Covington Charitable TR
Covington Charitable TR is a private foundation based in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including land-conservation groups, wildlife organizations, and cultural institutions.
Covington Charitable TR at a glance
In short: Covington Charitable TR gave $61K across 29 grants in 2025 (avg $2K), top state Illinois. 44% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $61,350
- +3.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 29
- +16.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $2,116
- -10.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $1,036,264
- +9.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 44% first-time grantees (11 of 25, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Illinois (33% 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 Covington Charitable TR
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 126, Lake Bluff, IL 60044
Phone: (847) 735-8764
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Covington Charitable TR funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The Wilderness Society ($5K across 2 grants). Together the top 10 received $45K.
Grant Size Distribution
149 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 148 grants of 149 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest reported shares of grant dollars by recipient state were Illinois (33%), Washington, DC (31%), Michigan (12%), Virginia (11%), and Arizona (8%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 29 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Covington Charitable TR open to new grantees?
44%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 11 of 25 grantees (44%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $3K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $4K repeat.
- 32% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+18%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 120% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 $52K (2022) to $168K (2021). In 2025 it made 29 grants totaling $61K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest Open Lands Assc Lake Forest, IL | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Field Museum Chicago, IL | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Conservation Fund Arlington, VA | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Little Traverse Conservancy Harbor Springs, MI | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Land Trust Alliance Washington, DC | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Center for Biological Diversity Tuscon, AZ | General Donation | $5,000 |
| World Wildlife Federation Washington, DC | General Donation | $5,000 |
| Wilderness Society Washington, DC | General Donation | $3,000 |
| Brookfield Zoo Brrokfield, IL | General Donation | $2,500 |
| Les Cheneaux Community Fdn Cedarville, MI | General Donation | $2,500 |
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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 | $1,036,264 | $165,774 | $61,654 | $61,350 | 29 | $61,350 | $21,374 | $50,976 |
| 2024 | $948,542 | $44,540 | $65,406 | $59,250 | 25 | $65,079 | $16,786 | $46,712 |
| 2023 | $834,979 | $23,168 | $58,923 | $57,750 | 24 | $58,467 | $22,451 | $38,940 |
| 2022 | $813,988 | $31,724 | $53,669 | $51,800 | 33 | $51,800 | $31,724 | $40,798 |
| 2021 | $1,107,629 | $133,347 | $167,974 | $167,665 | 38 | $167,665 | $133,347 | $52,598 |
| 2020 | $1,033,184 | $21,128 | $92,081 | $91,340 | 40 | — | $21,128 | $47,995 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Covington Charitable TR reported a distributable amount of $51K 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
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations working in conservation and wildlife protection, as well as organizations such as the Field Museum and Brookfield Zoo.
The grantees describe their own work in varied terms: Little Traverse Conservancy says it protects northern Michigan land through nature preserves, working forest reserves, and conservation easements. The Center for Biological Diversity says it works to protect species and the lands, waters, and climate they need to survive. The African Wildlife Foundation describes its mission as helping wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern Africa. The Illinois Environmental Council says it works to limit pollution and protect Illinois’s natural heritage.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 29 grants totaling $61,350. Grants ranged from $100 to $5,000, with a median of $1,000. The largest listed grants included $5,000 each to Lake Forest Open Lands Association, the Field Museum, the Conservation Fund, Little Traverse Conservancy, the Land Trust Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the World Wildlife Federation. Other reported grants included $2,500 to the African Wildlife Foundation and $1,000 to American Rivers.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
George M. Covington was listed as the sole trustee on the 2025 filing.
Covington Charitable TR is led by George M Covington, Sole Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
George M Covington
Sole Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/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 Covington Charitable TR
How much does Covington Charitable TR give each year?
Covington Charitable TR gave $61K across 29 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $59K across 25 grants.
What is Covington Charitable TR's typical grant size?
Covington Charitable TR's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $2,116, across 29 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Covington Charitable TR that year got $2K on average.
Where does Covington Charitable TR give grants?
Covington Charitable TR's top state is Illinois, with 33% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were District of Columbia (31%) and Michigan (12%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (7 grants), Chicago, IL (7 grants), Arlington, VA (3 grants) and Lake Forest, IL (2 grants).
Does Covington Charitable TR give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Covington Charitable TR's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (29 of 29) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Covington Charitable TR's largest grantees?
Covington Charitable TR's largest 2025 grantees include The Wilderness Society ($5,000 across 2 grants), Lake Forest Open Lands Assc ($5,000) and Field Museum ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 24% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Covington Charitable TR?
Covington Charitable TR reported $1.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $61K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $51K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Covington Charitable TR fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations working in conservation and wildlife protection, as well as organizations such as the Field Museum and Brookfield Zoo. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Covington Charitable TR?
The foundation 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 Covington Charitable TR's EIN?
Covington Charitable TR's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-7181333. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Covington Charitable TR 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 September 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 May 17, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS April 26, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 18, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 3, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 30, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Covington Charitable TR funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/covington-charitable-tr-morg_cb67067b5e874dddbe2f311238b9ed3a
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_367181333_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Covington Charitable TR funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/covington-charitable-tr-morg_cb67067b5e874dddbe2f311238b9ed3a},
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 Covington Charitable TR'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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