Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation
Columbus, OH · EIN 31-1688700. Reported 119 grants totalling $3,659,412 to 56 organizations across tax years 2020-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation, the IRS classifies it as a fundraising and fund-distribution organization (NTEE T127).
- How spread out its giving is. 56 distinct organizations, with 13% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 52% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 4 year-to-year transitions. That is about the 56% median for grantmaking charities -- lower than the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $17,900. Half of what it reported fell between $10,000 and $25,892; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $250,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Mens Christian Association of Central Ohio | Columbus, OH | $460,000 | 5 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ruling Our Experiences Inc | Columbus, OH | $280,500 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Community Shelter Board | Columbus, OH | $252,289 | 6 | 4 | 2023 |
| City of Whitehall | Columbus, OH | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ohio State Parks Foundation | Columbus, OH | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation | Columbus, OH | $180,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Recreation Unlimited Foundation | Ashley, OH | $123,305 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ohio Youth Hockey Association Inc | Dublin, OH | $118,517 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Nationwide Childrens Hospital | Columbus, OH | $113,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Flying Horse Farms | Mount Gilead, OH | $112,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Junior Achievement of Central Ohio | Columbus, OH | $102,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Columbus Recreation and Parks Foundation | Columbus, OH | $100,528 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| A Kid Again Inc | Columbus, OH | $97,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Columbus Early Learning Centers | Columbus, OH | $94,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Girl Scouts Seal of Ohio Council Inc | Columbus, OH | $92,580 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ohio Sled Hockey Inc | New Albany, OH | $88,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Columbus Ice Hockey Club Inc | Columbus, OH | $67,322 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus Inc | Columbus, OH | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| After-School All-Stars Ohio | Columbus, OH | $63,642 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| The Columbus Chill Youth Hockey Association Inc | Dublin, OH | $57,317 | 6 | 5 | 2024 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Central Ohio Inc | Columbus, OH | $55,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boy Scouts of America | Columbus, OH | $54,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Choices for Victims of Domestic Violence | Columbus, OH | $50,000 | 5 | 4 | 2023 |
| South Side Early Learning | Columbus, OH | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Athens Hockey Association Inc | Athens, OH | $38,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| City Year Inc | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Columbus Recreation and Parks Foundation | Columbus, OH | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Newark Ice Hockey Assoc | Newark, OH | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Girls on the Run of Central Ohio | Grandview, OH | $25,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Franklinton Cycleworks | Columbus, OH | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Leveling the Playing Field Inc | Rockville, MD | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bridgeway Academy | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Childrens Hunger Alliance | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kidsmiles Pediatric Dental Clinic | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Central Ohio | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Central Ohio Youth Ice Hockey Officials Association Inc | Westerville, OH | $18,640 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Special Olympics Ohio Inc | Westerville, OH | $15,600 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Columbus Foundation | Columbus, OH | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Central Ohio Girls Hockey Association | Columbus, OH | $13,891 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Westerville Parks Foundation | Westerville, OH | $12,025 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Pelotonia | Columbus, OH | $10,947 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Capital Amateur Hockey Association | Lewis Center, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center | Columbus, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Flashes of Hope | Chagrin Falls, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Make-a-Wish Foundation of Ohio Kentucky and Indiana Inc | Columbus, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| United Schools Network Inc | Columbus, OH | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Columbus Mavericks Hockey Club | Hilliard, OH | $8,375 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Easton Youth Hockey Association Inc | Gahanna, OH | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nellies Champions for Kids Inc | Columbus, OH | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Kings Care Foundation | El Segundo, CA | $6,534 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio Inc | Columbus, OH | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Breakthrough T1D | New York, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Central Community House of Columbus Inc | Columbus, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| City of Westerville | Westerville, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Dreams on Horseback | Blacklick, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Seeds of Caring | Worthington, OH | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
24 of 56 (43%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Young Mens Christian Association of Central Ohio
GRANT - HEALTH AND SAFETY - Community Shelter Board
GRANT - SPIRIT OF GIVING CAMPAIGN - ENERGY TRANSFER - Columbus Foundation
HONORING FILIGNO 1,000 GAMES - Lss Choices for Victims of Domestic Violence
GRANT - SPIRIT OF GIVING CAMPAIGN - ADS - Kings Care Foundation
GRANT - 50/50 BENIFICIARY
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 39 of 56 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 35 | $660,063 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | 19 | $608,281 | $20,000 |
| 2022 | 30 | $1,321,545 | $25,000 |
| 2023 | 27 | $987,301 | $20,000 |
| 2024 | 8 | $82,222 | $8,267 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
98% of its giving went to organizations in Ohio. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
Foundations that fund only organizations they pick gave to this one
3 private foundations that told the IRS they contribute only to organizations they select themselves reported 13 grants totalling $1,107,174 to Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. That is 25% of the 12 funders we can see giving to it. Those 3 foundations do not take unsolicited requests -- their own returns say so. The IRS classifies this organization as a grantmaking organization.
3 of them gave in more than one tax year, which is the only durability signal the filings carry.
What that does not mean. It does not mean an application here reaches that money. A grant from a closed foundation is often a designated gift or a donor-advised fund earmarked by whoever gave it, and has nothing to do with any open programme this organization runs. Neither tax return says which, so neither do we. The list below is who put money in. It is not a route to it.
| Foundation | State | Reported | Grants | Years | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mcconnell Educational Foundation | Ohio | $1,105,000 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Jpmorgan Chase Foundation | New York | $1,600 | 5 | 4 | 2025 |
| Amazonsmile Foundation | Washington | $574 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
Both the count and the total are floors. A foundation appears here only where its return named this organization clearly enough for us to match the name to an EIN, which we manage for about two thirds of 990-PF grant rows. There are more; we cannot name them.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. 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 grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $17,900 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Ohio.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 8 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 0 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 200 W Nationwide Blvd, Columbus, OH, 43215.
EIN 31-1688700 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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