Children First - America's Charities
Children First - America's Charities was a public charity based in Chantilly, Virginia. Its stated purpose was to support other 501(c)(3) organizations serving children, families, adults, and communities through funds distribution services.
Children First - America's Charities at a glance
- Revenue (2022)
- $9,216
- -98.6% vs 2021
- Expenses (2022)
- $25
- -100.0% vs 2021
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-EZ, 2022 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-EZ, 2022; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Children First - America's Charities
- Contact
Mailing address: 14200 Park Meadow Drive 330S, Chantilly, VA 20151
Phone: (800) 458-9505
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Children First - America's Charities funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
44 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 29 grants of 44 (66%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The organization was based in Chantilly, Virginia. Its listed 2021 grantees were located in Illinois, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut; the filing does not state a geographic funding focus.
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Is Children First - America's Charities open to new grantees?
8%
first-time grantees, 2021
In 2021, 1 of 12 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $9K; repeat grants $53K. How we count
Medians: $9K first-time, $38K repeat.
- 83% of 2021 grantees were also funded in 2020. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2021). 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 2021, annual grant giving ranged from $596K (2021) to $1.1M (2019). In 2021 it made 12 grants totaling $596K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald McDonald House Charities Inc Chicago, IL | General Support | $189,071 |
| Childrens House at Johns Hopkins Hospital Inc Baltimore, MD | General Support | $70,210 |
| Curesearch for Childrens Cancer Bethesda, MD | General Support | $59,052 |
| National Black Child Development Institute Inc Silver Spring, MD | General Support | $53,304 |
| Share Our Strength Washington, DC | General Support | $49,993 |
| Reading Is Fundamental Inc Washington, DC | General Support | $38,060 |
| Hole in the Wall Gang Fund Inc New Haven, CT | General Support | $37,698 |
| Prevent Child Abuse America Chicago, IL | General Support | $36,276 |
| Believe in Tomorrow National Childrens Foundation Inc Baltimore, MD | General Support | $23,355 |
| I Have a Dream Foundation New York, NY | General Support | $20,010 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The organization’s 2022 final filing also reports that pledges and grant receivables, accounts receivable, deferred revenue, and amounts due to member/nonmember charities each went from a beginning-of-year balance to an end-of-year balance of $0.
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | — | $9,216 | $25 | — | — |
| 2021 | $415,972 | $647,604 | $652,592 | $595,745 | 12 |
| 2020 | $690,938 | $1,779,804 | $1,770,557 | $953,711 | 16 |
| 2019 | $640,955 | $1,895,452 | $1,919,453 | $1,093,543 | 16 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization stated that it supported the activities and purposes of other 501(c)(3) organizations by providing funds distribution services to further their exempt purposes. Its filing describes member campaign services, including pledge-data management, aggregating donor information, processing payments, and providing reports to member charities.
The 2021 grantees included organizations whose own missions covered a range of services. Ronald McDonald House Global said it provides services to remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare. The National Black Child Development Institute said it works to improve the quality of life for Black children and families through education and advocacy. Share Our Strength said it works to address child hunger and poverty, including through its No Kid Hungry campaign.
Grantmaking
The organization reported 12 grants totaling $595,745 in 2021, an average of about $49,646 per grant. In 2020, it reported 16 grants totaling $953,711, an average of about $59,607 per grant. Its 2022 filing reports no grants.
Notable 2021 grants included $189,071 to Ronald McDonald House Global, $70,210 to The Children's House at Johns Hopkins, $53,304 to the National Black Child Development Institute, $49,993 to Share Our Strength, and $38,060 to Reading Is Fundamental Inc.
The filing describes the organization’s activities as funds distribution services for member charities. No application process or policy on unsolicited requests is stated.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2022 filing listed Marly Leighton as chair, Gary Levante as secretary/treasurer, and James E. Starr as president and CEO, each until July 2022.
Children First - America's Charities is led by James E. Starr, President & CEO - since 2022 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2022 report compensation.
Officers on the 2022 filing
James E. Starr
President & CEO -
President & CEO → President & CEO -, 2022
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
$38K (2019) → $0 (2022)
Marly Leighton
Chair -
Chair - → Chair, 2021
Chair → Chair -, 2022
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Gary Levante
Secretary & Treasurer -
Secretary & Treasurer - → Secretary & Treasurer, 2020
Secretary & Treasurer → Secretary & Treasurer -, 2022
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (10)
- Former: Anthony Denunzio (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: David Stathis (2019–2021) — Vice President
- Former: Kimberly H. Young (2019–2021) — Vice President & Business Development
- Former: Lindsay Jk Nichols (2019–2021) — Vice President, Marketing & Communications
- Former: Robyn Neal (2019–2021) — Vice President & Client Engagement
- Former: Sook Suragiat (2019–2021) — Controller
- Former: George Weiner (2019–2020) — Chair -
- Former: David G. Phillips (2019) — Secretary & Treasurer -
- Former: Greg Borkowski (2019) — Chair -
- Former: Heather Lofkin Wright (2019) — Director -
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2022. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2021 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2021 filing was $3K, to James E Starr (President & CEO). 6 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Children First - America's Charities
What does Children First - America's Charities fund?
The organization stated that it supported the activities and purposes of other 501(c)(3) organizations by providing funds distribution services to further their exempt purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Children First - America's Charities?
Children First - America's Charities has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
Where does Children First - America's Charities make grants?
The organization was based in Chantilly, Virginia. Its listed 2021 grantees were located in Illinois, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut; the filing does not state a geographic funding focus.
What is Children First - America's Charities's EIN?
Children First - America's Charities's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 30-0186795. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2022.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 16, 2022)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2022
Live grants for the work Children First - America's Charities funds
Human Services Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Children First - America's Charities's focus areas in our free grants database
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from Children First - America's Charities'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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