Foster Charitable Trust
Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 25-6064791. Reported 152 grants totalling $969,010 to 58 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. Foster Charitable Trust 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 $1,250. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $57,220. 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 Jewish Federation - Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $228,800 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Temple Jeremiah | Northfield, IL | $185,960 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Mars Family Charitable Foundation | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pittsburgh Cultural Trust | Pittsburgh, PA | $50,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Rochester Contemporary Art Ctr | Rochester, NY | $32,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Jewish United Fund | Chicago, IL | $27,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Botanic Gardens | Glencoe, IL | $26,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute | Chicago, IL | $25,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ravina Festival Association | Highland Park, IL | $22,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate | Stanford, CA | $21,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mental Help Global | Spring, TX | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Contemporary Craft Relocation Capital Campaign | Pittsburgh, PA | $17,250 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Shady Side Academy | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Chicago Law School | Chicago, IL | $14,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh, PA | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Dublin School | Dublin, OH | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Swaner Preserve and Ecocenter | Park City, UT | $7,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Summit Land Conservancy | Park City, UT | $6,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Beit Tshuvah | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jewish Association on Aging | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Team Rubicon | Los Angeles, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| World Central Kitchen | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northmoor Education Foundation | Highland Park, IL | $3,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Parks Foundation of Highland Park | Highland Park, IL | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Topeka, KS | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| American Red Cross | Chicago, IL | $2,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Highland Park Community Foundation | Highland Park, IL | $2,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Open Books Ltd | Chicago, IL | $2,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| More Than Music Foundation Inc | Park City, UT | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Park City Performances Dba Egytian Theatre | Park City, UT | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Museum of Modern Art | New York, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Whitney Museum of American Art | New York, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Alzheimers Association | Pittsburgh, PA | $1,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Best Friends Animal Society | Kanab, UT | $1,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| St Jude Childrens Research Hospital | Memphis, TN | $1,500 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Artis-Naples | Naples, FL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Chicago Hearing Society | Chicago, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Community Wireless of Park City | Park City, UT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic | Highland Park, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Park City Film | Park City, UT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wasatch Wildlife Conservation Center | Park City, UT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Chicago Coalition for the Homeless | Chicago, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Environmental Defense Fund Inc | New York, NY | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fibrous Dysplasia Foundation | Grandville, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Greater Chicago Food Depository Donor Services | Chicago, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kari Stirner Arts Trail - | Baston, PA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Art Center Highland Park | Highland Park, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington, DC | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Yale Univeristy School of Art | New Haven, CT | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Youth Outreach Services | Chicago, IL | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
34 of 58 (59%) 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 77%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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.
- Temple Jeremiah
DISTRIBUTIONS FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES - Mars Family Charitable Foundation
DISTRIBUTIONS FOR ANOTHER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 83 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 | $212,770 | $3,000 |
| 2022 | 31 | $242,470 | $1,000 |
| 2023 | 31 | $184,770 | $1,000 |
| 2024 | 28 | $124,800 | $1,250 |
| 2025 | 33 | $204,200 | $2,000 |
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.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Foster Charitable Trust has 11 of them, worth $252,250. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Temple Jeremiah | Northfield, IL | $100,000 |
| Temple Jeremiah | Northfield, IL | $50,000 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $30,000 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $15,000 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $12,000 |
| Contemporary Craft Relocation Capital Campaign | Pittsburgh, PA | $11,500 |
| Chicago Botanic Gardens | Chicago, IL | $10,000 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $9,000 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $6,000 |
| Contemporary Craft Relocation Capital Campaign | Pittsburgh, PA | $5,750 |
| Pittsburgh Glass Center | Pittsburgh, PA | $3,000 |
Where its money goes
47% of its giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. 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 $1,250. 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 Pennsylvania.
- 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 Foster Charitable Trust'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: 681 Andersen Drive 300, Pittsburgh, PA, 15220. 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 25-6064791 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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