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Indian Paintbrush Foundation

Annual Giving
$108.6M
Grant Range
$100K - $10.0M

Indian Paintbrush Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $108,579,732 (2023)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: $100,000 - $10,000,000 (estimated based on known grants)
  • Geographic Focus: National, with historical emphasis on California, New York, Maryland, and personal connections to founder

Contact Details

  • Address: Washington, DC 20037
  • Website: None
  • Phone: Not publicly listed
  • Email: Not publicly listed

Note: This foundation has no public website or listed staff and operates with minimal public-facing infrastructure.

Overview

The Indian Paintbrush Foundation was established in 1994 (IRS ruling 1995) and operates under several names including Rock Creek Foundation, Sartori Foundation, and Blue Dot Foundation. Founded and funded by billionaire Steven M. Rales, co-founder of Danaher Corporation, the foundation experienced transformational growth in 2021 when Rales contributed $1.5 billion worth of company shares. This elevated the foundation into the top 75 foundations nationally, with total assets of $2.2 billion—ranking above legacy funders like the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Heinz Endowments. The foundation's grantmaking rose six-fold in 2022 to reach $80 million, and grew further to $108.6 million in 2023 distributed across 20 awards. The foundation supports education, healthcare, medical research, housing, and economic development, with a historical focus on universities, hospitals, and medical research organizations.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate formal grant programs with defined application cycles. All grants are made through trustee discretion to preselected organizations.

Known Grant Size Examples:

  • Major institutional grants: $10,000,000 (e.g., DePauw University, University of California San Francisco, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation)
  • Significant grants: $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 (e.g., Columbia University, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Children's Hospital Foundation)
  • Community-level grants: $100,000+ (e.g., Transition House homeless shelter, Washington College)

Average Grant Size (2023): Approximately $5.4 million per award (based on $108.6 million distributed across 20 awards)

Priority Areas

Based on documented grants, the foundation has supported:

  • Higher Education: Universities and liberal arts colleges, particularly institutions with personal connections to the founder (DePauw University is Rales' alma mater)
  • Medical Research & Healthcare: University medical centers, hospitals, cancer research organizations, and pediatric healthcare
  • Housing & Economic Development: Homeless shelters, affordable housing initiatives, community development organizations
  • Arts & Culture: The Washington Ballet, museum and cultural institutions
  • Food Security: Food banks and hunger relief organizations

Geographic Patterns: Historically concentrated in California, New York, Maryland, Maine, and Santa Barbara area, reflecting both major metropolitan centers and locations with personal significance to the founder.

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly states it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."

No specific exclusions are publicly documented beyond this general policy.

Governance and Leadership

Steven M. Rales - Founder and Chairman

  • Co-founder of Danaher Corporation
  • Billionaire industrialist and film producer
  • Known for a philanthropic approach characterized by privacy and discretion

The foundation operates with minimal public transparency, maintaining no website, no listed staff, and limited public communications. A foundation spokesperson has indicated commitment to increased transparency, stating that recent IRS filings "will show direct contributions to charitable organizations substantially in excess of 2022 total contributions."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process.

The Indian Paintbrush Foundation explicitly states it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds." All grants are made at the discretion of the trustees to organizations they have identified, often through personal connections, board relationships, or organizations in communities where the founder has ties.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - grants are made through trustee discretion rather than competitive application cycles.

Success Rates

Not applicable for public applications. The foundation made 20 awards in 2023, 10 awards in 2022, and 7 awards in 2021 from preselected organizations.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation does not accept unsolicited applications, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, analysis of funded organizations reveals patterns:

Organizational Profiles That Have Received Funding:

  • Major research universities and medical centers with established reputations
  • Organizations in communities with personal significance to Steven Rales (DePauw University, Santa Barbara area, Maine, Washington DC)
  • Institutions addressing healthcare access for underserved populations
  • Organizations working on housing and economic development
  • Arts and cultural institutions

Grant Characteristics:

  • Multiyear, substantial commitments to major institutions ($10 million to University of California San Francisco over 2017-2020)
  • Single transformational gifts to institutions with personal connections ($10 million to DePauw University)
  • Support for both prestigious national institutions and smaller community organizations
  • Focus on evidence-based, research-driven approaches (particularly in healthcare and education)

Important Transparency Shift: Between 2021-2022, the foundation sent 78% of its grants ($73 million) to a donor-advised fund, effectively obscuring ultimate recipients. However, the foundation has since committed to ending this practice, with a spokesperson indicating substantially more direct charitable contributions with "no contributions to any donor-advised fund" in recent filings.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No Public Application Process: This foundation does not and will not accept unsolicited applications. Do not submit proposals.
  • Preselected Recipients Only: All grants go to organizations identified by trustees through personal connections, board relationships, or community ties.
  • Substantial Grant Sizes: When the foundation does fund, grants are typically significant—often $1 million to $10 million—reflecting major institutional support rather than small grants to many organizations.
  • Personal Connections Matter: Analysis suggests personal connections to founder Steven Rales significantly influence funding decisions (alma mater, communities where he lives/works, causes championed by family).
  • Privacy-Focused Operation: The foundation maintains minimal public presence with no website, staff listings, or public communications infrastructure.
  • Emerging Transparency: Recent commitments suggest the foundation is moving toward more transparent disclosure of grant recipients, though the application process remains closed.
  • Broad but Focused Priorities: While the foundation supports diverse causes (education, healthcare, housing, arts), grants concentrate in areas of deep personal interest or community connection rather than broad national programming.

References

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