Clayton Baker Trust
Clayton Baker Trust is a private foundation based in Baltimore, Maryland. Its stated purposes are education, environment, and community development, and its 2024 filing reports grants to organizations working in these areas.
Clayton Baker Trust at a glance
In short: Clayton Baker Trust gave $2.4M across 86 grants in 2024 (avg $27K), mostly in Maryland. 21% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $2,364,500
- +32.7% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 86
- +19.4% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $27,494
- +11.1% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $20,000
- Total assets
- $32,946,043
- +5.2% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (18 of 84, 2024)
- Primary geography
- Maryland (95% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Clayton Baker Trust
- How to Apply
-
The 2024 filing says the Trust does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It asks applicants to submit a cover letter, proposal narrative, and attachments following the ABAG Common Grant Application Format; one copy is required. Awards must fit the Trust’s purposes of education, environment, and community development, and are subject to the Trust having adequate funds.
- Review Cycle
- The 2024 filing lists April 5, August 5, and December 5 by 5:00 p.m. These dates are past cycles; the filing does not establish a current deadline.
- Deadline
- The 2024 filing lists April 5, August 5, and December 5 by 5:00 p.m.
- Contact
Application contact: William C Baker - Executive Direct
Mailing address: 1600 W 41St Street Suite 700, Baltimore, MD 21211
Phone: (410) 837-3555
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Clayton Baker Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Center for Climate Change Communication ($115K). Together the top 10 received $743K.
Grant Size Distribution
404 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 351 grants of 404 (87%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients in Maryland and 4% to recipients in Massachusetts. The filing reports 0% for New York. Recipients included organizations in Baltimore and other Maryland communities, as well as the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 86 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Clayton Baker Trust open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 18 of 84 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $29K; repeat grants $28K. How we count
Medians: $20K first-time, $23K repeat.
- 71% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+7%). Method
- In 2024 it paid out 118% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $1.8M (2023) to $2.4M (2024). In 2024 it made 86 grants totaling $2.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Center for Climate Change Communication Fairfax, MD | Environment | $115,000 |
| Union of Concerned Scientists Cambridge, MA | Environment | $105,000 |
| Rebuild Metro Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $95,000 |
| Healthcare for the Homeless Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $77,500 |
| Children's Scholarship Fund Baltimore Baltimore, MD | Education | $75,000 |
| Baltimore Public Media Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $70,000 |
| Central MD Transportation Alliance Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $50,000 |
| Baltimore Neighborhood Development Corpo Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $50,000 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation of America New York, MD | OTHER | $50,000 |
| Bikemore Baltimore, MD | Community Development | $50,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $32,946,043 | $4,489,692 | $2,777,303 | $2,364,500 | 86 | $2,436,289 | $4,169,274 | $2,062,249 |
| 2023 | $31,315,347 | $1,818,215 | $2,131,487 | $1,782,500 | 72 | $1,840,994 | $1,545,946 | $1,962,048 |
| 2022 | $30,801,659 | $1,073,481 | $2,249,934 | $1,908,050 | 72 | $1,947,810 | $839,405 | $2,068,402 |
| 2021 | $32,004,010 | $5,013,426 | $2,598,880 | $2,220,160 | 90 | $2,259,566 | $4,744,301 | $2,243,770 |
| 2020 | $28,921,014 | $1,995,807 | $2,092,872 | $1,848,950 | 84 | — | $1,784,625 | $1,922,967 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Clayton Baker Trust reported a distributable amount of $2.1M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Trust’s stated purposes are education, environment, and community development. Its 2024 grants included organizations whose missions, as described by those organizations, include putting independent science into action (Union of Concerned Scientists), making real estate investments intended to reinforce community assets and create opportunity (Rebuild Metro), and providing K–8 scholarships to low-income Baltimore City families (Children’s Scholarship Fund Baltimore).
Other 2024 recipients described their work as connecting and informing Baltimore communities (Baltimore Public Media), developing community solar products for low- to moderate-income households (Climate Access Fund), mobilizing support for climate policies (Chesapeake Climate Action Network), educating Baltimore residents about cycling (Bikemore), and providing opportunities for Baltimore City youth (Bridges Baltimore).
Grantmaking
In 2024, the Trust reported 86 grants totaling $2,364,500. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $115,000, with a median of $20,000. Among the largest were $115,000 to the Center for Climate Change Communication for environment, $105,000 to the Union of Concerned Scientists for environment, $95,000 to Rebuild Metro for community development, and $77,500 to Healthcare for the Homeless for community development. Other notable grants included $75,000 to Children’s Scholarship Fund Baltimore and $70,000 to Baltimore Public Media.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists William C. Baker and James Martin Baker as trustees.
Clayton Baker Trust's 2024 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
James Martin Baker
Trustee
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
William C. Baker
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: John B. Powell Jr. (2020–2022) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Clayton Baker Trust
How much does Clayton Baker Trust give each year?
Clayton Baker Trust gave $2.4M across 86 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $1.8M across 72 grants.
What is Clayton Baker Trust's typical grant size?
Clayton Baker Trust's median grant in 2024 was $20,000, and its average grant was $27,494, across 86 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Clayton Baker Trust that year got $29K on average.
Where does Clayton Baker Trust give grants?
Clayton Baker Trust gives mostly in Maryland: 95% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Baltimore, MD (65 grants) and Annapolis, MD (3 grants).
Does Clayton Baker Trust give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 86 grants with a stated purpose on Clayton Baker Trust's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (23 grants), "Environment" (20 grants) and "Community Development" (19 grants).
Who are Clayton Baker Trust's largest grantees?
Clayton Baker Trust's largest 2024 grantees include Center for Climate Change Communication ($115,000), Union of Concerned Scientists ($105,000) and Rebuild Metro ($95,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 13% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Clayton Baker Trust?
Clayton Baker Trust reported $32.9M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.4M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.1M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Clayton Baker Trust fund?
The Trust’s stated purposes are education, environment, and community development. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Clayton Baker Trust?
The 2024 filing says the Trust does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Clayton Baker Trust's EIN?
Clayton Baker Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 52-6054237. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Clayton Baker Trust's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Clayton Baker Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/clayton-baker-trust-morg_a3586230459d40c48ee1b85d4d0dba29
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_526054237_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Clayton Baker Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/clayton-baker-trust-morg_a3586230459d40c48ee1b85d4d0dba29},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Clayton Baker Trust'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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