Foundation for Educational Excellence
Denver, CO · EIN 84-1396597. Reported 96 grants totalling $7,644,636 to 66 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. 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. Foundation for Educational Excellence 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 $37,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $97,630; the smallest was $500 and the largest $556,853. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Stead School | Commerce City, CO | $1,126,853 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Buildstrong Academy | Denver, CO | $868,825 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Colorado Open Golf Foundation | Denver, CO | $620,130 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Denver University | Denver, CO | $525,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver | Denver, CO | $507,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation | Denver, CO | $490,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Brees Dream Foundation | Independence, OH | $400,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mile High Learning | Denver, CO | $285,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Greenlight Fund | Boston, MA | $220,260 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Special Olympics of Co | Centennial, CO | $207,104 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Warren Village Inc | Denver, CO | $139,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The First Tee | Denver, CO | $122,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Other Side Academy | Salt Lake City, UT | $119,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $118,880 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Home Builders Institute | Washington, DC | $116,445 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hoola Na Pua- Co Central Union Church | Honolulu, HI | $116,445 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| On Eagles Wings | Concord, NC | $112,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Here Tomorrow | Neptune Beach, FL | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hoola Na Pua | Honolulu, HI | $95,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pga Tour First Tee Foundation | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | $95,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Temple Grandin Equine Center | Fort Collins, CO | $91,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| True North | Telluride, CO | $85,250 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Colorado State University Foundation (temple Grandin Equine Center) | Fort Collins, CO | $77,630 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cha Carmel | Carmel, CA | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Invest in Kids | Denver, CO | $65,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Denver Police Foundation | Bloomfield, CO | $64,408 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Tim Tebow Foundation | Jacksonville, FL | $58,815 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Amp the Cause | Denver, CO | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Building Talent Foundation | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Eagle Valley Community Foundation | Edwards, CO | $48,815 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alsacst Jude | Denver, CO | $40,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Project Sanctuary | Granby, CO | $39,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver, CO | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Freedom Communities | Charlotte, NC | $33,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Roc | Charlotte, NC | $33,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| A Better World | Washington, DC | $32,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Challenge Foundation | Togard, OR | $32,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rebuilding Together Baton Rouge | Baton Rouge, LA | $32,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Aurora Public School | Aurora, CO | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement - Rocky Mountain | Denver, CO | $20,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Brigade | Neenah, WI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ascendigo Autism Services | Carbondale, CO | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Care Ring | Charlotte, NC | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Freedom Service Dogs | Englewood, CO | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sungatekids | Englewood, CO | $19,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Marine Corp Scholarship Foundation | Alexandria, VA | $16,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| On Eagles Wings (fields of Hope Charitable) | Charlotte, NC | $15,526 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Boy Scouts of America | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Carmelite Sisters | Alhambra, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Evan Scholars Foundation | Glenview, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hearthstone Builder Award Foundation | Calabasas, CA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Highlands Elementary PTO | Erie, CO | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Imagination Library of Denver | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Project Our Town | Greenwood Village, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Rehabilitation Institue of Chicago - Shirley Ryan Ability Lab | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Shirley Ryan Ability Lab | Chicago, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Victory Service Dogs | Colorado Springs, CO | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Jacksonville, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Porter-Billups Leadership Academy | Denver, CO | $8,750 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Aurora Public Schools Foundation | Aurora, CO | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Book Trust | Denver, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community College of Aurora | Aurora, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Denver Public School | Denver, CO | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jacksonvile Zoo & Gardens | Jacksonville, FL | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Colfax Community Network | Aurora, CO | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Silva Foundation | Denver, CO | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
18 of 66 (27%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 32%, across 3 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 47 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 | 19 | $1,821,002 | $14,000 |
| 2022 | 31 | $1,979,500 | $32,500 |
| 2023 | 18 | $1,855,797 | $77,500 |
| 2024 | 28 | $1,988,337 | $53,815 |
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. Foundation for Educational Excellence has 1 of them, worth $219,501. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Buildstrong Academy | Denver, CO | $219,501 |
Where its money goes
74% of its giving went to organizations in Colorado. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
Foundations that fund only organizations they pick gave to this one
5 private foundations that told the IRS they contribute only to organizations they select themselves reported 7 grants totalling $177,500 to Foundation for Educational Excellence. That is 36% of the 14 funders we can see giving to it. Those 5 foundations do not take unsolicited requests -- their own returns say so. The IRS classifies this organization as a grantmaking organization.
1 of them gave in more than one tax year, which is the only durability signal the filings carry.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application here reaches that money. A grant from a closed foundation is often a designated gift or a donor-advised fund earmarked by whoever gave it, and has nothing to do with any open programme this organization runs. Neither tax return says which, so neither do we. The list below is who put money in. It is not a route to it.
| Foundation | State | Reported | Grants | Years | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libby Anschutz Foundation | Colorado | $120,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| The Hunt Family Foundation | Colorado | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cla Foundation | Minnesota | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| William T Kemper Charitable Trust 10015200 | Missouri | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Hanna Foundation | Florida | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
A linked name has a page of its own. We publish one for a foundation that takes no unsolicited requests only when a real share of its giving goes to organizations that make grants themselves, and that page opens by saying it does not take requests.
Both the count and the total are floors. A foundation appears here only where its return named this organization clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows. There are more; we cannot name them.
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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 $37,000. 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 Colorado.
- 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 Foundation for Educational Excellence's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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: 240 Saint Paul Ste 300, Denver, CO, 80206. 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 84-1396597 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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