Ayudar Foundation
AYUDAR Foundation is a private foundation based in Lakewood, Colorado. Its website describes work supporting youth and their families through college-application guidance, career-launch support, personal and professional development workshops, educational consulting, and community events.
Ayudar Foundation at a glance
In short: Ayudar Foundation gave $1.0M across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $100K), top state New York. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,000,000
- +37.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +25.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $100,000
- +10.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $100,000
- Total assets
- $5,865,186
- +6.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 20% first-time grantees (2 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- New York (25% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Ayudar Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 280003, Lakewood, CO 80228
Phone: (303) 233-3431
Website: https://ayudarfoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Ayudar Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Doctors Without Borders ($200K). Together the top 10 received $1.0M.
Grant Size Distribution
105 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 73 grants of 105 (70%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grants went to recipients in several states. New York accounted for 25% of grant dollars, California and Washington, DC, each accounted for 20%, and Colorado and Missouri each accounted for 10%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Ayudar Foundation open to new grantees?
20%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 10 grantees (20%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $125K; repeat grants $94K. How we count
Medians: $125K first-time, $100K repeat.
- 60% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 28% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 173% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2018–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2018 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $366K (2018) to $1.0M (2025). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $1.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Doctors Without Borders New York, NY | Medical & Humanitarian Aid | $200,000 |
| World Central Kitchen Washington, DC | Emergency Food Relief - Disasters | $200,000 |
| Colorado Animal Rescue Express Englewood, CO | Care of Homeless Animals | $100,000 |
| Crisis Aid International St. Louis, MO | Provide Needs for Families/Communiti | $100,000 |
| Palestine Childrens Relief Fund Los Angeles, CA | Free Med Care to Injured/Ill Childre | $100,000 |
| Direct Relief Intl Santa Barbara, CA | Provide Needs for Poverty & Emergenc | $100,000 |
| Center for Biological Diversity Tucson, AZ | Protect Species, Oceans, Rainforests | $50,000 |
| Physicians for Reproductive Health Hartsdale, NY | Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights | $50,000 |
| Cure Blindness Project Norwich, VT | Provide Eye Care Systems for Sight | $50,000 |
| Rainforest Trust Warrenton, VA | Protection & Conservation of Rainfor | $50,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Ayudar Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5,865,186 | $888,058 | $1,120,557 | $1,000,000 | 10 | $1,000,000 | $595,129 | $578,445 |
| 2024 | $5,493,245 | $826,903 | $837,441 | $725,000 | 8 | $725,000 | $135,101 | $540,037 |
| 2023 | $5,752,300 | $351,220 | $1,002,071 | $900,000 | 9 | $900,000 | $127,139 | $482,656 |
| 2022 | $6,133,108 | $464,133 | $888,499 | $781,000 | 37 | $781,000 | $116,079 | $510,428 |
| 2021 | $6,427,047 | $367,902 | $752,635 | $642,530 | 41 | $642,530 | $127,197 | $528,067 |
| 2020 | $6,695,079 | $97,507 | $510,182 | $417,500 | 38 | — | $144,636 | $448,951 |
| 2019 | $7,112,324 | $468,202 | $536,513 | $443,000 | 42 | — | $158,163 | $439,280 |
| 2018 | $7,133,580 | $556,271 | $453,172 | $366,000 | 47 | — | $142,073 | $448,512 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Ayudar Foundation reported a distributable amount of $578K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
AYUDAR’s website identifies Education, Health & Wellness, and Community Engagement as its priorities. It also describes values including relationship-driven work, research-based strategies, collaboration, empathy, community focus, respect for all, and possibility.
Its 2025 grants included organizations working in humanitarian relief, health care, animal welfare, and conservation. For example, World Central Kitchen describes its work as providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. Colorado Animal Rescue Express describes support for animal transport, veterinary care, spay and neuter programs, and pet supplies in underserved areas. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund describes its work as non-political humanitarian relief focused on children’s health care in Palestine. These are grantees’ stated missions, not AYUDAR’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, AYUDAR reported 10 grants totaling $1,000,000. Grants ranged from $50,000 to $200,000, with a median grant of $100,000.
Among the grants were $200,000 to Doctors Without Borders for medical and humanitarian aid and $200,000 to World Central Kitchen for emergency food relief in disasters. Other grants included $100,000 each to Colorado Animal Rescue Express, Crisis Aid International, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Direct Relief International. The foundation also awarded $50,000 each to the Center for Biological Diversity, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Cure Blindness Project, and Rainforest Trust.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Gretchen Blu Wagner as trustee.
Ayudar Foundation is led by Gretchen Blu Wagner, Trustee on every filing since 2018 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Gretchen Blu Wagner
Trustee
On filings since 2018
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2018–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Ayudar Foundation
How much does Ayudar Foundation give each year?
Ayudar Foundation gave $1.0M across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $725K across 8 grants.
What is Ayudar Foundation's typical grant size?
Ayudar Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $100,000, and its average grant was $100,000, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Ayudar Foundation that year got $125K on average.
Where does Ayudar Foundation give grants?
Ayudar Foundation's top state is New York, with 25% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (20%) and District of Columbia (20%).
Does Ayudar Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Ayudar Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Ayudar Foundation's largest grantees?
Ayudar Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Doctors Without Borders ($200,000), World Central Kitchen ($200,000) and Colorado Animal Rescue Express ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 50% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Ayudar Foundation?
Ayudar Foundation reported $5.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.0M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $578K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Ayudar Foundation fund?
AYUDAR’s website identifies Education, Health & Wellness, and Community Engagement as its priorities. It also describes values including relationship-driven work, research-based strategies, collaboration, empathy, community focus, respect for all, and possibility. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Ayudar Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Ayudar Foundation's EIN?
Ayudar Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-1561916. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2018–2025.
Does Ayudar Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2018 (received by the IRS May 14, 2019)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 6, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 18, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Ayudar Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/ayudar-foundation-morg_50bd68c8531b476ca32f4446526ee107
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_841561916_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Ayudar Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/ayudar-foundation-morg_50bd68c8531b476ca32f4446526ee107},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Ayudar Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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