The Curtis Foundation
Raleigh, NC · EIN 56-1257146. Reported 193 grants totalling $4,843,105 to 72 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. The Curtis 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 $2,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $50 and the largest $2,915,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $2,936,100 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Unc Educational Foundation Inc | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,065,250 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross | Raleigh, NC | $57,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Carolina Women's Leadership Council | Chapel Hill, NC | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Durham Rescue Mission | Durham, NC | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Raleigh Rescue Mission | Raleigh, NC | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| The University of Georgia Foundation | Athens, GA | $35,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| First United Methodist Church Bessemer | Bessemer City, NC | $29,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Edenton Street United Methodist Church | Raleigh, NC | $26,300 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| North Carolina Broadcast Museum | Washington, NC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wakemed Foundation | Raleigh, NC | $24,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Unc Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center | Chapel Hill, NC | $23,100 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Methodist Home for Children | Goldsboro, NC | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Broadcasters Foundation of America | New York, NY | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Duke Health Development & Alumni Affairs | Durham, NC | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Food Bank of Central & Eastern Nc | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Guilford College | Greensboro, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Inter-Faith Food Shuttle | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Jdrf | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| SPCA of Wake County | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Tammy Lynn Center | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Transitions Lifecare | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| United Way of the Greater Triangle | Durham, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| William Peace University | Raleigh, NC | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Green Chair Project | Raleigh, NC | $17,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Dix Park Conservancy | Raleigh, NC | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| One More Refuge | Wake Forest, NC | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Urban Ministries of the Greater Triangle | Raleigh, NC | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Unc Health Foundation | Chapel Hill, NC | $12,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Alliance Medicial Ministry | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Family Promise of Wake County | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Higher Education Works Foundation | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Journey Mates | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Meals on Wheels | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Rex Healthcare Foundation | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Safe Child | Raleigh, NC | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Young Life | Colorado Springs, CO | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Best Nc | Cary, NC | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Focus | Golden, CO | $5,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society | Charlotte, NC | $5,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| My Kid's Club | Selma, NC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Occoneechee Council | Raleigh, NC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Unc Tv | Durham, NC | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Bessemer City History and Arts Society | Bessemer City, NC | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Coastal Carolina | Morehead City, NC | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Prevent Blindness Nc | Raleigh, NC | $4,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mount Pleasant Baptist Church | Belmont, NC | $3,550 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | $3,545 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| North Caroliniana Society | Raleigh, NC | $3,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ruth Sheets Adult Day Care Center | Raleigh, NC | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Shepherd's Table | Raleigh, NC | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Page Alumni and Friends Association | Greensboro, NC | $3,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Iglesia Nueva Esperanza | Raleigh, NC | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Saint Saviour's Center | Raleigh, NC | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce | Laurinburg, NC | $2,210 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| St John's Lutheran Lcms | Glen Arm, MD | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Unc Wesley Campus Ministry | Chapel Hill, NC | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone, NC | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Broughton High School Caps Club | Raleigh, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Church Community Services of Scotland County | Laurinburg, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Jan & Lucy Caddell Legacy Scholarship Fund | West Jefferson, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Kappa Delta | Chapel Hill, NC | $1,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Nc Conference of the United Methodist Church | Garner, NC | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action Network | Manhattan Beach, CA | $750 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Scotland County | Laurinburg, NC | $250 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| First United Methodist Church Laurinburg | Laurinburg, NC | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lancaster SPCA | Lancaster, PA | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Uttermost Ministries | Wake Forest, NC | $100 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Calvary Chapel Chine Hill | Chino, CA | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Compassionate Care Western Nc | Burnsville, NC | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Home Moravian Church | Winstonsalem, NC | $50 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
51 of 72 (71%) 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 79%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. 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 kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 62 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | $3,121,850 | $2,500 |
| 2022 | 47 | $204,505 | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 48 | $1,314,900 | $5,000 |
| 2024 | 47 | $201,850 | $3,500 |
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. 98% of this one's giving went to organizations in North Carolina. 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 North Carolina.
- 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 The Curtis 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: 3012 Highwoods Blvd Suite 201, Raleigh, NC, 27604. 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 56-1257146 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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