Paul & Helen Ellis Charitable Trust
Buffalo, NY · EIN 83-6584353. Reported 149 grants totalling $2,256,812 to 72 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. Paul & Helen Ellis 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 $10,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $20,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $155,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation for Jewish Philanthropie | Getzville, NY | $570,275 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Hospice Buffalo | Cheektowaga, NY | $135,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Kenmore Mercy Hosptal Foundation I | Kenmore, NY | $125,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Rural Outreach Center | East Aurora, NY | $104,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Buffalo Maritime Center | Buffalo, NY | $91,000 | 6 | 6 | 2025 |
| Roswell Park Comprehensive Care | Buffalo, NY | $78,750 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Crisis Services | Buffalo, NY | $70,100 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Seneca Street Cdc | Buffalo, NY | $61,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Club of the Northtowns | Buffalo, NY | $60,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Madonna of the Streets | Buffalo, NY | $57,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Roswell Park Alliance Corporation | Buffalo, NY | $50,875 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Our Lady of Victory Homes of Charity | Lackawanna, NY | $49,750 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Black Rock Riverside Alliance | Buffalo, NY | $47,540 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Teacher's Desk | Buffalo, NY | $36,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Providence Farm | Orchard Park, NY | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Stpauls Roman Catholic Church | Buffalo, NY | $35,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Autism Services Inc | Amherst, NY | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Epic | Buffalo, NY | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Brralliance | Buffalo, NY | $26,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Bison Children Fund | Buffalo, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo | Buffalo, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Grassroots Gardens of Wny | Buffalo, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kenmore Mercy Hosptal Foundation | Kenmore, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Providence Farm Collective | Orchard Park, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Wedi | Buffalo, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| West Side Community Services | Buffalo, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| 5 Loaves Farm | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| International Institute of Buffalo | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Karen Society of Buffalo Inc | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Massachusetts Avenue Project | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Sabah | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Via | Buffalo, NY | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Teachers Desk | Buffalo, NY | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Feedmore Wny | Buffalo, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Learning Disabilities Association of Wny | Buffalo, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| SPCA Serving Erie County | West Seneca, NY | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Black Rock Historical Society | Buffalo, NY | $13,522 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Veterans One-Stop Center of Wny | Buffalo, NY | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Community Rehab Project Inc | Vernon, NY | $10,500 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Be-a-Friend Program | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Buffalo Prep | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Citizen Science Community Resources | Tonawanda, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| City Swim Project | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Leveling the Playing Field Wny | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Lieracy Buffalo Niagara | Buffalo, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity | Niagara Falls, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Canisius High School | Buffalo, NY | $8,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Roycrofters-at-Large Association | East Aurora, NY | $7,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Bristol Village Inc | Clarence Center, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Honor Flights | Clarence, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| East Aurora Chamber Music Festival | East Aurora, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Family Help Center | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Family Justice Center | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Grand Island Catholic Club | Grand Island, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Make-a-Wish Foundation | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Mercy Flight | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Ralph C Wilso JR Niagara Community Center | Niagara Falls, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Joseph's Collegiate Institute | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Stephen's Education Foundation | Grand Island, NY | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Church Home | West Seneca, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Via - Visually Impaired Advancement | Buffalo, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Stephens | Grand Island, NY | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Camp Good Days & Special Times | Mendon, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Neighbors Foundation of Grand Islan | Grand Island, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Wings of Hope | Orchard Park, NY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Stitch Buffalo | Buffalo, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Tool Library | Buffalo, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Canisius University | Buffalo, NY | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| A Purr-Fect Fit Animal Rescue | Williamsville, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Cat By Cat Inc | Amherst, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Matthias Episcopal Chirch | East Aurora, NY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lions Club of Kenmore | Kenmore, NY | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
29 of 72 (40%) 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 68%, 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.
- Boys and Girls Club of the Northtowns
AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM SUPPORT - West Side Community Services
SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM - Hospice Buffalo
ESSENTIAL CARE FOR CHILDREN - The Teachers Desk
FREE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES - Seneca Street Cdc
AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS - Black Rock Historical Society
DISPLAY CASE AND LIGHTING
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 66 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 | 17 | $377,540 | $15,000 |
| 2021 | 20 | $366,972 | $6,250 |
| 2022 | 22 | $400,000 | $7,500 |
| 2023 | 21 | $322,000 | $10,000 |
| 2024 | 32 | $375,000 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 37 | $415,300 | $10,000 |
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
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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 $10,000. 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 New York.
- 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 Paul & Helen Ellis Charitable Trust'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: 600 Airborne Parkway, Buffalo, NY, 14225. 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 83-6584353 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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