Funders › Michigan

William F Courtney Foundation

Detroit, MI · EIN 34-1905199. Reported 82 grants totalling $418,450 to 39 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$3,250median grant
$418,450granted, 2021-2024
39recipients, as named on its returns
73%of grantees funded again the next year
$2,183,402assets, latest filing

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. William F Courtney 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.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $3,250. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $5,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $30,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
5 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
49 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
15 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
12 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
1 grant

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.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
Duke UniversityDurham, NC$78,000442024
Washington Jesuit AcademyWashington, DC$72,000442024
Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca CollegesEl Cajon, CA$25,000332024
The Salvation ArmyWest Nyack, NY$21,990442024
Holy Trinity SchoolWashington, DC$18,300332024
Tunnel to Towers FoundationStaten Island, NY$16,290442024
The V FoundationCary, NC$15,775442024
Ecad Educated Canines Assisting With DisabilitiesTorrington, CT$15,665442024
United Service Organization IncArlington, VA$15,665442024
St Thomas More Newman CenterColumbus, OH$15,000112024
Young Kings MovementLeesburg, VA$11,165332024
Cardinal Mooney Catholic High SchoolSarasota, FL$10,000112021
Eric Parede Save a Life FdnEl Cajon, CA$10,000222024
Ursuline High School Endowment FundYoungstown, OH$10,000112024
Salvation Army Disaster ReliefAlexandria, VA$8,500222023
Any Body Can Youth FoundationSan Diego, CA$7,500332024
The Wingman FoundationMinden, NV$7,000222023
Rancho Santa Fe FoundaitonRancho Santa Fe, CA$6,000112024
Santa Sophia Catholic ChurchSpring Valley, CA$5,800332024
Nativity Prep Academy of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$5,500332024
Salvation ArmyBrookhaven, GA$5,000112021
Golden Retriever Rescue Education and Training IncMerrifield, VA$4,500332023
Washington School for GirlsWashington, DC$4,000332024
St Rita's Catholic SchoolSan Diego, CA$3,900222024
San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego, CA$3,800332024
Kitchens for GoodSan Diego, CA$3,000112024
Saint Augustine High SchoolSan Diego, CA$3,000112024
Abc Youth FoundationSan Diego, CA$2,700112021
Mobile Hope AssociationLeesburg, VA$2,000112022
Vital Ground Foundation IncMissoula, MT$2,000112022
Our Lady of Grace Catholic ParishSan Diego, CA$1,600112021
Brite PathsFairfax City, VA$1,500112021
Als AssociationTustin, CA$1,000112023
Big Brothers Big Sisters of San DiegoSan Diego, CA$1,000112023
Boys to Men Mentoring NetworkLa Mesa, CA$1,000112023
Eric Parede Save a Life FndnEl Cajon, CA$1,000112021
Save StarlightSan Diego, CA$1,000112021
Armed Services YMCA of the USASan Diega, CA$800112021
Knights of ColumbusSpring Valley, CA$500112021

20 of 39 (51%) 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 73%, across 3 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.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 44 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.

Education
20 grants
Youth Development
8 grants
Public & Societal Benefit
6 grants
Medical Research
4 grants
Animal Welfare
3 grants
Arts & Culture
3 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202125$124,100$2,700
202213$66,000$3,000
202322$94,200$2,500
202422$134,150$4,470

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

23% of its giving went to organizations in District of Columbia. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.

District of Columbia
$94K
North Carolina
$94K
California
$84K
Virginia
$43K
New York
$38K
Ohio
$25K
Connecticut
$16K
Florida
$10K

Get funders for your state and cause by email

We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.

Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.

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.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund16 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc15 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc14 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc11 shared recipientsThe Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc11 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program9 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $3,250. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in District of Columbia.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Foundations funding education in District of ColumbiaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in North CarolinaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding education in CaliforniaEvery funder in this groupFoundations funding youth development in CaliforniaEvery funder in this group

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from William F Courtney Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). 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 75000, Detroit, MI, 48275. 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 34-1905199 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded.

Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.