Funders › New York

Clement and Karen Arrison

Buffalo, NY · EIN 20-3116729. Reported 135 grants totalling $964,377 to 73 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$2,000median grant
$964,377granted, 2021-2025
73recipients, as named on its returns
54%of grantees funded again the next year
$3,391,802assets, 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. Clement and Karen Arrison 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 $2,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $375 and the largest $67,000. 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
77 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
23 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
16 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
6 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
6 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
Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY$195,052552025
Klienhans Music HallBuffalo, NY$177,000442024
Buffalo PhilharmonicBuffalo, NY$121,000442024
Wned FmBuffalo, NY$55,000222022
Buffalo Suzuki StringsN Tonawanda, NY$50,000552025
Buffalo Philharmonic OrchestraBuffalo, NY$31,000112025
Preservation League of NysAlbany, NY$30,000442024
Glen Highland FarmsMorris, NY$25,000442024
Chataugua InstatutionChatauqua, NY$20,000112024
Mote Marine LaboratorySarasota, FL$17,000332024
SasiOrchard Park, NY$16,500332024
Suburban Adult Services IncOrchard Park, NY$16,150112025
Rosemary FarmSouth Kortright, NY$16,000442024
Chautauqua InstitutionChautauqua, NY$15,000112025
Last Chance CorralSouth Athens, OH$12,000552025
Preservation LeagueAlbany, NY$12,000112025
Draft GratitudeWinchester, NH$9,000332025
Draft GraditudeWinchester, NH$8,000222024
SPCATonawanda, NY$8,000222022
Salvation ArmyBuffalo, NY$7,000332025
Gentle Giants Draft Horse RescueMount Airy, MD$6,000552025
AhvmaAbingdon, MD$5,000332024
Chautaugua InstitutionChautauqua, NY$5,000112021
Chimp HavenKeithville, LA$5,000332025
Clrence Chamber of CommerceWilliamsville, NY$5,000112025
Glen Highland FarmsGlouster, VA$5,000112025
Kleinhans Music HallBuffalo, NY$5,000112025
Lothiorien Theraputic Riding CenterEast Aurora, NY$5,000112021
Moving MirclesWest Seneca, NY$5,000112021
Musicans Emergency FundNew York, NY$5,000112025
Sejong SoloistsNew York, NY$5,000112025
Wings Flights of HopeOrchard Park, NY$5,000442025
American Holistic Veterinary Medical FoundationColumbia, MD$4,000112025
Chilld & Family ServicesBuffalo, NY$3,000222022
Lothlorien Therapeutic RidingEast Aurora, NY$3,000112023
Preservation Buffalo NiagaraBuffalo, NY$3,000332025
Wings of RescueLa Quinta, CA$3,000222025
Hospice Foundation of WnyBuffalo, NY$2,250222022
The Buffalo History MuseumBuffalo, NY$2,125222025
Alzheimers AssociationWilliamsville, NY$2,000222022
American Heart AssnWilliamsville, NY$2,000222022
Buffalo Niagara WaterkeeperBuffalo, NY$2,000222022
Clasical Recordng FoudationPelham, NY$2,000112023
Hawk Creek Wildlife CemterEast Aurora, NY$2,000112021
Landmark Society of WnyRochester, NY$2,000222022
Roswell Park AllianceBuffalo, NY$2,000222022
The Botanical GardensBuffalo, NY$2,000222025
World Wildlife FundWashington, DC$2,000222022
Begin Again Horse RescueLima, NY$1,500112025
Buffalo Akg MuseumBuffalo, NY$1,500112025
Lollypop FarmFairport, NY$1,500112025
PcBuffalo, NY$1,500112025
American Heart AssociationDallas, TX$1,000112025
Asha SanctuaryNewfane, NY$1,000112021
Buffalo Niagara WayerkeeperBuffalo, NY$1,000112025
Buffalo Toronto Public MediaBuffalo, NY$1,000112024
Child and Family ServicesBuffalo, NY$1,000112025
Flaum Eye InstitueGeneseo, NY$1,000112025
Hawk Creek Wildlife CenterWest Falls, NY$1,000112025
Hospice FoundationBuffalo, NY$1,000112025
Pkd FoundationKansas City, MO$1,000112025
Rosemary FarmsSanta Monica, CA$1,000112025
St Jude Children's HospitalMemphis, TN$1,000112025
St Jude Research HospitalMemphis, TN$1,000112021
YMCABuffalo, NY$1,000112021
Zion Lutheran ChurchClarence Center, NY$1,000112024
Zion Lutherin ChurchClarence Center, NY$1,000112025
Nickel City Canine RescueWilliamsville, NY$775112025
Daily Bread TruckEggertsville, NY$750112021
Broome Animal SanctuaryBinghamton, NY$500112021
Investigative PostBuffalo, NY$500112021
Equine Emergency RescueClarence, NY$400112023
Greater Buffalo Sports Hal of FameBuffalo, NY$375112022

31 of 73 (42%) 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 54%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. 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 53 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.

Animal Welfare
23 grants
Arts & Culture
8 grants
Education
5 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
5 grants
Public Safety & Disaster Relief
4 grants
Environment
4 grants
Human Services
3 grants
Health Care
1 grant

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202136$219,128$2,000
202227$216,375$3,000
202317$189,900$5,000
202418$177,474$4,000
202537$161,500$1,500

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

92% of its giving went to organizations in New York. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

New York
$883K
Florida
$17K
New Hampshire
$17K
Maryland
$15K
Ohio
$12K
Louisiana
$5K
Virginia
$5K
California
$4K

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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.

American Online Giving Foundation Inc15 shared recipientsThe Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc15 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund15 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc13 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust11 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program11 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,000. 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 New York.
  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 animal welfare in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding arts & culture in New YorkEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in New YorkEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Clement and Karen Arrison's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). 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: 35 Lincoln Parkway, Buffalo, NY, 14222. 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 20-3116729 · 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 [email protected] and we will correct it.