Ray Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 81-0288819 · since 1963rayfoundation.us·Colorado, Florida, Maryland, North Dakota, Wisconsin·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$11.4M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$10,500 to $750k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$50,000

Typical grant (median)

40 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Work on aviation or aerospace education, or on youth life skills built through aviation, is the clearest fit, as the foundation primarily supports education programmes with that focus.
About 8 in 10 of its 130 grants to organisations fall between $10,500 and $750,000, and half are $50,000 or less, so a modest request in the lower part of that typical range suits it best, even though its largest grant was $7,700,000.
Because 98% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had also funded in earlier filings, a first approach should show clearly how the programme fits its aims.
Requests can be emailed to info@rayfoundation.us or sent by USPS or courier to its office, and as it accepts applications on a rolling basis, there is no deadline to wait for.
No exclusions or eligibility limits are stated, and no geographic focus is given, so the states where its grants have gone are a pattern in the filing, not a rule about who may apply.

Overview

Ray Foundation is a US private foundation based in Naples, FL.

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

Ray Foundation supports educational programmes and organisations, primarily with a focus on aviation and aerospace, that encourage young people to develop life skills including self-discipline, self-confidence and self-reliance. It seeks to give young people opportunities to build these attributes through aviation and to develop the drive for success. Its approach is active: it works with grant recipients to develop their programmes, defines goals and performance metrics, and considers factors such as timing, positioning, scale, scope, business plans and confidence in management.

Themes

Aviation and aerospace education
Youth life skills

Geographic Focus

No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in Maryland, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida and Colorado.

How to apply

Prospective applicants may email grant requests to info@rayfoundation.us or send them by USPS or courier to the foundation’s office.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 98% 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 130 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It primarily supports education programmes and organisations with a focus on aviation and aerospace.
It works with grant recipients to develop programmes by defining goals and performance metrics.
It considers timing, positioning, scale and scope, business plans and confidence in management.

Where grants go

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

Grant dollars by state

Maryland25%

North Dakota21%

Wisconsin17%

Florida15%

Colorado7%

Alabama5%

6 other states: 8%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 1%

The largest single recipient received 25% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 98% of grant dollars went to organisations Ray Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
2% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

40 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $50,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 40 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$5k–$10k10%

$10k–$25k25%

$25k–$50k13%

$50k–$100k18%

$100k–$250k10%

$250k–$500k8%

$500k–$1M13%

$1M and over5%

Median $50,000 (tax year 2024)

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

Aopa Air Safety Foundation · Support for 'you can fly' program and flight scholarships
$2,650,0002024 tax year
Eaa Aviation Foundation Inc · Flight scholarships, kidventure support, purchase of pc flight simulators
$2,345,0602024 tax year
Aerospace Center for Excellence · Support for skylab, lakeland aero club and youth programs
$894,8572024 tax year
Commemorative Air Force · Naec programs and flight scholarships
$892,0002024 tax year
Civil Air Patrol Foundation · Flight scholarships
$825,0002024 tax year
Wings Over the Rockies · Youth programming support
$800,0002024 tax year
Immokalee Foundation · Matching grant pathways programs support
$800,0002024 tax year
Und Aerospace Foundation · Veterans scholarship support
$300,0002024 tax year

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

Officers and directors

Patricia J Arthur — Secretary / Director
Jeffery J Tempas — Treasurer / Director
Charles J Ahearn — President / Director

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$11,818,859	$10,272,244	$241,244,663	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$20,151,373	$18,190,586	$253,389,886	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$13,852,059	$11,356,545	$263,139,163	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.