Alvin I and Peggy S Brown Family
The Alvin I. & Peggy S. Brown Family Charitable Foundation, Inc. is a private charitable foundation based in the Washington, D.C. area. The foundation was established to continue the philanthropic legacy of Alvin I. Brown, a self-made home builder and developer who passed away in 2010 at age 94.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$10.5M
-5.6% YoY
Annual Giving
$1.8M
+11.0% YoY
Grant Count
41
-14.6% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$43K
+29.9% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation supports research and educational initiatives focused on learning from failure and cognitive science in education. The foundation has demonstrated particular interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and research that helps students and teachers embrace failure as a valuable learning tool.
Grantmaking
The foundation has awarded significant grants to support educational research. Most notably, the foundation provided a five-year, $1 million grant to support the "Learning from Failure" research initiative at Teachers College, Columbia University. This research examines how students can improve their academic performance in STEM fields by learning about the personal struggles and failed experiments of renowned scientists.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation has supported institutions in New York, including Teachers College, Columbia University.
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $10,452,828 | $11,070,717 | $12,409,579 |
| Revenue | $1,300,061 | $451,411 | $1,116,334 |
| Expenses | $1,887,099 | $1,771,547 | $2,197,519 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $1,767,964 | $1,771,547 | $2,197,519 |
| Net Investment Income | $1,180,926 | $273,194 | $984,919 |
| Distributable Amount | $1,000,819 | $954,339 | $977,919 |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
Grant Size Distribution
239 grants across all recorded years
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
From 2025 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PATRICIA A BROWN | PRESIDENT | 3 | — |
| DONNA L BROWN | TREASURER | 3 | — |
| LAURA CAT ENGEL-BROWN | SECRETARY | 3 | — |
| GABRIEL GUNTHER-BROWN | VICE PRESIDENT | 3 | — |
Recent News & Activity
Recent developments and announcements
The foundation awarded a five-year, $1 million grant to Professor Xiaodong Lin-Siegler at Teachers College, Columbia University to further her "Learning from Failure" research initiative. This research builds on Lin-Siegler's 2016 study demonstrating that high school students who learned about the personal struggles and failed experiments of great scientists such as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie showed improved science grades.
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Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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