Ellice & Rosa Mcdonald Foundation
Wilmington, DE · EIN 51-0348090. Reported 235 grants totalling $11.1M to 84 recipients across tax years 2020-2025. 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. Ellice & Rosa Mcdonald 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.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $40,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $25,000 and $75,000; the smallest was $1,500 and the largest $250,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Botanical Gardens | Dagsboro, DE | $749,500 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| First State Squash | Wilmington, DE | $525,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Faithful Friends | Wilmingotn, DE | $500,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| The Ministry of Caring Inc | Wilmington, DE | $450,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Delaware Museum of Natural History | Wilmington, DE | $384,558 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Delaware College Scholars | Wilmingotn, DE | $360,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Historic Odessa Foundation | Odessa, DE | $328,759 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Tower Hill School | Wilmington, DE | $322,500 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| St Michaels School and Nursery | Wilmington, DE | $290,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| The University of Delaware | Newark, DE | $275,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Delaware Boys and Girls Club | Wilmington, DE | $250,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Sunday Breakfast Mission | Wilmington, DE | $250,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Delaware Center for Horticulture | Wilmington, DE | $232,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| West End Neighborhood House | Wilmington, DE | $220,998 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Delaware Wild Lands | Odessa, DE | $205,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Urban Promise | Wilmington, DE | $205,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Camp Arrowhead | Lewes, DE | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Delaware Military Academy | Wilmington, DE | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Episcopal Diocese of Delaware | Wilmington, DE | $200,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Food Bank of Delaware | Newark, DE | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Mary Campbell Center | Wilmingotn, DE | $200,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Aspira Foundation | Newark, DE | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| East Side Charter Community Learning | Wilmington, DE | $175,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Friendship House | Wilmingotn, DE | $165,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| The Delaware Kids Fund | Newport, DE | $155,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Aspira Academy | Newark, DE | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Eastside Community Learning Center Foundation | Wilmingotn, DE | $150,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Wilmingotn, DE | $150,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Friends of Newark Free Library | Newark, DE | $137,980 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Delaware Hospice | Newark, DE | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Delaware Museaum of Natural History | Wilmington, DE | $125,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Delaware Theater Company | Wilmingotn, DE | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Reading Assist | Wilmington, DE | $125,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Stratford Hall Historic Preserve | Stratford, VA | $125,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Epilepsy Foundation | Newport, DE | $122,500 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Amistad Mission | Nashville, TN | $120,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Lyte Scholars | Wilmingotn, DE | $105,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Alpha Sigma Foundation | Ithica, NY | $100,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| First Community Foundation | Wilmington, DE | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ursuline Academy | Wilmingotn, DE | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Newport Rowing Club | Newport, DE | $85,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Salem County Humane Society | Penns Grove, NJ | $85,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Kalmar Nyckel Foundation | Wilmingotn, DE | $81,100 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Unc Library Fund | Chapel Hill, NC | $80,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| The Independence School | Newark, DE | $76,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Easter Seals | New Castle, DE | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Easter Seals Deeastern Shore | New Castle, DE | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Easterseals De Eastern Shore | New Castle, DE | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Food Bank | Newark, DE | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Leadership Delaware | Wilmingotn, DE | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Nativity Preparatory Shcool of Wilmington | Wilmington, DE | $70,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Christ Church Episcopal Preschool | Wilmingotn, DE | $62,200 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Amanecer Counseling & Resource Center | Wilmington, DE | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| The Rotary Club Foundation of Wilmington | Wilmingotn, DE | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Rcw Services Foundation | Wilmingotn, DE | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Brandywine Red Clay Alliance | West Chester, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Centreville Layton School | Wilmington, DE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chi Psi Educational Trust | Nashville, TN | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Christ Church Christiana | Wilmingotn, DE | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Community Education Building | Wilmingotn, DE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Delaware Zoological Society | Wilmingotn, DE | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Hagley Museum | Wilmingotn, DE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Latin America Community Center | Wilmington, DE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vision to Learn | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wilmington Friends School | Wilmington, DE | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Delaware Children's Museum | Wilmingotn, DE | $44,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Kibaoni Primary School Foundation | Green Bay, WI | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Nature Conservancy | Wilmingotn, DE | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Seaman's Center of Wilmington | Wilmingotn, DE | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Pilot School | Wilmington, DE | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington | Wilmingotn, DE | $28,805 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kind to Kids Foundation | Wilmingotn, DE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sam's Kids Fund | Newport, DE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wilmington Library | Wilmingotn, DE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wilmington Youth Rowing | Wilmingotn, DE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Wilmington Youth Rowing Association | Wilmingotn, DE | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Down Syndrome Associates of Delaware | Newark, DE | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Devereux Pennsylvania Foundation | West Chester, PA | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Deverex Pennsylvania Foundation | West Chester, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay | Newark, DE | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Camp Possibilities | Berlin, MD | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| National Down Syndrome Society | Washington DC, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House of De | Wilmingotn, DE | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Rcw Educational Foundation | Wilmingotn, DE | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
56 of 84 (67%) received money in more than one year over the 6 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 5 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.
- Unc Library Fund
Financial Library Assistance
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 73 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 | 33 | $1,670,000 | $50,000 |
| 2021 | 38 | $1,725,000 | $25,000 |
| 2022 | 36 | $1,898,759 | $46,000 |
| 2023 | 36 | $1,797,633 | $50,000 |
| 2024 | 45 | $1,901,798 | $31,200 |
| 2025 | 47 | $2,111,710 | $40,000 |
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
93% of its giving went to organizations in Delaware. 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 $40,000. 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 Delaware.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Ellice & Rosa Mcdonald Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 6 returns (tax years 2020-2025). 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: 3801 Kennett Pike Bldg C 100, Wilmington, DE, 19807. 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 51-0348090 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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