The Rail Heritage Trust
Paola, KS · EIN 46-4327372. Reported 79 grants totalling $1,100,000 to 53 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 Rail Heritage Trust 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 $15,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $10,000 and $15,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $36,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Railroading Heritage of Midwest America Inc | Blaine, MN | $66,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| United Railroad Historical Society of Nj Inc | Boonton, NJ | $44,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Nashville Steam Preservation Association | Nashville, KY | $44,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Abilene Smoky Valley Railroad Association | Abilene, KS | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society Inc | New Haven, IN | $40,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Inc | Chattanooga, TN | $40,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Pacific Railroad Preservation Association Incorporated | Portland, OR | $39,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Engine 557 Restoration Company | Wasilla, AK | $36,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Illinois Railway Museum | Union, IL | $36,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Railroad Museum of New England Inc | Thomaston, CT | $33,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Pacific Locomotive Association Inc | Sunol, CA | $31,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust | Boyertown, PA | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation | Portland, OR | $28,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Friends of Sp 4449 Inc | Portland, OR | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society Inc | North Freedom, WI | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Midwest Railway Preservation Society Inc | Cleveland, OH | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Railway Restoration Project #113 | Minersville, PA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society | Los Angeles, CA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Black River Railroad Historical Trust Inc | Point Pleasant Boro, NJ | $23,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Kentucky Railway Museum Inc | Irvine, KY | $23,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Gulf Coast Chapter National Railway Historical Society Inc | Houston, TX | $21,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum Inc | Jonesborough, TN | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Iron Mountain Railway | Jackson, MO | $17,100 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation Inc | Owasso, MI | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Ebt Foundation Inc | Rockhill Furace, PA | $15,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites Inc | Cordele, GA | $15,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association | Peninsula, OH | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Iron Horse Society at Steamtorn Incorporated | Scranton, PA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Lake Superior Railroad Museum | Duluth, MN | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad Inc | Noblesville, IN | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Pacific Railroad Society Inc | San Dimas, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Roanoke Chapter National Railway Nistorical Society | Roanoke, VA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc | Baker City, OR | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Tri-State Railway Historical Society Inc | Bn, NJ | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Development Corporation | Cumberland, MD | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bellefonte Historical Rr Society Inc | Bellefonte, PA | $13,100 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Danbury Railway Museum Inc | Danbury, CT | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad Company | Duluth, MN | $12,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum | Rush, NY | $11,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Austin Steam Train Association Incorporated | Cedar Park, TX | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Railroaders Heritage Corporation | Altoona, PA | $11,000 | 2 | 1 | 2022 |
| Adirondack Railway Preservation Society | Utica, NY | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| B&o Railroad Museum | Baltimore, MD | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| East Troy Railroad Museum Inc | East Troy, WI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Fox River Trolley Association Inc | South Elgin, IL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society | Albuquerque, NM | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Southern Michigan Railroad Society Inc | Clinton, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| West Chester Rr Heritage Assn | West Chester, PA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust | Hancock, ME | $9,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Railway Historical Society | Washington, DC | $8,800 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| National Railroad Museum Inc | Green Bay, WI | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Northwest Railway Museum | Snoqualmie, WA | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Branford Electric Railway Association Inc | East Haven, CT | $6,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
19 of 53 (36%) 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 32%, 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.
- Engine 557 Restoration Company
INSTALL TUBERS AND FLUES IN ALASKA RAILROAD 557 - Railroading Heritage of Midwest America Inc
CARITAS RESCUE AND RETURN TO SERVICE - Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation
GRANTS, DONATIONS, HOLIDAY EXPRESS TRAINS - Railway Restoration Project #113
PRIVATE & PUBLIC DONATIONS, TICKET SALES, NRHS - Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Inc
TICKET SALES, SPONSORSHIPS AND DONATIONS - Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites Inc
UPGRADES SAMUEL HAWKINS & US ARMY HOSPITAL CARS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 56 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | $350,000 | $15,000 |
| 2022 | 21 | $250,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 18 | $250,000 | $15,000 |
| 2024 | 18 | $250,000 | $15,000 |
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. 11% of this one's giving went to organizations in Pennsylvania. 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 $15,000. 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 Pennsylvania.
- 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 Rail Heritage Trust'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: 702 Baptiste Dr, Paola, KS, 66071. 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 46-4327372 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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