Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Bethesda, Maryland. Established in 2006, it makes grants to organizations that promote environmental health and justice, environmental stewardship, and sustainable use of resources.
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc gave $5.4M across 57 grants in 2025 (avg $95K), top state New York. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $5,423,200
- +19.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 57
- +5600.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $95,144
- -97.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $63,918,731
- +11.7% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- New York (17% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. It also says it is unable to accept unsolicited proposals or renewal requests, including from organizations it has funded in past years.
- Contact
Mailing address: 4701 Sangamore Road, Bethesda, MD 20816
Phone: (301) 229-3008
Website: https://www.cornelldouglas.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Doctors Without Borders ($500K). Together the top 10 received $3.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
62 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 22 grants of 62 (35%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars by recipient state were New York and the District of Columbia, at 17% each, followed by Wyoming at 14%, Arizona at 12%, and California at 10%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 57 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc gives
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+9%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 108% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $4.2M (2020) to $5.4M (2025). In 2025 it made 57 grants totaling $5.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Doctors Without Borders New York, NY | General Support | $500,000 |
| World Central Kitchen Washington, DC | General Support | $500,000 |
| Comm FD of Jackson Hole Jackson, WY | General Support | $450,000 |
| Earth Justice San Francisco, CA | General Support | $400,000 |
| So Environmental Law Ctr Charlottesville, VA | General Support | $250,000 |
| NY Botanical Garden Bronx, NY | General Support | $200,000 |
| Sky Truth Shepherdstown, WV | General Support | $200,000 |
| Center Biological Diversity Tucson, AZ | General Support | $200,000 |
| Grand Canyon Trust Flagstaff, AZ | General Support | $175,000 |
| Greater Yellowstone Coalition Bozeman, MT | General Support | $150,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $63,918,731 | $12,633,237 | $5,801,668 | $5,423,200 | 57 | $5,790,821 | $1,547,735 | $5,359,381 |
| 2024 | $57,236,416 | $9,638,763 | $4,863,121 | $4,525,000 | 1 | $4,855,889 | $1,542,571 | $5,173,055 |
| 2023 | $52,438,329 | $3,456,835 | $5,185,044 | $4,862,000 | 1 | $5,178,957 | $1,459,545 | $4,337,925 |
| 2022 | $54,478,882 | $1,830,357 | $5,292,533 | $4,989,000 | 1 | $5,286,927 | $1,294,506 | $4,375,452 |
| 2021 | $57,870,904 | $7,716,389 | $4,940,165 | $4,622,860 | 2 | $4,933,266 | $1,227,538 | $4,980,128 |
| 2020 | $55,215,014 | $2,602,199 | $4,535,115 | $4,202,700 | 1 | — | $1,274,375 | $3,866,937 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $5.4M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s stated mission is to support organizations advocating for environmental health and justice, encouraging stewardship of the environment, and furthering respect for sustainability of resources. Its website identifies land conservation, environmental health and justice, watershed protection, and sustainability of resources as areas of focus.
Its 2025 grantees illustrate the range of supported work. For example, World Central Kitchen describes its work as providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. Ceres describes itself as working to accelerate a cleaner, more just, and resilient world, including through work on climate change, water, and biodiversity. Greater Yellowstone Coalition says it works to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 57 grants totaling $5,423,200. Grants ranged from $1,200 to $500,000, with a median of $50,000. The largest awards included $500,000 each to Doctors Without Borders and World Central Kitchen, $450,000 to the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, and $400,000 to Earth Justice. Other notable grants included $250,000 to the Southern Environmental Law Center; $200,000 each to the New York Botanical Garden, SkyTruth, and the Center for Biological Diversity; and $175,000 to the Grand Canyon Trust. The listed 2025 grants were for general support.
The foundation reported one grant totaling $4,525,000 in filing year 2024 and one totaling $4,862,000 in filing year 2023.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ann Cornell as president and director, Holly Cornell Lowen as secretary and director, and Alex Cornell as treasurer. The foundation’s website also identifies Cynthia Duffy as executive director.
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc is led by Ann Cornell, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Ann Cornell
President & Director
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Holly Cornell Lowen
Secretary & Director
On filings since 2020
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Alex Cornell
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
4 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 Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc
How much does Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc give each year?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc gave $5.4M across 57 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $4.5M across 1 grant.
What is Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $95,144, across 57 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc give grants?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's top state is New York, with 17% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were District of Columbia (17%) and Wyoming (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (11 grants), New York, NY (5 grants), Bethesda, MD (5 grants) and Jackson, WY (3 grants).
Does Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (57 of 57) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Doctors Without Borders ($500,000), World Central Kitchen ($500,000) and Comm FD of Jackson Hole ($450,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 27% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc reported $63.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $5.8M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $5.4M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc fund?
The foundation’s stated mission is to support organizations advocating for environmental health and justice, encouraging stewardship of the environment, and furthering respect for sustainability of resources. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's EIN?
Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 65-1287707. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 12, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 11, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 10, 2026)
Live grants for the work Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/cornell-douglas-foundation-inc-morg_c22368dabb3c417da9060508e9a3e0b5
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_651287707_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/cornell-douglas-foundation-inc-morg_c22368dabb3c417da9060508e9a3e0b5},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-14. 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 Cornell Douglas Foundation Inc'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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