Beard Scholarship Fund

Private foundation · Grantmaker Pennington, NJ EIN: 30-6661295

Beard Scholarship Fund is a private foundation, based in Pennington, NJ. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $58.3M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 4 grants totaling $2.8M. Net investment income was $3.5M.

Beard Scholarship Fund at a glance

In short: Beard Scholarship Fund gave $2.8M across 4 grants in 2025 (avg $693K), mostly in Illinois. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$2,770,188
+9.6% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
4
+0.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$692,547
+9.6% vs 2024
Median grant
$692,547
Total assets
$58,252,487
+0.7% vs 2024
Primary geography
Illinois (90% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.

Who Beard Scholarship Fund funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 4 recipients in 2025

Northwestern University: $1.1MNorthwestern University$1.1MBradley University: $1.1MBradley University$1.1MPeoria High School Alumni Association: $277KPeoria High School AlumniAssociation$277KTexas Lutheran University: $277KTexas Lutheran University$277K

The largest 2025 recipient was Northwestern University ($1.1M). Together the top 4 received $2.8M.

Grant Size Distribution

20 grants across all recorded years

<$50K$50–100K6$100–250K4$250–500K6$500K–1M4$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was in the $100–250K range: 6 grants of 20 (30%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 4 itemized grants.

Cities

PeoriaEvanstonSeguin

How Beard Scholarship Fund gives

  • Giving grew 42% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 90% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$1M$2M$3M4 grants2020 4 grants2022 4 grants2023 4 grants2024 4 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.8M (2020) to $2.8M (2025). In 2025 it made 4 grants totaling $2.8M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Northwestern University Evanston, ILUnrestricted General$1,108,075
Bradley University Peoria, ILUnrestricted General$1,108,075
Peoria High School Alumni Association Peoria, ILUnrestricted General$277,019
Texas Lutheran University Seguin, TXUnrestricted General$277,019
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$58,252,487$3,909,870$3,486,875$2,770,1884$3,010,606$3,476,753$3,333,257
2024$57,875,352$3,614,644$3,230,375$2,526,4924$2,861,155$3,337,353$3,104,850
2023$57,406,808$3,273,533$2,947,605$2,334,6544$2,647,545$2,957,879$2,839,382
2022$57,113,341$8,352,511$2,613,537$1,950,0004$2,280,980$3,106,693$3,009,318
2020$46,679,775$3,452,225$2,316,924$1,797,9304—$704,141$2,417,245

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Beard Scholarship Fund reported a distributable amount of $3.3M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Beard Scholarship Fund's only listed officer is Bank Of America N A, Trustee on every filing since 2020 (compensated).

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Bank Of America N A

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    $458K (2020) → $601K (2025)

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Bank of America N a — Trustee: $601KBank of America N aTrustee$601K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $601K, to Bank of America N a (Trustee).

Frequently asked questions about Beard Scholarship Fund

How much does Beard Scholarship Fund give each year?

Beard Scholarship Fund gave $2.8M across 4 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $2.5M across 4 grants.

What is Beard Scholarship Fund's typical grant size?

Beard Scholarship Fund's median grant in 2025 was $692,547, and its average grant was $692,547, across 4 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Beard Scholarship Fund give grants?

Beard Scholarship Fund gives mostly in Illinois: 90% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Texas (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Peoria, IL (2 grants).

Does Beard Scholarship Fund give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Beard Scholarship Fund's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (4 of 4) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

How large is Beard Scholarship Fund?

Beard Scholarship Fund reported $58.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $3.0M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $3.3M (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.

What is Beard Scholarship Fund's EIN?

Beard Scholarship Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 30-6661295. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings.

Data update history

(6)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS October 4, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 11, 2023)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 7, 2024)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS December 17, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 13, 2026)
  6. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from Beard Scholarship Fund'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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