Ceres Foundation
Ceres Foundation is a private foundation based in Northfield, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports 106 grants totaling $593,000, with grants to organizations in multiple states and a range of stated purposes and missions.
Ceres Foundation at a glance
In short: Ceres Foundation gave $593K across 106 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), top state Michigan. 16% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $593,000
- +7.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 106
- +5.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,594
- +2.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $3,500
- Total assets
- $5,655,842
- +23.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 16% first-time grantees (16 of 98, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (21% 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 Ceres Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 266 Wagner Road, Northfield, IL 60093-3249
Phone: (847) 909-1141
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Ceres Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation ($30K). Together the top 10 received $232K.
Grant Size Distribution
494 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 493 grants of 494 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars went to recipients in Michigan (21%), Illinois (20%), Colorado (15%), Virginia (13%), and California (6%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 106 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Ceres Foundation open to new grantees?
16%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 16 of 98 grantees (16%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 74% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−1%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 88% 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 (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 $429K (2020) to $600K (2022). In 2025 it made 106 grants totaling $593K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation Chicago, IL | General Support | $30,000 |
| Leadership Institute Arlington, VA | General Support | $30,000 |
| Fire Fdn for Indiv RTS in Ed Philadelphia, PA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI | General Support | $25,000 |
| Ij Institute for Justice Arlington, VA | General Support | $25,000 |
| CRC Cap Research Center Washington, DC | General Support | $20,000 |
| MPI Moving Pix Institute New York, NY | General Support | $20,000 |
| Stepping Stones Montessori Grand Rapids, MI | General Support | $20,000 |
| Door County Land Trust Sturgeon Bay, WI | General Support | $15,000 |
| Orchard Village Skokie, IL | General Support | $15,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Ceres 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 | $5,655,842 | $1,798,806 | $727,639 | $593,000 | 106 | $595,015 | $1,691,303 | $673,532 |
| 2024 | $4,586,781 | $1,881,371 | $659,633 | $551,000 | 101 | $553,015 | $1,781,053 | $615,464 |
| 2023 | $3,364,965 | $550,592 | $629,668 | $540,000 | 101 | $542,483 | $465,908 | $538,821 |
| 2022 | $3,444,041 | $258,181 | $701,802 | $600,000 | 94 | $602,773 | $171,953 | $546,917 |
| 2021 | $3,887,662 | $1,217,751 | $541,066 | $462,006 | 92 | $461,183 | $1,140,368 | $583,543 |
| 2020 | $3,208,477 | $407,545 | $489,291 | $428,500 | 87 | — | $348,528 | $465,967 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Ceres Foundation reported a distributable amount of $674K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Leadership Institute says it educates people for successful participation in government, politics and media. Orchard Village says it partners with families and communities to improve outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities. Door County Land Trust says its mission is to preserve Door County’s lands and waters.
Other 2025 grantees describe work that includes assistance to lesbians facing ill health or personal crisis, educational programs, support for parenting teenage mothers, community resource services, and rehabilitation treatment. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not stated priorities of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 106 grants totaling $593,000. Grants ranged from $500 to $30,000, with a median of $3,500. Listed purposes for the largest grants were general support. The largest grants included $30,000 each to Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation and Leadership Institute; $25,000 each to Fire Fdn for Indiv Rts in Ed, Hillsdale College, and IJ Institute for Justice; and $20,000 each to CRC Cap Research Center, MPI Moving Pix Institute, and Stepping Stones Montessori.
Other 2025 grants included $15,000 to Door County Land Trust and Orchard Village, and $10,000 each to ATL Foundation, The Philadelphia Society, Hope House of Colorado, and Tri-Lakes Cares.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Florence H Testa as president, Daniel RJ Hales as vice president, Mark H Patterson as secretary, and Marion H Chardoul as treasurer.
Ceres Foundation is led by Florence H. Testa, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Florence H. Testa
President
On filings since 2020
0 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Daniel Rj Hales
Vice President
Vice President & Assistant Secretary → Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Marion H. Chardoul
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
0 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Mark H. Patterson
Secretary
On filings since 2020
0 hrs/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Ceres Foundation
How much does Ceres Foundation give each year?
Ceres Foundation gave $593K across 106 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $551K across 101 grants.
What is Ceres Foundation's typical grant size?
Ceres Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $3,500, and its average grant was $5,594, across 106 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Ceres Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Ceres Foundation give grants?
Ceres Foundation's top state is Michigan, with 21% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Illinois (20%) and Colorado (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chicago, IL (17 grants), Charlevoix, MI (9 grants), Whittier, CA (6 grants) and East Jordan, MI (4 grants).
Does Ceres Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 98% of Ceres Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (104 of 106) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Ceres Foundation's largest grantees?
Ceres Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation ($30,000), Leadership Institute ($30,000) and Fire Fdn for Indiv RTS in Ed ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 14% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Ceres Foundation?
Ceres Foundation reported $5.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $595K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $674K (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 Ceres Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Leadership Institute says it educates people for successful participation in government, politics and media. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Ceres Foundation?
The foundation states that it 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 Ceres Foundation's EIN?
Ceres Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3735653. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Ceres 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 October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 30, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 21, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 27, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 1, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 21, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 10, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Ceres Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Ceres Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/ceres-foundation-morg_bedf76c43c314a5dbbc9fa05a869ab79
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363735653_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Ceres Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/ceres-foundation-morg_bedf76c43c314a5dbbc9fa05a869ab79},
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 Ceres 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.
Ceres Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?