Earthward Bound Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Cincinnati, OH EIN: 23-7429274
Arts and cultureReligionHuman services

Earthward Bound Foundation is a private foundation based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its 2025 grants supported organizations working in journalism, arts, education, civil rights and civil liberties, food relief, and theatrical support.

Earthward Bound Foundation at a glance

In short: Earthward Bound Foundation gave $221K across 71 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Ohio. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$221,350
+25.0% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
71
+16.4% vs 2024
Average grant
$3,118
+7.4% vs 2024
Median grant
$750
Total assets
$6,826,573
+16.9% vs 2024
Primary geography
Ohio (56% 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 Earthward Bound Foundation

How to Apply

The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Its filing says to submit a letter to Murray Sinclaire Jr requesting specific funds and describing their specific use. It lists no restrictions on awards.

Review Cycle
None listed.
Deadline
None listed.
Contact

Application contact: Murray Sinclaire Jr
Mailing address: 700 Walnut Street Suite 460, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 509-1650

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

Who Earthward Bound Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Cincinnati Public Radio: $55KCincinnati Public Radio$55KNational Public Radio: $50KNational Public Radio$50KCincinnati Art Museum: $18KCincinnati Art Museum$18KClifton Cultural Arts Center: $10KClifton Cultural Arts Center$10KStoryCorps: $10KStoryCorps$10KArt Academy Of Cincinnati: $8KArt Academy Of Cincinnati$8KContemporary Arts Center: $8KContemporary Arts Center$8KAl Otro Lado: $5KAl Otro Lado$5KWorld Central Kitchen: $5KWorld Central Kitchen$5KCincinnati Playhouse In The Park: $4KCincinnati Playhouse In ThePark$4K

The largest 2025 recipient was Cincinnati Public Radio ($55K). Together the top 10 received $172K.

Grant Size Distribution

312 grants across all recorded years

309<$50K3$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 309 grants of 312 (99%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Ohio (56%), the District of Columbia (26%), California (11%), New York (6%), and Colorado (1%).

Grant Distribution by State

16states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 71 itemized grants.

Cities

CIncinnatiSan DiegoWashingtonLa JollaNew YorkBrooklynMancosSan FranciscoAmericusBerkeleySpring ValleyWashington DCBozemanClarksvilleCovingtonLeadvilleMilfordBostonChicagoOakland

How Earthward Bound Foundation gives

  • 76% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 120% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 87% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (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$300K10 grants2019 19 grants2020 68 grants2021 63 grants2022 49 grants2023 61 grants2024 71 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $83K (2020) to $221K (2025). In 2025 it made 71 grants totaling $221K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Cincinnati Public Radio Cincinnati, OHJournalism$55,000
National Public Radio Washington, DCJournalism$50,000
Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati, OHArts$17,500
Clifton Cultural Arts Center Cincinnati, OHArts$10,000
StoryCorps Brooklyn, NYEducation$10,000
Art Academy Of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OHArts$8,000
Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati, OHArts$7,500
Al Otro Lado Maywood, CACivil Rights and Civil Liberties$5,000
World Central Kitchen Washington, DCFood Bank$5,000
Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park Cincinnati, OHTheatrical Support$3,500
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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$6,826,573$1,025,253$341,848$221,35071$255,100$944,453$292,360
2024$5,837,759$515,943$287,245$177,06661$210,691$439,389$266,468
2023$4,567,043$13,454$271,366$148,00049$187,250—$230,188
2022$4,456,528$532,770$232,011$100,62063$143,620$450,423$248,783
2021$6,851,300$390,795$301,413$190,20568—$313,927$299,540
2020$5,006,105$167,138$128,287$83,40019—$135,501$190,204
2019$3,604,448$-33,261$170,587$125,00010—$6,467$164,574

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Earthward Bound Foundation reported a distributable amount of $292K 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 foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for journalism, arts, education, civil rights and civil liberties, food relief, and theatrical support.

Among its grantees, Cincinnati Public Radio describes its mission as providing independent journalism, music, and culture to inform and engage its community. Clifton Cultural Arts Center says it works to strengthen the link between participation in cultural arts and healthy children, adults, and communities. StoryCorps says it preserves and shares people’s stories to build connections and promote a more compassionate and just world.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 71 grants totaling $221,350. Grants ranged from $100 to $55,000, with a median of $750. Its largest awards were $55,000 to Cincinnati Public Radio for journalism and $50,000 to National Public Radio for journalism. Other notable awards included $17,500 to Cincinnati Art Museum for arts, $10,000 each to Clifton Cultural Arts Center for arts and StoryCorps for education, and $8,000 to Art Academy of Cincinnati for arts.

The foundation made 61 grants totaling $177,066 in 2024 and 49 grants totaling $148,000 in 2023.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Murray Sinclaire Jr as president, J Robin Sinclaire as treasurer, Cristina A Sinclaire as secretary, and Leila R Sinclaire and Elizabeth B Sinclaire as trustees.

Earthward Bound Foundation is led by Murray Sinclaire Jr., President on every filing since 2019; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Murray Sinclaire Jr.

    President

    On filings since 2019

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Elizabeth B Sinclaire

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Leila R Sinclaire

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cristina A Sinclaire

    Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • J Robin Sinclaire

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2019

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

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 Earthward Bound Foundation

How much does Earthward Bound Foundation give each year?

Earthward Bound Foundation gave $221K across 71 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $177K across 61 grants.

What is Earthward Bound Foundation's typical grant size?

Earthward Bound Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $750, and its average grant was $3,118, across 71 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Earthward Bound Foundation give grants?

Earthward Bound Foundation gives mostly in Ohio: 56% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were District of Columbia (26%) and California (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Cincinnati, OH (39 grants), San Diego, CA (6 grants), Washington, DC (4 grants) and La Jolla, CA (3 grants).

Does Earthward Bound Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 71 grants with a stated purpose on Earthward Bound Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (9 grants), "Arts" (8 grants) and "Journalism" (5 grants).

Who are Earthward Bound Foundation's largest grantees?

Earthward Bound Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Cincinnati Public Radio ($55,000), National Public Radio ($50,000) and Cincinnati Art Museum ($17,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 55% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Earthward Bound Foundation?

Earthward Bound Foundation reported $6.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $255K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $292K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.

What does Earthward Bound Foundation fund?

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. Its 2025 grants included support for journalism, arts, education, civil rights and civil liberties, food relief, and theatrical support. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Earthward Bound Foundation?

The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Earthward Bound Foundation's EIN?

Earthward Bound Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 23-7429274. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

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

Data update history

(8)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 4, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 25, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 8, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 9, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 12, 2024)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 20, 2025)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 20, 2026)
  8. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Earthward Bound Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/earthward-bound-foundation-morg_387f45415bf841c99b5d639ce4fb78de

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_237429274_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Earthward Bound Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/earthward-bound-foundation-morg_387f45415bf841c99b5d639ce4fb78de},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Earthward Bound 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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