The Carls Foundation

• The Carls Foundation funds children's welfare, with emphasis on health care, hearing impairment and recreational, educational and welfare programmes for disadvantaged children, alongside natural-area and historic preservation and environmental education; its priority area is Michigan.
• Typical grants fall between $5,000 and $50,000, although across recent filings half of its grants to organisations were $75,000 or less, and one award of $600,000 has been recorded above the stated maximum, so a mid-range request is more realistic than either extreme.
• No formal application or letter of inquiry is required, phone calls are welcome, and requests are considered against three fixed deadlines a year: 1 November for the January meeting, 1 March for the May meeting, and 1 July for the September meeting.
• Only 29% of its grant dollars went to organisations also funded in the two previous filings, suggesting the foundation is open to funding new organisations rather than relying mainly on repeat grantees.
• Individuals, endowments, publications, conferences, seminars, film, fellowships, educational loans, travel, research, playground structures or athletic facilities, and underwriting of special events are not funded, so those seeking support for these should not apply.

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

• Trinity Health Oakland · Relocation and renovation of nicu
  $500,0002024 tax year
• The Nature Conservancy · Purchase and protection of northpoint preserve
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Goodwill Industries Northern Michigan · Capital suppport for warehouse renovation for food rescue
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Micha 6 · Renovation of webster school for community center
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital · Capital campaign for children's rehabilitation hospital
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Ascension Michigan - Saint John Hospital · Equip and furnish two negative pressure rooms in picu
  $475,0002024 tax year
• Keweenaw Land Trust · Purchase of jacob's creek parcel for a preserve
  $325,0002024 tax year
• Legacy Conservancy · Farmland preservation through easement purchase
  $292,9752024 tax year

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

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.