Verna M Griffee Trust
Columbus, OH · EIN 31-6103083. Reported 141 grants totalling $317,025 to 71 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. Verna M Griffee 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 $1,450. Half of everything it gave fell between $850 and $2,250; the smallest was $250 and the largest $15,950. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muskingum University | New Concord, OH | $52,800 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ohio University | Athens, OH | $35,600 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ohio State University | Steubenville, OH | $23,900 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Ohio University Zanesville | Columbus, OH | $20,800 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | $20,500 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Kent State University | Kent, OH | $12,250 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Marietta College | Marietta, OH | $9,900 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green, OH | $8,250 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Mt Vernon, OH | $8,050 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Zanes State College | Zanesville, OH | $5,800 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ashland University | Ashland, OH | $5,700 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| High Point University | High Point, NC | $4,750 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Wright State University | Dayton, OH | $4,750 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The University of Akron | Akron, OH | $4,350 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Youngstown State University | Youngstown, OH | $4,350 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| University of Evansville | Evansville, IN | $4,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Brigham Young University | Provo, UT | $3,900 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| West Virginia Wesleyan College | Buckhannon, WV | $3,400 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Zane State College | Zanesville, OH | $3,175 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Indiana University | Indianapolis, IN | $3,100 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Otterbein University | Westerville, OH | $3,100 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Pensacola Christian College | Pensacola, MI | $3,100 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Rose Hulman Institute of Tech | Terre Haute, OH | $3,100 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Capital University | Columbus, OH | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| University of Findlay | Findlay, OH | $2,750 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Marshall University | Huntington, WV | $2,600 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Miami University | Oxford, OH | $2,600 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Youngstown State University Foundation | Youngstown, OH | $2,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Huntington University | Huntington, IN | $2,450 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Dayton | Dayton, OH | $2,350 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Glenville State College | Glenville, WV | $2,300 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH | $2,250 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ | $2,150 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Baldwin Wallace University | Berea, OH | $2,150 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Shawnee State University | Portsmouth, OH | $2,100 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Hocking Technical College | Nelsonville, OH | $1,900 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| West Liberty University | Columbus, OH | $1,700 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Belmont Abbey College | Belmont, NC | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond, KY | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Eckerd College | St Petersburg, FL | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo, MI | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Maryville University | Columbus, OH | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| New York Film Academy | New York, NY | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ohio Christian University | Circleville, OH | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ohio Northern University | Ada, OH | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ohio State University of Newark | Newark, OH | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pensacola Christian College Inc | Pensacola, FL | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rose Hulman Institute of Tech | Terre Haute, IN | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Russell Sage College | Troy, NY | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| West Liberty University | West Liberty, WV | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Woodbury University | Burbank, CA | $1,450 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Rio Grande | Rio Grande, OH | $1,300 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Western Governors University | Salt Lake Cty, UT | $1,300 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Hocking College | Nelsonville, OH | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| West Virginia University | Columbus, OH | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Full Sail University | Winter Park, FL | $850 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Ithaca College | Ithaca, NY | $850 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Malone University | Canton, OH | $850 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Saint Francis University | Loretto, PA | $850 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY | $750 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | $750 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Chatham University | Pittsburgh, PA | $650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | $650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Missouri | Saint Louis, MO | $650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Mount Union | Alliance, OH | $650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | $650 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Allegheny College | Meadville, OH | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Harding University | Searcy, AR | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Kentucky | Columbus, OH | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Walsh University | N Canton, OH | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
33 of 71 (46%) 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 51%, across 4 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 80 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 | 22 | $60,900 | $1,450 |
| 2022 | 28 | $79,025 | $1,450 |
| 2023 | 36 | $54,050 | $825 |
| 2024 | 28 | $53,550 | $850 |
| 2025 | 27 | $69,500 | $1,500 |
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
82% 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 $1,450. 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 Verna M Griffee 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: Po Box 1558 Dept EA5W86, Columbus, OH, 43216. 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 31-6103083 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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