De French Foundation Inc
Auburn, NY · EIN 16-6052246. Reported 168 grants totalling $1,403,840 to 68 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. 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. De French 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 $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $200 and the largest $35,000. 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Way of Cayuga County | Auburn, NY | $155,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cayuga Community College Foundation | Auburn, NY | $140,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Le Moyne College | Syracuse, NY | $105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Calvary Food Pantry Cny | Auburn, NY | $52,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| American Red Cross | Auburn, NY | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Schweinfurth Museum Art Center | Auburn, NY | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| King Ferry Food Pantry | Aurora, NY | $40,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Seymour Library | Auburn, NY | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Auburn Education Foundation | Auburn, NY | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Auburn YMCA - Weiu | Auburn, NY | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Sts Peter & John Episcopal Church | Auburn, NY | $33,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Cayuga Museum of History & Art | Auburn, NY | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Play Space Abc Cayuga | Auburn, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Union Springs Fire Department | Union Springs, NY | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Mercy Works | East Syracuse, NY | $28,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mercy Flight Central | Marcellus, NY | $27,200 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Cayuga Community College | Auburn, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Berea College | Berea, KY | $22,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Fort Hill Cemetery Association | Auburn, NY | $22,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Girl Scouts Ny Penn Pathways | Cicero, NY | $22,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Auburn Public Theater | Auburn, NY | $20,850 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity | Auburn, NY | $17,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate | Auburn, NY | $16,325 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| St Alphonsus Food Pantry | Auburn, NY | $15,316 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Auburn United Methodist Church | Auburn, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Peachtown Elementary School | Aurora, NY | $15,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Transportation Project for Cayuga County | Auburn, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Literacy Volunteers of Cayuga County | Auburn, NY | $14,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The City of Auburn | Auburn, NY | $14,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Union Springs Soccer Club | Cayuga, NY | $13,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army of Auburn | Auburn, NY | $13,250 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Community Action Program | Auburn, NY | $13,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Auburn Hockey Club | Auburn, NY | $11,199 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Faatz-Crofut Home for the Elderly | Auburn, NY | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Westminster Presbyterian Church | Auburn, NY | $11,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| First Presbyterian Church | Auburn, NY | $10,900 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Auburn Alliance Church | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Aurelius Volunteer Fire Dept | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Booker T Washington Community Center | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery Home for the Elderly | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| East Hill Medical Center | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Four Town First Aid Squad | Moravia, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nick's Ride for Friends | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Schweinforth Museum Art Center | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Seward House Museum | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Unity House | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Unity House of Cayuga County | Auburn, NY | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Matthew House Inc | Auburn, NY | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Arise Child & Family Services | Syracuse, NY | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Chapel House of Cayuga County | Auburn, NY | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Auburn Sports Boosters | Auburn, NY | $7,700 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Owasco Watershed Lake Association | Auburn, NY | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Salvation Army - Auburn | Auburn, NY | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cayuga Community Health Network | Auburn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce Foundation | Auburn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| E John Gavras Center | Auburn, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wells College | Aurora, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Powers Library Association | Moravia, NY | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cayuga Bombers Baseball Organization | Auburn, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Finger Lakes Land Trust | Ithaca, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mozaic | Sterling, VA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| YMCA - Weiu | Auburn, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Port Byron Little League | Port Byron, NY | $2,800 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rescue Mission | Syracuse, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Frontenac Historical Society and Museum | Union Springs, NY | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Moravia Hope Pantry | Moravia, NY | $1,300 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Skaneateles Early Childhood Center | Skaneateles, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| West Genoa Cemetery | King Ferry, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
42 of 68 (62%) 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 65%, 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.
- United Way of Cayuga County
FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE ANNUAL CAMPAIGN - Cayuga Community College Foundation
NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CAY COUNTY RESIDENCE - Cayuga Community College
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER - Schweinfurth Museum Art Center
UPDATING THEIR SECURITY SYSTEM - Seymour Library
DEVELOPING CASE MEMORIAL MAINTENANCE FUND - King Ferry Food Pantry
FUNDING TO CONTINUE SERVING THOSE WHO ARE FACING FOOD INSECURITY IN SOUTHERN CAY CNTY
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 65 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | $235,700 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 33 | $285,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 35 | $299,141 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 35 | $260,450 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 36 | $323,049 | $6,050 |
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
98% 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.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
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 $5,000. 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 New York.
- 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 De French Foundation Inc'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: 110 Genesee Street 290A, Auburn, NY, 13021. 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 16-6052246 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.