Car Donation Foundation
Car Donation Foundation is a public charity based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. It financially supports other charitable organizations through proceeds from donated motor vehicles and other property. The foundation’s website identifies Wheels For Wishes, Wheels For Wishes and Wellness, Vehicles For Veterans, and Animal Car Donation as programs it operates.
Car Donation Foundation at a glance
In short: Car Donation Foundation gave $18.5M across 90 grants in 2025 (avg $206K), top state New York. 10% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $18,496,159
- +12.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 90
- -1.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $205,513
- +13.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $94,493
- Total assets
- $10,898,363
- -3.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 10% first-time grantees (9 of 90, 2025)
- Primary geography
- New York (10% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Car Donation Foundation
- Contact
Mailing address: 5775 Wayzata Boulevard 700, St Louis Park, MN 55416
Phone: (952) 525-2238
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Car Donation Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Bob Woodruff Family Foundation ($583K). Together the top 10 received $5.6M.
Grant Size Distribution
433 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 115 grants of 433 (27%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s filing describes recipient organizations across the country. In 2025, the largest reported shares of grant dollars went to recipients in New York and California (10% each), Virginia (9%), and Minnesota and Texas (8% each).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 90 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Car Donation Foundation open to new grantees?
10%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 9 of 90 grantees (10%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $73K; repeat grants $220K. How we count
Medians: $73K first-time, $106K repeat.
- 89% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+14%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $13.2M (2023) to $24.8M (2021). In 2025 it made 90 grants totaling $18.5M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Long Island City, NY | General Support | $582,598 |
| Gary Sinise Foundation Franklin, TN | General Support | $582,598 |
| Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund Oceanside, CA | General Support | $582,598 |
| Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund New York, NY | General Support | $582,598 |
| K9S for Warriors Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | General Support | $582,598 |
| Military Spouse Advocacy Network San Antonio, TX | General Support | $582,598 |
| Tragedy Assistance for Survivors Arlington, VA | General Support | $582,598 |
| America's Warrior Partnership Augusta, GA | General Support | $511,974 |
| Four Block Foundation Inc New York, NY | General Support | $510,390 |
| Operation Homefront San Antonio, TX | General Support | $510,390 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $10,898,363 | $57,222,232 | $57,497,547 | $18,496,159 | 90 | $227,247 |
| 2024 | $11,287,774 | $56,238,965 | $56,574,816 | $16,492,302 | 91 | $237,752 |
| 2023 | $11,683,472 | $52,879,022 | $52,897,093 | $13,198,589 | 87 | $181,421 |
| 2022 | $11,184,528 | $52,494,113 | $53,522,866 | $16,266,426 | 83 | $61,609 |
| 2021 | $12,821,701 | $65,728,159 | $63,461,586 | $24,845,562 | 82 | $28,172 |
| 2020 | $10,591,554 | $49,162,961 | $46,385,396 | $18,831,916 | 71 | $15,384 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation states its mission is to financially support charitable organizations through motor vehicle and other property donations. Its 2025 filing describes recipients that include 56 Make-A-Wish chapters, 26 veteran organizations, children’s charities and pediatric hospitals, and animal humane, assistance, and adoption charities. The filing says donors select which program will benefit from vehicle proceeds.
Several 2025 grantees describe their own work as supporting service members, veterans, and military families. For example, the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation says it works to help veterans, service members, their families, and caregivers thrive; the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund says it serves military personnel with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and other severe injuries. The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors describes its work as supporting loved ones of fallen service members.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 90 grants totaling $18,496,159. Grant amounts ranged from $5,090 to $582,598, with a median of $94,492. The filing says grants are open-ended and may be used for recipients’ operational needs; the foundation maintains records of amounts provided to each recipient. It also reports an agreement with Make-A-Wish and says it uses third parties to sell donated vehicles and track vehicle transactions.
The largest reported grants were $582,598 each to the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, K9s For Warriors, Military Spouse Advocacy Network, and Tragedy Assistance for Survivors. Other large grants included $511,974 to America’s Warrior Partnership and $510,390 each to Four Block Foundation, Operation Homefront, Oscar Mike Foundation, and Pat Tillman Foundation.
The Gary Sinise Foundation describes its work as supporting veterans, military personnel, first responders, their families, and families of fallen heroes. Military Spouse Advocacy Network says its mission is to strengthen military families through education, empowerment, and support. America’s Warrior Partnership describes its work as partnering with veteran-centric communities to advance holistic support for warriors and their communities. Four Block Foundation says it supports returning enlisted service members pursuing meaningful careers and advises employers on hiring veterans.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Lee Orwig as president, Roger Gershin as treasurer, Anne Veach as secretary, and Karinne Tarshish, Mark Karon, and Matt Rosenberg as directors. Loren Dorshow is listed as executive director.
Car Donation Foundation is led by Loren Dorshow, Executive Director on every filing since 2020; 1 of 7 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Loren Dorshow
Executive Director
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$250K (2020) → $280K (2025)
Lee Orwig
President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matt Rosenberg
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Karinne Tarshish
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mark Karon
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Anne Veach
Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Roger Gershin
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Jon Applebaum (2020–2022) — Director
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
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $280K, to Loren Dorshow (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about Car Donation Foundation
How much does Car Donation Foundation give each year?
Car Donation Foundation gave $18.5M across 90 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $16.5M across 91 grants.
What is Car Donation Foundation's typical grant size?
Car Donation Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $94,493, and its average grant was $205,513, across 90 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Car Donation Foundation that year got $73K on average.
Where does Car Donation Foundation give grants?
Car Donation Foundation's top state is New York, with 10% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were California (10%) and Virginia (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (4 grants), San Antonio, TX (2 grants), Arlington, VA (2 grants) and Chicago, IL (2 grants).
Does Car Donation Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Car Donation Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (90 of 90) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Who are Car Donation Foundation's largest grantees?
Car Donation Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Bob Woodruff Family Foundation ($582,598), Gary Sinise Foundation ($582,598) and Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund ($582,598), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 9% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Car Donation Foundation?
Car Donation Foundation reported $10.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $57.2M.
What does Car Donation Foundation fund?
The foundation states its mission is to financially support charitable organizations through motor vehicle and other property donations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Car Donation Foundation?
Car Donation Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Car Donation Foundation's EIN?
Car Donation Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-3408048. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 2, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS July 8, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS June 23, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS September 21, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 7, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Car Donation Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Car Donation Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/car-donation-foundation-morg_0a25b58c02e54e2ba4aaa037d4c8bd30
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_263408048_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Car Donation Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/car-donation-foundation-morg_0a25b58c02e54e2ba4aaa037d4c8bd30},
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 Car Donation 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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