Reed Family Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests and gives only to organisations it has preselected, and the filing gives no public first step for becoming one, so a cold application is unlikely to succeed.
- Its recorded grants span arts and culture, schools and universities, conservation, libraries, community services and health, but they are almost all general in purpose, so fit depends on your mission rather than a stated programme area.
- No geographic focus is stated, so location alone is not a reason to rule yourself out, although the filings show grants mainly in Illinois, Oregon, New York and Montana.
- Keep the request modest: about 8 in 10 grants fall between $500 and $25,000, and half of its grants to organisations are $2,000 or less, though its largest grant was $1,250,000.
- The pattern is strongly relationship-led, since 99% of its latest-year grant dollars went to organisations it had also funded in an earlier filing.
Overview
Reed Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Lake Geneva, WI.
What they fund
Profile based on the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) only: no website or other web source for the foundation was found. Every statement is checked against the filings. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Its recorded grants support a broad mix of organisations. Recipients include cultural and arts institutions, schools and universities, land trusts and conservation bodies, libraries, community and social-service organisations, health and humanitarian charities, and other public-benefit organisations. The stated purposes in the grant record are overwhelmingly general, so the record does not identify specific projects or restricted activities. The range of recipients, rather than one concentrated charitable field, is the clearest description of its giving: examples include aquariums and museums, performing-arts organisations, educational institutions, conservation groups and community service providers. Grants are directed to preselected charitable organisations rather than through an unsolicited public application route.
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in Illinois, Oregon, New York and Montana.
How to apply
The filing says contributions go only to preselected charitable organisations and unsolicited requests are not accepted. It gives no public first step for becoming preselected.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 99% 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 664 grants to organisations were $2,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 5%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 2%
- The largest single recipient received 45% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 99% of grant dollars went to organisations Reed Family Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- <1% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 220 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $2,000 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- John G Shedd Aquarium · General$1,250,0002024 tax year
- John G Shedd Institute for the Arts · General$300,0002024 tax year
- Eugene Ballet Company · General$250,0002024 tax year
- Columbia Land Conservancy · General$120,5002024 tax year
- Saint Lawrence University · General$102,0002024 tax year
- Hotchkiss School · General$97,0002024 tax year
- John G Shedd Aquarium · General$53,0002024 tax year
- Gallatin Valley Land Trust · General$50,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Walter W Bell — Director / Treasurer / Secretary
- Peter S Reed — Director / Vice President
- Helen S Reed — Director / Vice President
- L Keith Reed — Director / Vice President
- Ginevra R Ralph — Director / Vice President
- John S Reed JR — Director / President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $3,269,025 | $3,080,490 | $36,203,011 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $3,235,256 | $3,098,210 | $44,969,410 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $3,397,252 | $3,218,000 | $54,185,694 | 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.
Sources
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At a glance
Applying to Reed Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Lake Geneva, WI
Applying to Reed Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Lake Geneva, WI