Canyon Institute
Phoenix, AZ · EIN 86-0977269. Reported 89 grants totalling $7,208,321 to 41 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. 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. Canyon Institute 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 $70,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $50,000 and $100,000; the smallest was $1,320 and the largest $347,885. 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. 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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ | $1,486,518 | 7 | 5 | 2024 |
| Guidestone Financial Resources | Dallas, TX | $1,001,525 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Christian Challenge Az | Tempe, AZ | $330,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Episcopal Relief & Development | New York, NY | $330,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Fellowship of Christian Athletes | Phoenix, AZ | $320,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Arizona Southern Baptist Convention | Phoenix, AZ | $290,500 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| North American Mission Board of the Sbc | Alpharetta, GA | $285,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Orchard Africa | Gilbert, AZ | $284,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Northrise University Initiative | Scottsdale, AZ | $272,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Missions of Hope International | Phoenix, AZ | $250,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| 25 Project Inc | Mckinney, TX | $244,400 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Phoenix Rescue Mission | Phoenix, AZ | $177,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Salvation Army | Phoenix, AZ | $175,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| International Mission Board of the Sbc | Richmond, VA | $169,600 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Heartfire Missions Inc | Scottsdale, AZ | $150,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Wind River Ministries Inc | Estes Park, CO | $140,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Gcu Scholarship Foundation | Phoenix, AR | $103,858 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ecumenical Chaplaincy for the Homeless Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $102,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mercy House Initiative | Paradise Valley, AZ | $92,600 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Fellowship of Christian Athletes of Arizona | Phoenix, AZ | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| House of Refuge Inc | Mesa, AZ | $80,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| World Gospel Mission | Peoria, AZ | $80,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Northrise University Initiative | Irvine, CA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Arizona Southern Baptist Disaster Relief | Scottsdale, AZ | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Goten Inc | Tulsa, OK | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Send Network Arizona | Peoria, AZ | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Filter of Hope Inc | Tuscaloosa, AL | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Neighborhood Ministries | Phoenix, AZ | $55,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Christian Family Care Agency Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Disciple Nations Alliance | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Goten Inc | Phoenix, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mentorkids USA | Scottsdale, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Orchardafrica | Gilbert, AZ | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Young Life | Phoenix, AZ | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| International Students Inc | Colorado Springs, CO | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Navigators (ua) | Colorado Springs, CO | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mission Quest | Wheaton, IL | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Agape Adoption Agency of Az | Phoenix, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Glendale Urban Young Life | Phoenix, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Az Reach | Tolleson, AZ | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Bethesda Foundation | Colorado Springs, CO | $1,320 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
19 of 41 (46%) received money in more than one year over the 5 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 59%, across 4 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 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.
- Grand Canyon University
CANYON RISING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND GCU ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP GRANT - Guidestone Financial Resources
MISSION DIGNITY SUPPORT FOR RETIRED PASTORS AND WIDOWS - Phoenix Rescue Mission
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, HOPE COACH, AND FOOD BANK - Arizona Southern Baptist Convention
ARIZONA CHRISTIAN CHALLENGE - Christian Challenge Az
CAMPUS MINISTRY, ASU BLDG, SEMINARY SCHOLARSHIPS - Gcu Scholarship Foundation
SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS AT GCU
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 50 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.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 17 | $1,362,013 | $72,000 |
| 2021 | 21 | $1,477,376 | $60,000 |
| 2022 | 16 | $1,469,327 | $70,000 |
| 2023 | 18 | $1,400,400 | $60,000 |
| 2024 | 17 | $1,499,205 | $62,600 |
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
65% of its giving went to organizations in Arizona. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $70,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Arizona.
- 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 Canyon Institute's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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: 3101 N Central Ave Ste 1490, Phoenix, AZ, 85012. 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 86-0977269 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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