Spirit for Life Foundation
Winchester, VA · EIN 20-8034787. Reported 61 grants totalling $328,500 to 36 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. 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. Spirit for Life 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 $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $3,000 and $6,000; the smallest was $1,500 and the largest $20,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Paws for Ability | Xenia, OH | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Rockbridge High School | Lexington, VA | $23,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Clean the World Foundation | Washington, DC | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| National Pku Alliance | Tomahawk, WI | $21,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Fauquier SPCA | Midland, VA | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Paws for Seniors | Bealeton, VA | $18,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation | Falls Church, VA | $16,000 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Willing Warriors | Haymarket, VA | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Folds of Honor Foundation | Owasso, OK | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mercy Corps Dept W | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care | Jacksonville, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Virginia Health System - the Lucas Fund | Charlottesville, VA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| First Responders Children's Foundation | New York, NY | $8,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Concerns of Police Survivors (cops) | Camdenton, MO | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Hero Dogs Inc | Brookeville, MD | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Saving Prince William Littles | Haymarket, VA | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| National Organization for Rare Disorders | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | Staten Island, NY | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Wounded Warrior Project | Washington, DC | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Building Homes for Heroes Inc | Island Park, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Gary Sinise Foundation | Nashville, TN | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc | Smithtown, NY | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Hero's Bridge | Warrenton, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hospice Support of Fauquier County | Warrenton, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rockbridge Area Hospice | Lexington, VA | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| The Ibc Network Foundation | Sealy, TX | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Child Fund of America Inc | New Paltz, NY | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Aero Animal Rescue | Gainesville, VA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Cat's Cradle | Harrisonburg, VA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of Homeless Animals | Aldie, VA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Hma Ministries | Sapulpa, OK | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2020 |
| Making Everything Good | Haymarket, VA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wings of Rescue | Van Nuys, CA | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ashlie's Embrace | North Canton, OH | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp | Clarksville, MD | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
15 of 36 (42%) 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 56%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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.
- Rockbridge High School
GENERAL SUPPORT OF CHARITABLE PROGRAM - The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care
GENERAL SUPPORT OF CHARITABLE PROGRAMS - Mercy Corps Dept W
GENERAL SUPPORT FOR CHARITABLE PROGRAM - Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc
TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 33 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 16 | $76,000 | $5,000 |
| 2021 | 18 | $94,500 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 12 | $83,000 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 15 | $75,000 | $5,000 |
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. 40% of this one's giving went to organizations in Virginia. 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 $5,000. 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 Virginia.
- 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 Spirit for Life Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 202 N Loudoun St, Winchester, VA, 22601. 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 20-8034787 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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