Bessie Minor Swift Foundation
The Bessie Minor Swift Foundation is a private foundation based in Reston, Virginia. It supports literacy and educational enrichment programs in Washoe County, Nevada; Ada and Canyon Counties, Idaho; and the North County area of San Diego County, California.
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation at a glance
In short: Bessie Minor Swift Foundation gave $84K across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $4K), top state California. 55% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $83,866
- +1.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 20
- -16.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $4,193
- +21.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $2,115,925
- +7.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 55% first-time grantees (11 of 20, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- California (48% 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 Bessie Minor Swift Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds, according to its 2025 filing. Its website describes an online application and says applicants may request $500–$5,000. It states that applications will be accepted from January 1 through February 12, 2027. The application guide asks for a program summary, objectives, timeline, budget and information about the organization; it also requests evidence of 501(c)(3) status or, where applicable, documentation of government-entity status. The foundation does not fund annual funds, galas or other special-event fundraising, capital campaigns or renovation projects, or debt. It prefers not to fund events lasting only one or two days.
- Review Cycle
- February 12, 2027.
- Deadline
- February 12, 2027.
- Next open deadline
- February 12, 2027 (Bessie Minor Swift Foundation Grant)
- Contact
Mailing address: 12030 Sunrise Valley Drive 450, Reston, VA 20191
Phone: (703) 437-9720
Website: https://bessieminorswift.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Bessie Minor Swift Foundation
Who Bessie Minor Swift Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation ($5K). Together the top 10 received $50K.
Grant Size Distribution
110 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 110 grants of 110 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation says it considers organizations located in Washoe County, Nevada; Ada and Canyon Counties, Idaho; and the North County area of San Diego County, California. In 2025, its grant dollars went to recipients in California (48%), Idaho (31%), and Nevada (21%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Bessie Minor Swift Foundation open to new grantees?
55%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 11 of 20 grantees (55%) were first-time recipients. With only 20 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $4K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 45% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $82K (2021) to $86K (2020). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $84K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation Carlsbad, CA | General Support | $5,000 |
| Classics for Kids Inc San Diego, CA | General Support | $5,000 |
| Education Foundation of Joint School District #2 Inc Meridian, ID | General Support | $5,000 |
| Friends of the Eagle Public Library Eagle, ID | General Support | $5,000 |
| Giraffe Laugh Early Learning Centers Garden City, ID | General Support | $5,000 |
| Incline Education Fund Incline Village, NV | General Support | $5,000 |
| Julian Union High School Julian, CA | General Support | $5,000 |
| Social Good Fund Encinitas, CA | General Support | $5,000 |
| Tahoe Children's Foundation Inc Incline Village, NV | General Support | $5,000 |
| Tahoe Institute for Natural Science Incline Village, NV | General Support | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Bessie Minor Swift 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 | $2,115,925 | $294,809 | $150,399 | $83,866 | 20 | $99,789 | $258,689 | $105,944 |
| 2024 | $1,971,515 | $561,614 | $136,420 | $83,002 | 24 | $99,658 | $530,143 | $97,396 |
| 2023 | $1,546,321 | $48,309 | $35,360 | — | — | $18,360 | $31,832 | $92,753 |
| 2022 | $1,533,372 | $71,357 | $111,949 | $85,928 | 32 | $92,371 | $54,601 | $90,800 |
| 2021 | $1,573,964 | $121,553 | $110,094 | $81,520 | 34 | $95,118 | $106,805 | $96,199 |
| 2020 | $1,562,505 | $-15,551 | $111,706 | $86,195 | 39 | — | $32,475 | $83,125 |
| 2019 | $1,689,762 | $716,620 | $104,955 | $83,156 | 37 | — | $29,299 | $58,259 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Bessie Minor Swift Foundation reported a distributable amount of $106K 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
The foundation’s mission is to contribute to an informed and active citizenry by supporting programs that promote literacy and educational enrichment. Its stated interests include reading and writing, literacy, sciences, STEM/STEAM, and interdisciplinary programs.
The foundation says it supports eligible 501(c)(3) public charities, including educational organizations, museums, libraries, governmental institutions, arts organizations, and other publicly supported charities. Its website favors projects that include program elements over requests solely for equipment or books, and describes a preference for small, targeted, low-budget programs and organizations with limited outside resources.
Examples of 2025 grantees illustrate the range of recipients. Classics for Kids describes its mission as inspiring children through music to foster creativity, academic success, and cultural understanding. The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation says it uses education and outreach to support stewardship of the lagoon and watershed. Words Alive says its programs serve learners facing circumstances including unstable housing, poverty, foster care, or justice-system involvement. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own work.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation awarded 20 grants totaling $83,866. Awards ranged from $1,500 to $5,000, with a median of $5,000. Its website reports that 18 organizations received a total of $86,675.59 for 2026.
Among the 2025 awards were $5,000 each to Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, Classics for Kids, Incline Education Fund, Tahoe Children’s Foundation, Tahoe Institute for Natural Science, Women’s and Children’s Alliance, Words Alive, and Social Good Fund. The foundation’s grant-history page describes specific project uses, including educational materials for Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation and music assemblies for Classics for Kids.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Marilyn Shelton as president and director; Jack Shelton as vice president and director; and Janet Buschert as secretary, treasurer, and director.
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation is led by Marilyn Shelton, President & Director since 2022 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Marilyn Shelton
President & Director
Chairman & President → President & Director, 2022
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jack Shelton
Vice President & Director
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Janet Buschert
Secretary, Treasurer & Director
On filings since 2019
4 hrs/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 Bessie Minor Swift Foundation
How much does Bessie Minor Swift Foundation give each year?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation gave $84K across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $83K across 24 grants.
What is Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's typical grant size?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $4,193, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Bessie Minor Swift Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does Bessie Minor Swift Foundation give grants?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's top state is California, with 48% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Idaho (31%) and Nevada (21%). The most frequent recipient cities were Incline Village, NV (3 grants), San Diego, CA (2 grants), Encinitas, CA (2 grants) and Meridian, ID (2 grants).
Does Bessie Minor Swift Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (20 of 20) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's largest grantees?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation ($5,000), Classics for Kids Inc ($5,000) and Education Foundation of Joint School District #2 Inc ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 18% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Bessie Minor Swift Foundation?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation reported $2.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $100K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $106K (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 does Bessie Minor Swift Foundation fund?
The foundation’s mission is to contribute to an informed and active citizenry by supporting programs that promote literacy and educational enrichment. Its stated interests include reading and writing, literacy, sciences, STEM/STEAM, and interdisciplinary programs. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Bessie Minor Swift Foundation?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds, according to its 2025 filing. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's EIN?
Bessie Minor Swift Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 38-3839284. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Bessie Minor Swift 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 June 11, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 16, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS July 7, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 8, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 24, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 9, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 28, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Bessie Minor Swift Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/bessie-minor-swift-foundation-morg_a19685b1b6ca4384ac6ba21428a2d68b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_383839284_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Bessie Minor Swift Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/bessie-minor-swift-foundation-morg_a19685b1b6ca4384ac6ba21428a2d68b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. 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 Bessie Minor Swift 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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