Dorene and Lee Butler Family Foundation
Newport Beach, CA · EIN 47-0816345. Reported 50 grants totalling $1,273,580 to 32 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. 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. Dorene and Lee Butler Family 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 $5,051. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,040 and $25,000; the smallest was $500 and the largest $250,000. 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. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary Springs Inc | Winchester, KY | $293,850 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Air Force Academy Foundation | Usaf Academy, CO | $250,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Laguna Beach Seniors Inc | Laguna Beach, CA | $239,095 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The Redwood Project | Winchester, KY | $160,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Park City Community Foundation | Park City, UT | $100,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Railroad Passengers Association | Washington, DC | $92,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| The Rector and Visitors of the University of | Charlottesville, VA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation | Bozeman, MT | $21,040 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities Bay Area | Palo Alto, CA | $11,381 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Crystal Cove Conservancy | Newport Coast, CA | $10,250 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| San Francisco Food Bank | San Francisco, CA | $10,075 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Lexarts Inc | Lexington, KY | $6,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Share Ourselves | Costa Mesa, CA | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Glow Global | Santa Ana, CA | $5,400 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Cornerstone Housing for Adults With Disabilities | North Hollywood, CA | $5,203 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Covellite Presents | Butte, MT | $5,102 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Grandparent Autism Network | Tustin, CA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Omaha Zoo Foundation | Omaha, NE | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| California State Parks Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $3,098 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Alzheimer's Association | Chicago, IL | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Park City Performances Dba Egyptian Theatre | Park City, UT | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| City Harvest Inc | Brooklyn, NY | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| National Park Foundation | Washington, DC | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Park City Ski & Snowboard Llcutah Athletic Fdtn | Park City, UT | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| ONE805 | Santa Barbara, CA | $1,950 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Twin Cities Pride | Minneapolis, MN | $1,561 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Make a Wish Foundation of America | Phoenix, AZ | $1,050 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Action Partnership of Orange County | Garden Grove, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sierra Watch | Nevada City, CA | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Shepherds House Inc | Lexington, KY | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Make a Wish | Phoenix, AZ | $525 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| UCLA Foundation | Los Angeles, CA | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
11 of 32 (34%) 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 45%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
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.
- Air Force Academy Foundation
To further programs of the organization. - Railroad Passengers Association
To fund employee salary and association staff costs. - The Rector and Visitors of the University of
In support of the William G. Butler Student Fund in Art Criticism. - Cornerstone Housing for Adults With Disabilities
To be used toward construction of The Village. - Omaha Zoo Foundation
In support of the Lee G. Simmons Legacy Fund. - UCLA Foundation
In support of Men's Ultimate Frisbee.
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 28 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | $315,020 | $7,601 |
| 2022 | 11 | $203,894 | $1,064 |
| 2023 | 11 | $419,341 | $5,250 |
| 2024 | 14 | $335,325 | $5,051 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 36% of this one's giving went to organizations in Kentucky. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,051. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Kentucky.
- 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 Dorene and Lee Butler Family Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 201 Crystal Avenue, Newport Beach, CA, 92662. 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 47-0816345 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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