Samuel-Edith Justus Char Trust
Pittsburgh, PA · EIN 47-1840657. Reported 149 grants totalling $6,461,041 to 59 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. Samuel-Edith Justus Char 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 $25,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $60,000; the smallest was $1,800 and the largest $244,582. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Services of Venango County Inc | Oil City, PA | $588,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| YMCA of Franklin-Grove City | Franklin, PA | $559,852 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Keystone Smiles Community Learning Center Inc | Knox, PA | $540,126 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Family Services & Children's Aid Society of Venango County | Oil City, PA | $525,558 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| CASA of Venango County Inc | Oil City, PA | $512,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Bridge Builders Community Foundation | Oil City, PA | $315,071 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| YMCA of Franklingrove City | Franklin, PA | $269,676 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Child Development Centers Inc | Oil City, PA | $257,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| United Way of Venango County | Reno, PA | $240,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Youth Alternatives Inc | Oil City, PA | $225,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Good Hope Lutheran Church of Oil City | Oil City, PA | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Boys and Girls Club Along the Allegheny | Emlenton, PA | $180,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Abc Life Center Inc | Franklin, PA | $130,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Youth Alternative Inc | Oil City, PA | $115,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cranberry Area School District | Seneca, PA | $114,919 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County | Oil City, PA | $110,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Grace Learning Center Inc | Franklin, PA | $100,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Seneca Hills Bible Camp & Retreat Center | Polk, PA | $85,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Northwest Hospital Foundation | Seneca, PA | $82,120 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Young Womens Christian Association | Oil City, PA | $81,912 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Venango Training & Development Ctr Inc | Seneca, PA | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| YMCA Camp Coffman | Cranberry, PA | $78,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Oil City Public Works | Oil City, PA | $70,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Venango County Assoc for the Blind | Seneca, PA | $61,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mustard Seed Missins of Venango County | Franklin, PA | $60,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Central Elementary PTO | La Grande, OR | $54,250 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| YWCA | Oil City, PA | $51,800 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Innovation Institute for Tomorrow Inc | Oil City, PA | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Polk Borough | Polk, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Salvation Army | West Nyack, PA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Clarion University Foundation Inc | Clarion, PA | $48,850 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Sugarcreek Borough | Franklin, PA | $45,712 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Venango Area Riding for the Handicapped | Franklin, PA | $45,400 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Make-a-Wish Foundation of Greater Pa and Wv | Pittsburgh, PA | $43,800 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Venango Chamber Foundation | Oil City, PA | $42,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| YMCA Farm Camp | North Springfield, PA | $38,700 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| The Salavation Army | West Nyack, PA | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Glade Run | Zelienople, PA | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Venango County Economic Development Authority | Franklin, PA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Oil City Area School District | Oil City, PA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Oil City Junior Baseball | Oil City, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Oil Region Library Association | Oil City, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Venango Museum of Art Science and and Industry | Oil City, PA | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Christian Life Academy | Seneca, PA | $22,607 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Oil Region Library Association Oil City Library | Oil City, PA | $20,225 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Jamie's Kids | Franklin, PA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh, PA | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Foundation for Free Enterprise Education | Erie, PA | $14,245 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Special Olympics Pa Inc | Norristown, PA | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Izaak Walton League of America | Seneca, PA | $11,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Keystone Community Education Council | Oil City, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Emlenton Borough | Emlenton, PA | $8,650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Debence Antique Music World | Franklin, PA | $6,750 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Special Olympics of Pennsylvania Inc | Norristown, PA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Oil City Izaak Walton League of America | Titusville, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Venango County Toys for Tots | Oil City, PA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown Inc | Pittsburgh, PA | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Oil Region Alliance of Business | Oil City, PA | $2,818 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Franklin Area School District | Franklin, PA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
39 of 59 (66%) 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 67%, 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.
- YMCA of Franklingrove City
FRANKLIN FIRE ALARM SYSTEM; - Family Services & Children's Aid Society of Venango County
VENANGO COUNTY PROGRAM, LSW - Youth Alternative Inc
YOUTH ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS - Youth Alternatives Inc
YOUTH ALTERNATIVES PROGRAMS - United Way of Venango County
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES AND - Cranberry Area School District
RECREATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 69 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 | 27 | $1,238,037 | $30,000 |
| 2022 | 30 | $1,484,524 | $25,600 |
| 2023 | 25 | $1,248,976 | $29,000 |
| 2024 | 32 | $1,198,471 | $19,000 |
| 2025 | 35 | $1,291,033 | $22,700 |
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
99% 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 $25,000. 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 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 Samuel-Edith Justus Char 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: 500 First Ave P7-Pfsc-03-Z, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219. 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 47-1840657 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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