The Wallace Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 13-6183757 · since 1965wallacefoundation.org·United States·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$54.6M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$310 to $640k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$25,965

Typical grant (median)

318 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

A mix of rolling and fixed deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

The Wallace Foundation funds nationally in the arts, school leadership and youth development, so check that your work sits within one of these themes before applying.
Most grants are modest: about eight in ten of its 790 grants fall between $310 and $640,000, and half are $100,000 or less, so a request in that range is realistic, though it can also make much larger awards, such as about $5,600,000 to a regranting organisation.
How you apply depends on the programme, and for open calls it posts requests for proposals on its website aimed at organisations working on the ground in communities and at researchers, so watch for these rather than sending an unsolicited proposal.
The foundation looks relationship-led in practice: in its latest filing, 87% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded previously, so first-time applicants should expect real competition for the remaining share.
It selects grantees on its assessment of proposals and expects grantees to provide data and progress reports and, in many cases, to take part in formal research and evaluation, so be ready for ongoing reporting if funded.

Overview

The Wallace Foundation is a US private foundation based in New York, NY.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The Wallace Foundation works nationally to promote equity and improve practice and policy across the arts, education and youth development. It supports the vitality of arts organisations and their work in communities, and seeks to expand and enrich arts learning for young people. In school leadership, it works with school districts, universities and states to shape effective leadership among principals and other educators. Its youth-development work aims to make high-quality education and enrichment available to all young people, in classrooms and communities. Through initiatives, it funds organisations developing and testing solutions to public problems, commissions researchers to build knowledge in a sector, and supports organisations that bring issues and solutions to people able to influence policy and practice. It shares lessons from its grantees’ work to help those fields advance.

Themes

Arts
School leadership
Youth development

Geographic Focus

Priority: Nationally.

How to apply

For open calls, the foundation posts requests for proposals on its website for organisations working on the ground in communities and for researchers.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 87% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 790 grants to organisations were $100,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The foundation selects grantees based on its assessment of proposals.
It asks grantees for data and progress reports, and in many cases asks them to take part in formal research and evaluation.
It places a particularly high premium on regular communication and candid assessment of ongoing work.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

District of Columbia14%

Texas11%

California11%

New York9%

North Carolina7%

Maryland6%

6 other states: 21%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 21%

The largest single recipient received 4% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 87% of grant dollars went to organisations The Wallace Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
17% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

318 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $25,965

How much do they typically give?

Share of 318 grants in tax year 2024 by size

Under $1k25%

$1k–$2.5k6%

$2.5k–$5k3%

$5k–$10k3%

$10k–$25k8%

$25k–$50k7%

$50k–$100k9%

$100k–$250k20%

$250k–$500k8%

$500k–$1M5%

$1M and over4%

Median $25,965 (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

National Association of Latino Arts and Culture · To participate in Wallace's Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative.
$3,000,0002024 tax year
Alternate ROOTS · To participate in Wallace's Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative.
$3,000,0002024 tax year
First Peoples Fund · To participate in Wallace's Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative.
$3,000,0002024 tax year
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System · To study the work of districts participating in Wallace's ECPI.
$2,252,2022024 tax year
DC Public Education Fund · For D.C. Public Schools to participate in Wallace's ECPI.
$1,345,0002024 tax year
Columbus City Schools · To participate in Wallace's ECPI.
$1,345,0002024 tax year
Fresno Unified School District · To participate in Wallace's ECPI.
$1,345,0002024 tax year
School District No. 1J Multnomah County Oregon · To participate in Wallace's ECPI.
$1,345,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Mary Beth West — Director
Daniel Weiss — Director
Kevin Young — Director
Kelly Ungeman — Director
Amor Towles — Director
Jorge Ruiz de Velasco — Director
Kent McGuire — Director
Kimberly Nelson — Director
Richard L Kauffman — Director
Anne Dinneen — Director
Geraldine Sutera — Legal / Human Resources Associate & Assistant Corporate Secretary
Ingrid Rasmussen — CFO & Treasurer (start 9/2/2024)
Jennifer Maimone-Medwick — General Counsel & Corporate Secretary (start 6/10/2024)
Talia Shaull — Chro
Thomas Lenehan — CIO & Assistant Treasurer
William I Miller — President & Director

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$112,719,157	$84,089,810	$1,669,140,184	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$89,575,254	$61,371,994	$1,706,055,092	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$85,949,821	$54,577,768	$1,756,582,199	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.