Dea Family Foundation
Dea Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilmington, Delaware. In filing year 2025, it reported 29 grants totaling $606,500, with nearly all grant dollars going to organizations in Colorado.
Dea Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Dea Family Foundation gave $607K across 29 grants in 2025 (avg $21K), mostly in Colorado. 7% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $606,500
- +112.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 29
- -9.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $20,914
- +133.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,500
- Total assets
- $3,832,809
- -4.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 7% first-time grantees (2 of 29, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Colorado (98% 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 Dea Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE 19809-1377
Phone: (800) 839-1754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Dea Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Denver Museum of Nature and Science ($500K). Together the top 10 received $582K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($2,500), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
135 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 127 grants of 135 (94%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 98% of grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado, 2% to recipients in Texas, and less than 1% to recipients in Montana.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 29 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Dea Family Foundation open to new grantees?
7%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 29 grantees (7%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $22K. How we count
Medians: $3K first-time, $2K repeat.
- 86% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 101% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 250% 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 $221K (2020) to $607K (2025). In 2025 it made 29 grants totaling $607K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Museum of Nature and Science Denver, CO | General & Unrestricted | $500,000 |
| Crested Butte Land Trust Crested Butte, CO | General & Unrestricted | $25,000 |
| Alliance for Choice in Education Greenwood Village, CO | Silver Sponsor Fund | $10,000 |
| Colorado State University Foundation Fort Collins, CO | Equine Spine Institute | $10,000 |
| Switch Energy Alliance Austin, TX | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Western Stock Show Association Denver, CO | Bronze Patron and Young Guns fund | $7,000 |
| Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte Inc Crested Butte, CO | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Bettering Human Lives Foundation Denver, CO | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Gunnison Valley Health Foundation Gunnison, CO | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Western Colorado University Foundation Gunnison, CO | Gunnison Valley Promise Endowment fund | $5,000 |
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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 | $3,832,809 | $495,305 | $680,303 | $606,500 | 29 | $617,041 | $437,443 | $246,749 |
| 2024 | $4,017,807 | $295,562 | $367,348 | $286,100 | 32 | $306,350 | $235,664 | $240,083 |
| 2023 | $4,089,593 | $189,001 | $414,979 | $344,300 | 30 | $358,923 | $78,745 | $222,582 |
| 2022 | $4,316,017 | $149,413 | $387,466 | $301,500 | 23 | $322,061 | $89,832 | $245,141 |
| 2021 | $4,549,862 | $561,872 | $369,971 | $276,583 | 21 | — | $492,036 | $271,879 |
| 2020 | $4,357,223 | $305,294 | $298,861 | $220,916 | 20 | — | $247,657 | $241,963 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Dea Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $247K 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 included support for organizations working in areas such as land conservation, education, energy, healthcare, and adaptive outdoor recreation. For example, Crested Butte Land Trust describes its mission as protecting and stewarding open lands for vistas, recreation, wildlife, and ranching. Alliance for Choice in Education says it works to advance K–12 educational freedom, while Switch Energy Alliance describes its work as addressing energy access while minimizing environmental impact.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 29 grants totaling $606,500. Grants ranged from $500 to $500,000, with a median grant of $1,500. The largest grant was $500,000 to Denver Museum of Nature and Science for general and unrestricted purposes. Other notable grants included $25,000 to Crested Butte Land Trust for general and unrestricted purposes; $10,000 each to Alliance for Choice in Education, Colorado State University Foundation, and Switch Energy Alliance; and $7,000 to Western Stock Show Association.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Cathy L Carpenter Dea as director, secretary, treasurer, and co-president, and Peter A Dea as director and co-president.
Dea Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Cathy L Carpenter Dea
Director, Secretary, Treasurer & Co-Pres
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Peter A Dea
Director & Co-Pres
On filings since 2020
5 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 Dea Family Foundation
How much does Dea Family Foundation give each year?
Dea Family Foundation gave $607K across 29 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $286K across 32 grants.
What is Dea Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Dea Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,500, and its average grant was $20,914, across 29 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Dea Family Foundation that year got $3K on average.
Where does Dea Family Foundation give grants?
Dea Family Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Crested Butte, CO (12 grants), Denver, CO (5 grants) and Gunnison, CO (4 grants).
Does Dea Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 59% of Dea Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (17 of 29) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Dea Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Dea Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Denver Museum of Nature and Science ($500,000), Crested Butte Land Trust ($25,000) and Alliance for Choice in Education ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($2,500), which are not listed by name. Together they received 88% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Dea Family Foundation?
Dea Family Foundation reported $3.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $617K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $247K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Dea Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations working in areas such as land conservation, education, energy, healthcare, and adaptive outdoor recreation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Dea Family Foundation?
The foundation states that 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 Dea Family Foundation's EIN?
Dea Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-8005948. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Dea 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 18, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Dea Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Dea Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/dea-family-foundation-morg_d72b19df42b24d7b8ce1ddd768e748a8
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_208005948_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Dea Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/dea-family-foundation-morg_d72b19df42b24d7b8ce1ddd768e748a8},
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 Dea 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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