Crain Family Foundation
Crain Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Detroit, Michigan. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations in Michigan, Tennessee, and Connecticut, including educational, community, and social-service organizations.
Crain Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Crain Family Foundation gave $80K across 11 grants in 2025 (avg $7K), top state Michigan. 55% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $80,000
- +14.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 11
- +22.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $7,273
- -6.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,634,842
- +8.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 55% first-time grantees (6 of 11, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (38% 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 Crain Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2913
Phone: (313) 446-6000
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Crain Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Greenwich Country Day School ($24K). Together the top 10 received $80K.
Grant Size Distribution
51 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 51 grants of 51 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing shows grant dollars going to recipients in Michigan (38%), Tennessee (32%), and Connecticut (30%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 11 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Crain Family Foundation open to new grantees?
55%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 6 of 11 grantees (55%) were first-time recipients. With only 11 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 9 points. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $11K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 36% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+1%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 106% 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 $66K (2020) to $80K (2025). In 2025 it made 11 grants totaling $80K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Greenwich Country Day School Greenwich, CT | Unrestricted | $24,000 |
| University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI | Unrestricted | $20,000 |
| The Goldfinch Foundation Nashville, TN | Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Basblue Detroit, MI | Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Care House of Oakland County Pontiac, MI | Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Saddle up Franklin, TN | Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Friends of Franklin Parks Franklin, TN | Unrestricted | $4,500 |
| The Ensworth Fund Nashville, TN | Unrestricted | $2,500 |
| The Next Door Recovery Nashville, TN | Unrestricted | $2,000 |
| Nashville Public Library Foundation Nashville, TN | Unrestricted | $1,500 |
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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 | $1,634,842 | $109,409 | $85,476 | $80,000 | 11 | $80,000 | $103,933 | $75,276 |
| 2024 | $1,503,953 | $50,073 | $77,463 | $70,000 | 9 | $70,000 | $42,590 | $73,112 |
| 2023 | $1,423,505 | $65,115 | $71,951 | $66,000 | 9 | $66,600 | $58,939 | $66,873 |
| 2022 | $1,301,728 | $57,342 | $96,167 | $79,500 | 13 | $80,400 | $40,375 | $69,714 |
| 2021 | $1,673,925 | $137,695 | $81,427 | $66,550 | 9 | $67,375 | $122,543 | $80,009 |
| 2020 | $1,568,162 | $67,723 | $78,959 | $65,500 | 9 | — | $53,794 | $68,783 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Crain Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $75K 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 include support for a school, a university, community organizations, a disability-serving program, parks, a recovery organization, and a public library foundation. For example, Greenwich Country Day School says its mission is to help children develop their abilities and character, while BASBLUE says it creates pathways for women and nonbinary individuals through community, programs, and education. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated priorities of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 11 grants totaling $80,000. Grants ranged from $500 to $24,000, with a median of $5,000. The largest grants were $24,000 to Greenwich Country Day School, $20,000 to the University of Michigan, and $10,000 to The Goldfinch Foundation. Other listed grants included $5,000 each to BASBLUE, Care House of Oakland County, and Saddle Up, and $4,500 to Friends of Franklin Parks. The filing lists the grant purposes as unrestricted, except that Goodwill’s purpose is recorded as “UNERSTRICTED.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Alexandra Crain Armstrong as president, Christopher T Crain as secretary, Keith E Crain Jr as treasurer, and Keith E Crain as assistant secretary.
Crain Family Foundation is led by Alexandra Crain Armstrong, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Alexandra Crain Armstrong
President
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Christopher T. Crain
Secretary
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Keith E. Crain
Assistant Secretary
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Keith E. Crain Jr.
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
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 Crain Family Foundation
How much does Crain Family Foundation give each year?
Crain Family Foundation gave $80K across 11 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $70K across 9 grants.
What is Crain Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Crain Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,273, across 11 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Crain Family Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does Crain Family Foundation give grants?
Crain Family Foundation's top state is Michigan, with 38% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Tennessee (33%) and Connecticut (30%). The most frequent recipient cities were Nashville, TN (5 grants) and Franklin, TN (2 grants).
Does Crain Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 91% of Crain Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 11) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Crain Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Crain Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Greenwich Country Day School ($24,000), University of Michigan ($20,000) and The Goldfinch Foundation ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 68% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Crain Family Foundation?
Crain Family Foundation reported $1.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $80K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $75K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Crain Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for a school, a university, community organizations, a disability-serving program, parks, a recovery organization, and a public library foundation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Crain Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it 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 Crain Family Foundation's EIN?
Crain Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 38-3618818. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Crain Family Foundation 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 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 12, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 8, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 28, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 18, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Crain Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/crain-family-foundation-morg_aa634d02bb2f44fea85371246e671bf9
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_383618818_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Crain Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/crain-family-foundation-morg_aa634d02bb2f44fea85371246e671bf9},
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 Crain Family Foundation'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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