Barnhill Family Foundation
The Barnhill Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilmington, Delaware. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with most grant dollars going to recipients in an individual recipient
Barnhill Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Barnhill Family Foundation gave $2.2M across 73 grants in 2025 (avg $30K), mostly in North Carolina. 21% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $2,173,666
- +41.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 73
- +14.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $29,776
- +24.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $12,500
- Total assets
- $31,419,641
- +12.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (10 of 48, 2025)
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (92% 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 Barnhill Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states in its 2023 filing that it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE 19809-1377
Phone: (800) 839-1754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Barnhill Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Founda ($405K across 5 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.5M.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($2,500), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
317 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 259 grants of 317 (82%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 92% of grant dollars went to recipients in an individual recipient, 6% to Texas, and 2% to Virginia. The filing also lists shares for Tennessee and Florida as 0%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 73 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Barnhill Family Foundation open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 10 of 48 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $9K; repeat grants $55K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $19K repeat.
- 67% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 40% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 131% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $681K (2019) to $2.3M (2023). In 2025 it made 73 grants totaling $2.2M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| UNC Health Foundation Inc Chapel Hill, NC | UNC Whole Brain Health Program - Epilepsy Transition Clinic | $250,000 |
| Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Founda Tarboro, NC | Edgecombe County Public Schools Early Literacy Fund | $230,000 |
| Kenan-Flagler Business School Foundation Chapel Hill, NC | Barnhill Assured Admit Scholars at UNC Kenan-Flagler | $125,000 |
| Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Founda Tarboro, NC | ECPS Educational Foundation Capacity-Building: Foundation Director Position Fund | $115,000 |
| Duke University Durham, NC | Applying Artificial Intelligence to Pediatric Retinal Screening with Ultra-Widefield Fundus Imaging | $102,000 |
| Helping a Hero Org Houston, TX | the Kelsey McInnis Home Project, Rocky Mount, NC | $100,000 |
| Ncinnovation Inc Durham, NC | NCInnovation, Inc. | $100,000 |
| Wakemed Raleigh, NC | Pediatric Behavioral Health Innovation | $100,000 |
| Samaritans Purse Boone, NC | Hurricane Helene Relief | $67,500 |
| Boys Club of Wake County Inc Raleigh, NC | B.E.S.T. - Behavioral & Emotional Support Team | $54,614 |
Ready to take the next step with Barnhill Family 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 | $31,419,641 | $6,097,306 | $2,621,766 | $2,173,666 | 73 | $2,479,845 | $4,241,667 | $1,888,447 |
| 2024 | $27,944,101 | $5,947,870 | $1,782,677 | $1,536,754 | 64 | $1,741,976 | $4,876,659 | $1,568,224 |
| 2023 | $23,778,908 | $1,523,869 | $2,609,286 | $2,283,146 | 65 | $2,527,441 | $1,850,516 | $1,367,635 |
| 2022 | $24,864,325 | $5,480,860 | $1,875,185 | $1,548,956 | 57 | $1,752,055 | $1,082,742 | $1,439,530 |
| 2021 | $21,258,650 | $5,911,729 | $2,072,432 | $1,780,501 | 58 | — | $5,132,836 | $1,166,144 |
| 2020 | $17,389,203 | $1,797,593 | $1,024,422 | $812,771 | 46 | — | $908,090 | $932,810 |
| 2019 | $16,616,032 | $2,677,095 | $883,193 | $681,200 | 41 | — | $607,375 | $862,515 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Barnhill Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.9M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants show support for varied projects, including an epilepsy transition clinic, early literacy, scholarships and educational opportunities, pediatric behavioral health, and hurricane relief.
Grantees describe their own work in varied terms. UNC Health Foundation says it inspires philanthropic support for UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine to transform health care and provide hope. The Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Foundation says it provides college scholarships and enhances educational opportunities for students in Edgecombe County. Boys Club of Wake County says it aims to help young people, especially those most in need, reach their potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 73 grants totaling $2,173,666. Grants ranged from $500 to $250,000, with a median of $12,500.
Among the largest reported grants were $250,000 to UNC Health Foundation for the UNC Whole Brain Health Program–Epilepsy Transition Clinic; $230,000 to the Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Foundation for its Early Literacy Fund; $125,000 to Kenan-Flagler Business School Foundation for Barnhill Assured Admit Scholars at UNC Kenan-Flagler; and $115,000 to the Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Foundation for capacity-building and a foundation director position. Other grants included $102,000 to Duke University for pediatric retinal screening research, $100,000 to WakeMed for pediatric behavioral health innovation, and $67,500 to Samaritan’s Purse for Hurricane Helene relief.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Austin Barnhill, Christian Barnhill, Penny Barnhill, Sarah Barnhill, Robert Barnhill III, Robert E. Barnhill Jr., Leigh Edwards, and Rob Edwards as directors. Penny Barnhill is also listed as vice president; Robert E. Barnhill Jr. is listed as president and secretary.
Barnhill Family Foundation is led by Robert E Barnhill Jr., President, Director & Secretary on every filing since 2019; none of the 8 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Robert E Barnhill Jr.
President, Director & Secretary
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Austin Barnhill
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christian Barnhill
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Leigh Edwards
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Penny Barnhill
Director & Vice President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rob Edwards
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Barnhill III
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Barnhill
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Barnhill Family Foundation
How much does Barnhill Family Foundation give each year?
Barnhill Family Foundation gave $2.2M across 73 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.5M across 64 grants.
What is Barnhill Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Barnhill Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $12,500, and its average grant was $29,776, across 73 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Barnhill Family Foundation that year got $9K on average.
Where does Barnhill Family Foundation give grants?
Barnhill Family Foundation gives mostly in North Carolina: 92% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Texas (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Raleigh, NC (15 grants), Rocky Mount, NC (12 grants), Tarboro, NC (9 grants) and Charlotte, NC (8 grants).
Does Barnhill Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 16% of Barnhill Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (12 of 73) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Barnhill Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Barnhill Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Edgecombe County Public Schools Educational Founda ($404,887 across 5 grants), UNC Health Foundation Inc ($250,000) and Duke University ($147,747 across 3 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($2,500), which are not listed by name. Together they received 37% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Barnhill Family Foundation?
Barnhill Family Foundation reported $31.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.5M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.9M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Barnhill Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants show support for varied projects, including an epilepsy transition clinic, early literacy, scholarships and educational opportunities, pediatric behavioral health, and hurricane relief. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Barnhill Family Foundation?
The foundation states in its 2023 filing that it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Barnhill Family Foundation's EIN?
Barnhill Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 45-4917069. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Barnhill Family 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 September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 28, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 1, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 9, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 15, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 3, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Live grants for the work Barnhill Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Barnhill Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Barnhill Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/barnhill-family-foundation-morg_ee9cc5d42bac4561a3b71c7f372fef1c
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_454917069_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Barnhill Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/barnhill-family-foundation-morg_ee9cc5d42bac4561a3b71c7f372fef1c},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 Barnhill Family 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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