Barnhill Family Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests and works by invitation only, so an organisation without an invitation should not send a cold application.
- If you have a route to an invitation, check that your work matches its recipients and purposes, which include schools, universities, hospitals, youth and social-service groups, churches, food banks, museums and conservation, and purposes such as literacy, scholarships and paediatric or behavioural health.
- Keep any request modest: about 8 in 10 of its grants fall between $1,100 and $75,000, and across its filings half of its grants to organisations were $12,000 or less, though its largest grant was $500,000.
- No geographic focus is stated, although the filing shows grants mainly in North Carolina, and 79% of its grant dollars to organisations in its latest filing went to organisations it had also funded in an earlier filing, so existing ties with the foundation appear to matter a great deal.
Overview
Barnhill Family Foundation is a US private foundation based in Wilmington, DE.
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
Across the grant record, recipients include public schools and educational foundations, universities, hospitals and other health organisations, youth clubs and youth-service charities, social-service organisations, churches, food banks, museums and conservation groups. Purposes include literacy and school improvement, scholarships, teacher development and educational innovation, alongside paediatric and behavioural health, medical research and clinical services. Other grants support youth programmes, emergency relief, food assistance, church services, museum projects and conservation. The grants include both project-specific support and general and unrestricted contributions for organisations.
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in North Carolina.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 79% 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 202 grants to organisations were $12,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
3 other states: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 13% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 79% of grant dollars went to organisations Barnhill 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 73 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $12,500 (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- UNC Health Foundation · UNC Whole Brain Health Program - Epilepsy Transition Clinic$250,0002024 tax year
- Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Foundation · Edgecombe County Public Schools Early Literacy Fund$230,0002024 tax year
- Kenan-Flagler Business School Foundation · Barnhill Assured Admit Scholars at UNC Kenan-Flagler$125,0002024 tax year
- Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Foundation · ECPS Educational Foundation Capacity-Building: Foundation Director Position Fund$115,0002024 tax year
- Duke University · Applying Artificial Intelligence to Pediatric Retinal Screening with Ultra-Widefield Fundus Imaging$102,0002024 tax year
- WakeMed · Pediatric Behavioral Health Innovation$100,0002024 tax year
- Helping a Hero · the Kelsey McInnis Home Project, Rocky Mount, NC$100,0002024 tax year
- NCInnovation · NCInnovation, Inc.$100,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Sarah Barnhill — Director
- Penny Barnhill — Director, Vice President
- Christian Barnhill — Director
- Austin Barnhill — Director
- Rob Edwards — Director
- Leigh Edwards — Director
- Robert E Barnhill Jr — President, Director, Secretary
- Robert Barnhill III — Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $2,609,286 | $2,283,146 | $29,469,798 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $1,782,677 | $1,536,754 | $36,633,528 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $2,621,766 | $2,173,666 | $42,716,647 | 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 Barnhill Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Wilmington, DE
Applying to Barnhill Family Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Wilmington, DE