The Wendys Foundation
Dublin, OH · EIN 31-1807834. Reported 52 grants totalling $1,080,800 to 45 recipients across tax years 2022-2025. 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. The Wendys 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 $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,500 and $10,000; the smallest was $2,500 and the largest $200,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption | Dublin, OH | $725,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Wecare | Tulsa, OK | $55,800 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Midohio Food Collective | Grove City, OH | $50,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Columbus Urban League | Columbus, OH | $25,000 | 2 | 1 | 2024 |
| YWCA Columbus | Columbus, OH | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Columbus Urban League Empowerment | Columbus, OH | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Alicias Closet | Dublin, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Columbus Urban League Herstory | Columbus, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| My Project USA | Columbus, OH | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Project Woman of Springfield & Clark County | Springfield, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northern Illinois Foodbank | Geneva, IL | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Tumbleweed Program | Billings, MT | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Azcaar - Arizona Center for African American Resources | Phoenix, AZ | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Houston | Houston, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| CASA Valentina | Miami, FL | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Central Community House | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Flying Horse Farms | Mt Gilead, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Forkids Inc | Chesapeake, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Harvest to Hope | Fort Worth, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Honor Flight Columbus | Worthington, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Kaleidoscope Youth Center | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Keep Ohio Beautiful | Fairlawn, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Kids Mental Health Foundation | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Northern Rhode Island Food Pantry | Cumberland, RI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency | Traverse City, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Proyecto Mariposas | Westerville, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Shepherds Corner Ecology Center | Blacklick, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Star House Foundation | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| The Childhood League Center | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Ohio State University Foundation | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Canine Companions North Central Training Center | New Albany, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Church and Community Assistance Program | Kissimmee, FL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida | Orlando, FL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Empowering Latinas Leadership Academy | Westerville, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Families Flourish | Columbus, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Go Pantry | Florence, KY | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Law and Leadership Institute | Columbus, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Licking County Coalition of Care | Newark, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter | Bentonville, AR | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| One Dublin | Dublin, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Raise the Future | Denver, CO | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| United Way of Delaware County | Delaware, OH | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Urban Peak | Denver, CO | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Zebra Youth | Orlando, FL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
4 of 45 (9%) 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 20%, 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 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.
- Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
To dramatically increase the number of adoptions of children waiting in North Americas foster care system. - The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
To contribute towards expenses incurred to support a foster care adoption agency dedicated to finding adoptive homes for children waiting in North America's foster care system. - Wecare
To provide short-term financial assistance to Wendys employees who have been negatively impacted by natural disasters or states of emergency . - Midohio Food Collective
To end hunger one nourishing meal at a time while co-creating sustainable communities where everyone thrives. - YWCA Columbus
To eliminate racism empower women and promote peace justice freedom and dignity for all. - Columbus Urban League
To empower African Americans and disenfranchised groups through economic educational and social progress.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5 | $192,500 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 3 | $182,500 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 21 | $393,300 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 23 | $312,500 | $5,000 |
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
89% of its giving went to organizations in Ohio. 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 $5,000. 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 Ohio.
- 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 The Wendys Foundation'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: One Dave Thomas Blvd, Dublin, OH, 43017. 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 31-1807834 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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