Louis & Helen Fanaroff Char Foundation
Potomac, MD · EIN 52-1276724. Reported 156 grants totalling $665,400 to 58 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. 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. Louis & Helen Fanaroff Char 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 $2,750. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $25,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suburban Hospital Foundation | Bethesda, MD | $88,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Hope Connection for Cancer Support | Bethesda, MD | $47,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Anti-Defamation League | Washington, DC | $42,500 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Shady Grove Medical Center Foundation | Rockville, MD | $42,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Friends of Lubavitch | Potomac, MD | $36,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Matan | New York, NY | $31,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Charles E Smith Jewish Day School | Rockville, MD | $27,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Jewish Federation of Greater Washington | Rockville, MD | $25,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| So What Else Inc | Rockville, MD | $23,800 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| American Friends of Magen David Adom | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Aquilino Cancer Center | Rockville, MD | $18,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Maryland Hillel | College Park, MD | $17,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Interfaith Works | Rockville, MD | $14,900 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Chabad at University of Maryland | College Park, MD | $14,500 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse | Rockville, MD | $12,500 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Bnai Israel | Rockville, MD | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Bender Jcc of Greater Washington | Rockville, MD | $11,050 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Temple Adath Israel | Evansville, IN | $11,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Caringmatters | Gaithersburg, MD | $10,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Jewish Camp and Conference Service | Waynesboro, PA | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Miles for Migraine | Lafayette, PA | $10,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| World Central Kitchen Inc | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Jewish Foundation for Group Homes | Rockville, MD | $9,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund | New York, NY | $8,850 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Community Support Services | Gaithersburg, MD | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Southeast Hebrew Congregation | Silver Spring, MD | $6,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| B'nai B'rith | Washington, DC | $6,200 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Active Minds | Washington, DC | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| National Ramah Commission | New York, NY | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| US Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington, DC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| American Diabetes Association | Baltimore, MD | $5,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| DC Abortion Fund | Washington, DC | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Foundation | Gaithersburg, MD | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| American Heart Association | Dallas, TX | $4,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Mental Health Associations of Mont Co - Ever Mind | Rockville, MD | $4,250 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Washington Nationals Dream Foundation | Washington, DC | $4,250 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Bright Beginnings Inc | Washington, DC | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Eaglebank Foundation | Rockville, MD | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ivymount School Inc | Rockville, MD | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| National Council of Jewish Women | Fair Lawn, NJ | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The Trevor Project | West Hollywood, CA | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Manna Food Center of Mc Maryland | Gaithersburg, MD | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Sunflowers for Sallie | Millersville, MD | $3,100 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Shaare Torah | Gaithersburg, MD | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jcc of Greater Washington | Rockville, MD | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Children's Inn at Nih Inc | Bethesda, MD | $2,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Rebuild Together Montgomery County | Kensington, MD | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Washington Interfaith Network | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bethesda Cares | Bethesda, MD | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| The Friendship Circle | Silver Spring, MD | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Imadi | Randallstown, MD | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jewish Council for the Aging | Rockville, MD | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | New York, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Washington Hospital Center Foundation | Washington, DC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| We Care Inc | Bangor, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Hopelink Behavioral Health | Oakton, VA | $550 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Pef Israel Endowment Funds Inc | New York, NY | $550 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Advanceesg | Potomac, MD | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
40 of 58 (69%) 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 72%, 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.
- Suburban Hospital Foundation
TO FUND NURSING EDUCATION AND CLINICAL PROGRAMS - Shady Grove Medical Center Foundation
TO HELP PROVIDE MODERN MEDICAL FACILITIES AND TREATMENTS - Matan
TO ASSIST JEWISH STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS - Anti-Defamation League
TO COMBAT DEFAMATION AND HATE-CRIMES RELATED TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY - American Friends of Magen David Adom
TO SUPPORT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY - Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
SUPPORT COMMUNITY IN NEED
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 72 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 | 31 | $140,600 | $3,500 |
| 2021 | 35 | $147,000 | $2,500 |
| 2022 | 36 | $135,000 | $2,000 |
| 2023 | 27 | $98,200 | $2,000 |
| 2024 | 27 | $144,600 | $3,500 |
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
70% of its giving went to organizations in Maryland. 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 $2,750. 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 Maryland.
- 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 Louis & Helen Fanaroff Char Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). 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: 7811 Montrose Rd Ste 260, Potomac, MD, 20854. 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 52-1276724 · 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.