Myer & Lois Franklin Charitable Tr
Jackson, MI · EIN 38-2715461. Reported 192 grants totalling $1,580,478 to 72 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. Myer & Lois Franklin Charitable Tr 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 $3,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $9,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $63,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan State University | E Lansing, MI | $268,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $233,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale Twp, MI | $197,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jackson Community Foundation | Jackson, MI | $126,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jackson College | Jackson, MI | $93,728 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Western Michigan Universitsy | Kalamazoo, MI | $68,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Spring Arbor University | Spring Arbor, MI | $64,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Central Michigan University | Mt Pleasant, MI | $57,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Michian Technological University | Houghton, MI | $46,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Albion College | Albion, MI | $38,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, MI | $36,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ferris State University | Big Rapids, MI | $33,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti, MI | $28,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit, MI | $26,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Adrian College | Adrian, MI | $14,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Indiana Wesley University | Marion, IN | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo, MI | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | $9,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Kettering University | Flint, MI | $9,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Lansing Community College | Lansing, MI | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Purdue University | West Lafayette, IN | $8,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Thrine Universiy | Angola, IN | $8,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Alma College | Alma, MI | $8,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Calvin University | Grand Rapids, MI | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Columbia Collge | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Taylor University | Upland, IN | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Baker College | Jackson, MI | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Belmont Abbey College | Belmont, NC | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | $7,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Siena Heights University | Adrian, MI | $7,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, MI | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| George Mason Universiy | Fairfax, VA | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Jackson Symphony Orchestra | Jackson, MI | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Savannah College of Art & Design | Savannah, GA | $6,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Wheaton College | Wheaton, IL | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lawrence Technologial University | Southfield, MI | $5,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Insstitute of Tech | Cambridge, MA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Miami University | Oxford, OH | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Northern Michign University | Marquette, MI | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Mary's College | Notre Dame, IN | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Wisconcin | Madison, WI | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Colorado State | Fort Collens, CO | $4,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cleary University | Howell, MI | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Aquinas College | Grand Rapids, MI | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kansas State University | Manhattan, KS | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Madonna Univeristy | Livonia, MI | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gerge Mason Universiy | Fairfax, VA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Northern Michigan University | Marquette, MI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburg, PA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Harvard | Cambridge, MA | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| North Caralina State University | Raleigh, NC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwood University | Midland, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Findlay | Findlay, OH | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Addrian Collegge | Adrian, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Concordia University of Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ethnos 360 Bible Institute | Waukesha, WI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Harding University | Searcy, AR | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hope College | Holland, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kendall College of Art & Design | Grand Rapids, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Olivet College | Olivet, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Saint Michael's College | Colchester, VT | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Mary College | Notre Dame, IN | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Toledo | Toledo, OH | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Weaton College | Weaton, IL | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
45 of 72 (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 79%, 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 87 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 | 33 | $309,032 | $3,000 |
| 2022 | 39 | $330,000 | $2,500 |
| 2023 | 39 | $318,946 | $3,000 |
| 2024 | 43 | $302,500 | $2,500 |
| 2025 | 38 | $320,000 | $3,000 |
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
91% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. 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 $3,000. 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 Michigan.
- 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 Myer & Lois Franklin Charitable Tr'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: 4250 Horton Road, Jackson, MI, 49201. 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 38-2715461 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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