The CarMax Foundation is a corporate foundation based in Richmond, Virginia, established in 2003. It is a 501(c)(3) organization designated for philanthropic and grantmaking purposes. The foundation is supported by CarMax Business Services LLC and operates as a private foundation focused on community investment and employee engagement.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
—
Annual Giving
$6.7M
-7.7% YoY
Grant Count
11
+120.0% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$607K
-58.0% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
The CarMax Foundation promotes causes that its associates care about to impact the communities where the company lives and works. The foundation supports initiatives across multiple focus areas:
- Children and youth
- Economically disadvantaged and low-income people
- Out-of-school youth
- Arts and culture (including arts services and arts education)
- Education (elementary and secondary education, vocational education, college preparation, student retention, reading promotion, and tutoring)
- Health (public health, physical fitness, nutrition, obesity prevention)
- Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
- Public safety
- Community development
- Human services
Grantmaking
The CarMax Foundation employs two primary grantmaking mechanisms:
Grant Range
s range from $5,000 to $4,858,966, with a median grant of $20,000. Recent notable grants include $4,150,813 to the American Online Giving Foundation for employee choice giving programs and $1,351,470 to KaBOOM for building playgrounds in underserved communities.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The CarMax Foundation supports initiatives across numerous cities and states in the United States, including major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Primary giving focuses on Virginia, California, and Missouri, with particular emphasis on the Richmond, Virginia area through its Home Office Grant program.
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
Most Recent Fiscal Year (FYE February 2025):
- Total Assets: $6,642,085
- Total Revenue: $5,992,582
- Total Grants and Contributions: $5,600,000
- Investment Income and Dividends: $392,582
- Total Expenses: $7,328,565
- Total Liabilities: $0
Historical Context: The foundation has awarded over $75 million in total grants to date. In fiscal year 2021, the foundation awarded $6 million in grants.
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | — | — | — |
| Revenue | — | — | — |
| Expenses | — | — | — |
| Qualifying Distributions | — | — | — |
| Net Investment Income | — | — | — |
| Distributable Amount | — | — | — |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
Grant Size Distribution
166 grants across all recorded years
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from Carmax Foundation
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation's leadership team serves without compensation:
- Jason Ancarrow, President
- Mathew Jewett, Treasurer
- Jessica Kirkland, Secretary
- Karen Holt, Director
- Mark Collier, Director
- Jeff Jackson, Director
- Eric Martin, Director
- Donna Cohen, Director
- Richard Buscher, Director
- Jeff Hall, Director
- Thomas Squire, Director
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
From 2025 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| JEFF HALL | PRESIDENT | 2 | — |
| MATHEW JEWETT | TREASURER | 2 | — |
| JESSICA KIRKLAND | SECRETARY | 2 | — |
| ALEX MALCOLM | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| ANN YAUGER | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| ASHWIN KOPPARTHI | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| ERIC MARTIN | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| NICOLE BROWN | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| SARAH BROWN | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| THERESIA RADAELLI | DIRECTOR (THROUGH 02/25) | 2 | — |
| THOMAS SQUIRE | DIRECTOR | 2 | — |
| JASON ANCARROW | DIRECTOR (THROUGH 02/25) | 2 | — |
| RICHARD BUSCHER | DIRECTOR (THROUGH 02/25) | 2 | — |
| DONNA COHEN | DIRECTOR (THROUGH 02/25) | 2 | — |
| CHRIS SLOAN | DIRECTOR (THROUGH 02/25) | 2 | — |
Recent News & Activity
Recent developments and announcements
The CarMax Foundation has maintained a significant partnership with KaBOOM, a nonprofit focused on building playgrounds in underserved communities. This partnership has expanded multiple times, with announcements of partnership renewals and expansions bringing innovative play opportunities to tens of thousands of children across the United States. The foundation has also announced the Future Innovators Program in collaboration with KaBOOM and has increased access to play initiatives in cities including Atlanta.
KABOOM! Announces $3.9 Million Partnership Expansion with The CarMax FoundationSubject Areas
Focus areas based on grantmaking activity
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Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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