Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association logo

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association

Private foundation · Grantmaker Littleton, CO EIN: 84-0406813 Website
Economically disadvantaged peopleLow-income peopleEducationHigher education

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association is a private foundation based in Littleton, Colorado. Its 2024 filing reports grants for scholarships, vocational education, and benevolence, with all reported grant dollars going to Colorado recipients.

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association at a glance

In short: Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association gave $227K across 39 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Colorado. 28% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$227,401
-27.4% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
39
-20.4% vs 2024
Average grant
$5,831
-8.7% vs 2024
Median grant
$1,500
Total assets
$11,930,681
+6.5% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
28% first-time grantees (11 of 39, 2025)
Primary geography
Colorado (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated November 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The association says it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Its scholarship information describes eligibility and selection criteria but provides no application instructions here. Scholarship selection is based primarily on leadership, maturity, need, and scholastic ability, without reference to race, creed, color, sex, or Masonic relationship.

Contact

Mailing address: PO Box 632029, Littleton, CO 80163-2029
Website: https://www.cmbfa.org

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Colorado School of Mines: $29KColorado School of Mines$29KColorado State University: $29KColorado State University$29KUniversity of Colorado Denver: $29KUniversity of Colorado Denver$29KUniversity of Colorado Colo Springs: $22KUniversity of Colorado ColoSprings$22KColorado Mesa University: $18KColorado Mesa University$18KUniversity of Northern Colorado: $15KUniversity of NorthernColorado$15KUniversity of Colorado Boulder: $11KUniversity of Colorado Boulder$11KAdams State College: $8KAdams State College$8KPueblo Community College: $7KPueblo Community College$7KColorado College: $7KColorado College$7K

The largest 2025 recipient was Colorado School of Mines ($29K). Together the top 10 received $173K.

Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($7,250), which are not listed by name.

Grant Size Distribution

214 grants across all recorded years

213<$50K1$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 213 grants of 214 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All reported 2024 grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado. The scholarship and vocational programs described are for students attending Colorado institutions or schools.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 39 itemized grants.

Cities

DenverColorado SpringsPuebloGrand JunctionGreeleyGoldenSterlingAlamosaBoulderDurangoFort CollinsGunnisonSalidaLake CityRangelyHotchkissLimonAuroraCanon CityCentral City

Is Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association open to new grantees?

28%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 11 of 39 grantees (28%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $1K; repeat grants $8K. How we count

Medians: $500 first-time, $4K repeat.

  • 54% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−13%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out well above its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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

$0$100K$200K$300K$400K78 grants2019 35 grants2020 41 grants2021 39 grants2022 46 grants2023 49 grants2024 39 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $227K (2025) to $313K (2024). In 2025 it made 39 grants totaling $227K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Colorado School of Mines Golden, COScholarship$29,250
Colorado State University Fort Collins, COScholarship$28,750
University of Colorado Denver Denver, COScholarship$28,750
University of Colorado Colo Springs Colorado Springs, COScholarship$21,500
Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, COScholarship$18,250
University of Northern Colorado Greeley, COScholarship$14,500
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, COScholarship$10,750
Adams State College Alamosa, COScholarship$7,500
1 individual scholarship Recipients not named —$7,250
Pueblo Community College Pueblo, COScholarship$7,200
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$11,930,681$91,758$344,062$227,40139$765,372$508,281$36,465
2024$11,200,230$144,381$368,689$313,10449$9,418,336$469,010$48,367
2023$9,534,285$89,863$401,929$280,60846$9,228,457$264,671$42,241
2022$9,440,850$83,269$368,732$260,26539$1,190,018$111,090$46,730
2021$11,197,061$604,612$397,391$235,20741—$683,000$40,698
2020$9,372,688$556,518$387,546$257,96135—$524,018$36,578
2019$9,160,033$363,342$488,436$277,82178—$429,723$45,854

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association reported a distributable amount of $36K 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

The available information describes the association’s funding through its awards rather than stating a broader organizational mission. Its 2024 grants included scholarships and vocational education awards, as well as grants identified as benevolence.

The grantees’ own descriptions illustrate the kinds of organizations supported. CSU STRATA says it aids Colorado State University System institutions in their research and educational efforts. Colorado Mesa University says its foundation administers property and makes expenditures for the university’s benefit. Western Colorado University’s foundation says it aids the university in fulfilling its educational purposes.

Grantmaking

In 2024, the association reported 49 grants totaling $313,104. Awards ranged from $250 to $55,250, with a median grant of $1,500. The largest awards included $55,250 to Colorado State University for scholarships, $34,630 to Pueblo Community College for education, $32,500 to Colorado School of Mines for scholarships, and $24,000 to Century 190 for benevolence. Other notable awards included $22,000 to the University of Northern Colorado for scholarships and $21,250 to Colorado Mesa University for scholarships and vocational technology. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 39 grants totaling $227,401.

The association’s scholarship program is for graduating seniors from Colorado public high schools pursuing higher education at Colorado institutions. Scholarships have recently been described as $7,000 per year, renewable for up to four years, for a total of up to $28,000. The program also offers one-time vocational grants, usually around $1,000, for education at Colorado schools. Its matching grant program matches up to $500 of grant money presented by local lodges to graduating public high school seniors attending Colorado institutions. These are awards to individual students, not organizational grant opportunities.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2024 filing lists Ralph E Hardy as president, Ronald Birely as vice president, Marvin Feldman as secretary, Wayne Arner as treasurer, and John J Harrington as assistant secretary-treasurer.

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association is led by Ralph E. Hardy, President since 2023 (on filings since 2019); none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Ralph E. Hardy

    President

    President → Presdent, 2022

    Presdent → President, 2023

    On filings since 2019

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Marvin Feldman

    Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ronald Birely

    Vice President

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Wayne Arner

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Dave Reynolds

    Assistant Secretaryttreasurer

    New on the 2025 filing

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: John J. Harrington (2019–2024) — Assistant Secretaryttreasurer

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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 Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association

How much does Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association give each year?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association gave $227K across 39 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $313K across 49 grants.

What is Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's typical grant size?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's median grant in 2025 was $1,500, and its average grant was $5,831, across 39 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association that year got $1K on average.

Where does Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association give grants?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association gives mostly in Colorado: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (7 grants), Grand Junction, CO (3 grants), Pueblo, CO (3 grants) and Colorado Springs, CO (2 grants).

Does Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 39 grants with a stated purpose on Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship" (17 grants), "Education Grant" (10 grants) and "Educational Grant" (8 grants).

Who are Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's largest grantees?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's largest 2025 grantees include Colorado School of Mines ($29,250), Colorado State University ($28,750) and University of Colorado Denver ($28,750), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($7,250), which are not listed by name. Together they received 38% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association reported $11.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $765K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $36K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association fund?

The available information describes the association’s funding through its awards rather than stating a broader organizational mission. Its 2024 grants included scholarships and vocational education awards, as well as grants identified as benevolence. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association?

The association says 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 Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's EIN?

Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-0406813. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated November 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.

Data update history

(3)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 21, 2021)
  2. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 17, 2026)
  3. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/colorado-masons-benevolent-fund-association-morg_10793cff725346fea509b2a427597c70

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_840406813_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/colorado-masons-benevolent-fund-association-morg_10793cff725346fea509b2a427597c70},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-11-13. 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 Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund Association'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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