Longwood Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 51-0066734 · since 1940longwoodfoundation.org·Delaware, Kennett Square·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$40.8M
Annual giving, 2024 tax year
From the Form 990-PF filing
$50,000 to $1M
Grant range
From grants in the 990-PF filings
$204k
Typical grant (median)
93 grants in the latest filing
Open to applications
Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

  • Longwood Foundation funds nonprofit organisations in the State of Delaware and the Kennett Square area, and since it has no sector priorities it is open to proposals from nearly any field of work that fits this geography.
  • Most grants are substantial: about 8 in 10 of its 259 grants fall between $50,000 and $1,000,000, with a median of $250,000, so a request in this range is realistic, though half of its grants were $250,000 or less, so smaller asks are also workable.
  • Applications go through its online grants management system, with fixed deadlines of March 1 for spring and September 1 for fall, so plan well ahead of these dates.
  • The process is relationship-led rather than a simple open call: first-time applicants must attend an Information Session before a Pre-Meeting, and any request of $500,000 or more requires a Pre-Meeting before submission, while applicants are expected to explain how they will raise the remaining project funds, as the Foundation prefers its money to be the last dollars needed.
  • It does not fund explicitly religious purposes, events, endowments, individual scholarships, or grants simply to support an existing level of operations and services, so proposals of that kind should not apply.

Overview

Longwood Foundation is a US private foundation based in Wilmington, DE.

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 Longwood Foundation is a place-based, responsive grantmaker that accepts requests from nonprofit organisations located in and/or benefiting the state of Delaware and/or the area within a four-mile radius of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It has no sector funding priorities and welcomes organisations to propose what matters to the communities they serve. Its grantmaking is intended to help nonprofits get closer to their missions and goals through catalytic proposals that grow, strengthen or improve their efforts and impact. It is open to proposals in nearly all sectors and supports operating, programme and capital requests, while excluding routine grants for an existing level of operations and services. It also invests in leaders and organisations through nonprofit capacity building.

Themes

  • Nonprofit capacity building

Geographic Focus

State of Delaware; Kennett Square area.

What They Don't Fund

  • Explicitly religious purposes
  • Events, endowments, or individual scholarships
  • A grant to support the existing level of operations and services

How to apply

Submit the application electronically through the Longwood Foundation online grants management system.

Deadlines: Spring applications are due on March 1 and Fall applications on September 1.

Application success factors

  • Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 38% 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 259 grants to organisations were $250,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

  • The Foundation puts particular emphasis on leadership.
  • The Foundation puts particular emphasis on financial health and sustainability.
  • The Foundation emphasises impact, outcomes and measuring success.
  • The Foundation puts particular emphasis on quality of planning.
  • The Foundation considers applicants' experience and knowledge of the sector and community served.
  • First-time applicants must attend an Information Session before attending a Pre-Meeting.
  • Requests of $500,000 or more require a Pre-Meeting before submission.
  • The Foundation wants applicants to explain how they will raise the remaining project funds; requests are best positioned when its funds are the last dollars needed.
  • Grantees are asked to submit one progress report and attend an end-of-grant meeting to close out the grant.

Where grants go

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

Grant dollars by state

Delaware100%
  • The largest single recipient received 20% of grant dollars to organisations.
  • In tax year 2024, 38% of grant dollars went to organisations Longwood 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

93 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $204k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 93 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$10k–$25k3%
$25k–$50k5%
$50k–$100k13%
$100k–$250k32%
$250k–$500k26%
$500k–$1M11%
$1M and over10%

Median $204k (tax year 2024)

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

  • Longwood Gardens · The longwood reimagined project.
    $8,000,0002024 tax year
  • Community Education Building · Debt service support.
    $2,637,0892024 tax year
  • Reach Riverside Development Corporation · Reach / ceb project management office.
    $1,600,0002024 tax year
  • Odyssey Charter School · Ocs innovation learning center.
    $1,600,0002024 tax year
  • Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union · Capital for operations.
    $1,500,0002024 tax year
  • Be Ready Community Development Corporation · Housing initiatives.
    $1,000,0002024 tax year
  • Sussex County Land Trust · Open space preservation.
    $1,000,0002024 tax year
  • Westside Family Healthcare · Electronic health record integration project.
    $1,000,0002024 tax year

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

Officers and directors

  • Timothy B Weymouth — Trustee
  • Eli R Sharp — Treasurer & Trustee
  • Natalie A Du P Reese — Trustee
  • Gerret Van S Copeland — Trustee
  • Charles L Copeland — Chairman & Trustee
  • Croderick Maroney — Secretary & Trustee
  • Dr M Lynne Du Pont — Vice President & Trustee
  • Eleuthere I Du Pont II — President (Non-Voting / Non-Trustee)

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

YearTotal expensesGrants paidAssetsFiling document
2022 tax year$36,435,477$38,983,601$807,087,298Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year$39,415,706$40,573,837$967,518,991Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year$40,006,073$40,838,936$1,020,300,393Filing 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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