Brighthouse Financial Foundation
Brighthouse Financial Foundation is a private foundation based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its 2025 grants supported charitable organizations, including organizations working in housing, education, tutoring, arts, and legal advocacy.
Brighthouse Financial Foundation at a glance
In short: Brighthouse Financial Foundation gave $808K across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $40K), mostly in North Carolina. 55% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $808,441
- -16.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 20
- +17.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $40,422
- -29.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $11,151,988
- +6.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 55% first-time grantees (11 of 20, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (85% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Brighthouse Financial Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC 28277-4435
Phone: (980) 949-3731
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Brighthouse Financial Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Crittenton ($100K). Together the top 10 received $560K.
Grant Size Distribution
86 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 44 grants of 86 (51%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
North Carolina organizations received 85% of 2025 grant dollars. The reported shares for other recipient states were Illinois, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New York, each at 3%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Brighthouse Financial 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 $35K; repeat grants $47K. How we count
Medians: $25K first-time, $35K repeat.
- 10% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 27% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 155% 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 $500K (2019) to $1.4M (2020). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $808K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Crittenton Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $100,000 |
| Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $100,000 |
| Carolina Youth Coalition Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $75,000 |
| Heart Math Tutoring Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $60,000 |
| Freedom School Partners Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $50,000 |
| Arts Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $40,000 |
| Childrens Theatre of CHARLOTTE(CTC) Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $40,000 |
| Digi-Bridge Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $35,000 |
| Dottie Rose Foundation Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $35,000 |
| Braveworks Charlotte, NC | General Operating Purpose | $25,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Brighthouse Financial 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 | $11,151,988 | $819,782 | $866,329 | $808,441 | 20 | $810,125 | $774,578 | $523,632 |
| 2024 | $10,501,361 | $407,838 | $1,024,334 | $970,000 | 17 | $970,549 | $355,771 | $515,583 |
| 2023 | $9,923,734 | $183,471 | $846,794 | $795,000 | 19 | $797,467 | $180,744 | $471,963 |
| 2022 | $9,049,217 | $-161,353 | $686,522 | $635,000 | 11 | $642,560 | $139,299 | $485,999 |
| 2021 | $11,792,760 | $1,651,474 | $901,050 | $828,000 | 19 | $832,310 | $598,734 | $517,627 |
| 2020 | $10,343,345 | $1,242,121 | $1,445,736 | $1,380,705 | 41 | — | $1,202,862 | $601,522 |
| 2019 | $10,053,647 | $287,257 | $552,090 | $500,000 | 8 | — | $250,039 | $473,954 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Brighthouse Financial Foundation reported a distributable amount of $524K 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 formal mission statement is provided. The 2025 grants show support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region says it brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope; Carolina Youth Coalition says it prepares high-performing, under-resourced students for college; and Heart Math Tutoring says it helps elementary students build math skills and academic enthusiasm through school-based volunteers.
Other 2025 grantees describe missions that include inspiring students to love reading and learning (Freedom School Partners), bringing fine arts programs into Utah elementary schools (ARTS), bridging the gender gap in technology through computer science education (Dottie Rose Foundation), and fostering STEAM learning (Digi-Bridge).
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 20 grants totaling $808,441. Grants ranged from $23,441 to $100,000, with a median of $25,000. Recent annual giving was $970,000 across 17 grants in 2024 and $795,000 across 19 grants in 2023.
Among its largest 2025 grants were $100,000 each to Crittenton and Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region; $75,000 to Carolina Youth Coalition; $60,000 to Heart Math Tutoring; and $50,000 to Freedom School Partners. Other grants included $40,000 each to ARTS and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and $35,000 each to Digi-Bridge and Dottie Rose Foundation. Gen-One received $25,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Officers and directors listed on the 2025 filing are Maria Tarhanidis, vice president; Eric Steigerwalt, chief executive officer; Meghan Lantier, vice president; John Rosenthal, senior vice president; Perry Pao, vice president; Mariana Orihel, vice president; Crystal Dunham, manager; Jeff Halperin, senior vice president; and James Grady, senior managing director.
Brighthouse Financial Foundation is led by Eric Steigerwalt, Chief Executive Officer since 2024 (on filings since 2019); none of the 9 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Eric Steigerwalt
Chief Executive Officer
Chair → Chief Executive Officer, 2024
On filings since 2019
0.2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
James Grady
Senior Managing Director
New on the 2025 filing
0.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jeff Halperin
Senior Vice President
Secretary → Senior Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Maria Tarhanidis
Vice President
Investments → Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2019
0.6 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Meghan Lantier
Vice President
Director → Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2019
3.1 hrs/week
No compensation reported
John Rosenthal
Senior Vice President
Director → Senior Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2021
0.2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Crystal Dunham
Manager
Director → Manager, 2024
On filings since 2023
24.6 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mariana Orihel
Vice President
Divisional Vice President → Vice President, 2024
On filings since 2023
0.2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Perry Pao
Vice President
On filings since 2023
0.2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (5)
- Former: Chris Hartsfield (2023) — Director
- Former: Mayer Naiman (2023) — Tax
- Former: Theresa Foust (2019–2022) — President
- Former: Jim Hamalainen (2019–2020) — Treasurer · Filing note: Through 512020
- Former: Phyllis Zanghi (2019–2020) — Counsel · Filing note: Through 1022020
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 Brighthouse Financial Foundation
How much does Brighthouse Financial Foundation give each year?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation gave $808K across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $970K across 17 grants.
What is Brighthouse Financial Foundation's typical grant size?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $40,422, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Brighthouse Financial Foundation that year got $35K on average.
Where does Brighthouse Financial Foundation give grants?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation gives mostly in North Carolina: 85% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Charlotte, NC (15 grants).
Does Brighthouse Financial Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Brighthouse Financial 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 Brighthouse Financial Foundation's largest grantees?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Crittenton ($100,000), Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region ($100,000) and Carolina Youth Coalition ($75,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 34% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Brighthouse Financial Foundation?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation reported $11.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $810K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $524K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Brighthouse Financial Foundation fund?
No formal mission statement is provided. The 2025 grants show support for organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Brighthouse Financial Foundation?
The foundation 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 Brighthouse Financial Foundation's EIN?
Brighthouse Financial Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-2910432. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Brighthouse Financial Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 11, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Brighthouse Financial Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Brighthouse Financial Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/brighthouse-financial-foundation-morg_75d30388edaf41d1b9a615cbaf23ef96
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_822910432_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Brighthouse Financial Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/brighthouse-financial-foundation-morg_75d30388edaf41d1b9a615cbaf23ef96},
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 Brighthouse Financial 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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