Scripps Howard Fund
Cincinnati, OH · EIN 87-2877540. Reported 86 grants totalling $1,377,177 to 72 organizations across tax years 2022-2024, 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 Scripps Howard Fund, the IRS classifies it as a public foundation -- a grantmaker that raises its money from many sources rather than from one donor (NTEE T30).
- How spread out its giving is. 72 distinct organizations, with 7% 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. 19% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 2 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below 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 $10,603. Half of what it reported fell between $8,505 and $15,000; the smallest was $5,000 and the largest $100,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps National Spelling Bee | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| University of Memphis Foundation | Memphis, TN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Forgotten Harvest Inc | Oak Park, MI | $91,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Hawaii Community Foundation | Honolulu, HI | $83,922 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Feeding San Diego | San Diego, CA | $45,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| U C San Diego Foundation | La Jolla, CA | $44,335 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Surels Place Inc | Boise, ID | $36,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Food Bank of the Rockies | Aurora, CO | $35,176 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $35,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| American National Red Cross | Washington, DC | $28,327 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army | Kansas City, MO | $26,404 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Collier Community Foundation Inc | Naples, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| David Lawrence Mental Health Center Inc | Naples, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Collier County Inc | Naples, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Lee & Hendry Counties Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Naples Community Hospital Inc | Naples, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| St Matthews House Inc | Naples, FL | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| The Salvation Army | Brookhaven, GA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Feeding America Tampa Bay Inc | Tampa, FL | $24,617 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Society for Science and the Public | Washington, DC | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Americas Second Harvest of the Big Bend Inc | Tallahassee, FL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Julie Weintraubs Hands Across the Bay Inc | Clearwater, FL | $19,487 | 2 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sol Relief | St Petersburg, FL | $18,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Planning Council | Norfolk, VA | $16,389 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Golden Harvest Food Bank Inc | Augusta, GA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Manna Food Bank | Mills River, NC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of Indian River County Inc | Vero Beach, FL | $14,339 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of Palm Beach County Inc | West Palm Bch, FL | $14,339 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of St Lucie & Okeechobee Inc | Fort Pierce, FL | $14,339 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| United Way of Martin County Inc | $14,339 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| Milwaukee Urban League | Milwaukee, WI | $13,409 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| My Warriors Place Inc | Ruskin, FL | $12,090 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University | Tempe, AZ | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Carolina Public Press Inc | Raleigh, NC | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Rural Strategies Inc | Whitesburg, KY | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| B&b Sports Academy Inc | Omaha, NE | $11,156 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Denver Dumb Friends League | Denver, CO | $10,660 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach Inc | Palm Bch Gdns, FL | $10,603 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Christians Reaching Out to Society Inc | Lk Worth Bch, FL | $10,603 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Palm Beach County Food Bank Inc | Lake Worth, FL | $10,603 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Palms West Presbyterian Church Inc | $10,603 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| Treasure Coast Food Bank Incorporated | Fort Pierce, FL | $10,603 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| All Faiths Food Bank Inc | Sarasota, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and Desoto Counties Inc | Sarasota, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Captains for Clean Water Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Fk U Corp | Fort Myers, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas | Clearwater, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Hardee County Ministerial Association Inc | Wauchula, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kiwanis Foundation of North Port Inc | North Port, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Inc | Tampa, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Second Harvest of South Georgia Inc | Valdosta, GA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Spencer's Place | Surprise, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay Inc | Tampa, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Vincentian Cares Inc | St Petersburg, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Colorado Healing Fund | Denver, CO | $8,505 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Urban Ranger Corps | Kansas City, MO | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| W O L F | Laporte, CO | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| South Central Tn Family Center | Columbia, TN | $6,655 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Animal Refuge Center Inc | Fort Myers, FL | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Matlacha Hookers Inc | Matlacha, FL | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lower Cape Community Access Television Inc | North Eastham, MA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Oklahoma State University Foundation | Stillwater, OK | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Oklahoma Watch Inc | Tulsa, OK | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| South Dakota News Watch | Brookings, SD | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wcij Inc | Madison, WI | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| St Jude's Ranch for Children | $5,735 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| The Road Home | Salt Lake Cty, UT | $5,520 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Volunteers of America Colorado Branch | Denver, CO | $5,520 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| St Patricks Church of Elkhorn | $5,399 | 1 | 1 | 2024 | |
| Babycycle Incorporated | Pinellas Park, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mercy Full Project Inc | Tampa, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Raising Relief | Largo, FL | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
10 of 72 (14%) received money in more than one year over the 3 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.
- Scripps National Spelling Bee
Adam R. Scripps Foundation grant for centennial celebration - University of Memphis Foundation
Journalism Fund - Open Source Journalism Program - Hawaii Community Foundation
CIC - Maui Wildfire Relief - Forgotten Harvest Inc
CIC - WXYZ - Forgotten Harvest - Food Bank of the Rockies
7 Days to Help End Hunger - Ucsd Shiley Children's Eyemobile
CIC - KGTV - Let's See 20/20
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 59 of 72 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 30 | $454,133 | $10,330 |
| 2023 | 26 | $385,666 | $10,567 |
| 2024 | 30 | $537,378 | $10,603 |
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
40% of its giving went to organizations in Florida. 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
9 private foundations that told the IRS they contribute only to organizations they select themselves reported 21 grants totalling $547,546 to Scripps Howard Fund. That is 47% of the 19 funders we can see giving to it. Those 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam R Scripps Foundation | Kentucky | $360,500 | 10 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Scripps Family Fund for Education | Kentucky | $137,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Miramar Charitable Foundation | Kentucky | $22,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Finley Family Foundation | Arizona | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Williams Miller Family Foundation | Massachusetts | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Cu West Cares Inc | Arizona | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Peak Foundation Inc | New York | $2,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Amazonsmile Foundation | Washington | $31 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Jpmorgan Chase Foundation | New York | $15 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
A linked name has a page of its own. We publish one for a foundation that takes no unsolicited requests only when a real share of its giving goes to organizations that make grants themselves, and that page opens by saying it does not take requests.
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 $10,603 -- 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 Florida.
- 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 Scripps Howard Fund's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 3 returns (tax years 2022-2024). 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 30 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: Po Box 5380, Cincinnati, OH, 45201.
EIN 87-2877540 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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