Fund | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Arizona Community College Coordinating Council | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Arizona Latino Leaders in Education | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Arizona School Based Health Alliance | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Education Foundation of Yuma County | Yuma, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Morning Star Leaders Inc | Scottsdale, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wested | Seal Beach, CA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Computer Science Teachers Association LLC | New York, NY | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Candelen | Phoenix, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Childrens Action Alliance Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cultural Coalition Inc | Mesa, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Fiesta Events Inc | Scottsdale, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends of the Copper Queen Library | Bisbee, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Graham County School Superintendent | Safford, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Havasupai Tribe | Supai, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Institute for Citizens and Scholars | Princeton, NJ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Stand for Children Inc | Portland, OR | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Yavapai County Free Library District | Prescott, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Yuma Multiversity Campus Corporation | Yuma, AZ | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporation | Phoenix, AZ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Camp Verde Unified School District No 28 | Camp Verde, AZ | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Southwest Human Development Incorporated | Phoenix, AZ | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Science Vortex of Verde Valley | Cornville, AZ | $11,025 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Mcdowell Sonoran Conservancy | Scottsdale, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sahuarita Food Bank | Sahuarita, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Club for Youth | Kingman, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Workplace Education and Literacy Coalition of Mohave County Fndtn | Kingman, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Safford Unified School District | Safford, AZ | $6,740 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Envision Excellence in Stemeducation | Beachwood, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
21 of 61 (34%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Arizona Community Foundation
FY '23 PROGRAMS, SUPPORT FOR "CHANGING THE NARRATIVE", AND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION PROGRA - Arizona State University Foundation
BUILDING A WHOLE-SCHOOL AT KYRENE DE LAS MANITAS, NEXT EDUCATION WORKFORCE MODEL AT KYRENE DE LAST MANITAS ($111,817), NAVAJO NATION DOCTORAL COHORT PROGRAM ($25K), ASU FIRST STAR PROGRAM ($75K). - Education Forward Arizona
EVERYTHING TO GAIN (VALUE OF EDUCATION AND FIGHTING DIVISIVE NARRATIVES) - Partnership for Economic Innovation
PIPELINE AZ C19AZ CAMPAIGN - Earn to Learn
PROGRAM SUPPORT AND SCHOLARSHIP MATCHING FUNDS - Tntp Inc
ARIZONA SOLUTION SUMMIT: EDUCATION TALENT CONVENING
What kind of organizations it funds
By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 45 of 61 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 32 | $2,254,504 | $50,000 |
| 2021 | 29 | $1,653,817 | $50,000 |
| 2022 | 21 | $1,616,100 | $60,000 |
| 2023 | 12 | $1,766,300 | $100,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
87% of its giving went to organizations in Arizona. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $60,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Arizona.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Ellis Center for Educational Excellence's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 13 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 2201 E Camelback Rd 405B, Phoenix, AZ, 85016.
EIN 20-2822602 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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