Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation
The Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Buffalo, New York. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations working in areas that include education, services for people with disabilities, community support, youth development, and wildlife and habitat conservation.
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation gave $298K across 24 grants in 2025 (avg $12K), top state Massachusetts. 46% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $298,279
- -0.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 24
- -17.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $12,428
- +20.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $4,473,735
- +0.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 46% first-time grantees (11 of 24, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (27% 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 Edwin M Johnston Jr 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: 40 Fountain Plaza Suite 1300, Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: (716) 216-2863
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Nichols School ($37K). Together the top 10 received $210K.
Grant Size Distribution
129 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 127 grants of 129 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars went to organizations in Massachusetts (27%) and New York (26%), followed by South Carolina (10%), Texas (10%), and Virginia (10%). The reported grants also included recipients in other states.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 24 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation open to new grantees?
46%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 11 of 24 grantees (46%) were first-time recipients. With only 24 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $12K; repeat grants $13K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 46% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−5%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 90% 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 (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 $241K (2020) to $313K (2022). In 2025 it made 24 grants totaling $298K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Nichols School Buffalo, NY | Capital Campaign | $37,000 |
| Partnership with Native Americans Addison, TX | Charitable | $30,000 |
| Rainforest Trust Warrenton, VA | To Save Endangered Wildlife and Protects | $30,000 |
| Road to Responsibility Inc Marshfield, MA | Services for Individuals with Disabilities | $23,000 |
| The Park School Snyder, NY | Education | $19,779 |
| Bluffton Self Help Inc Bluffton, SC | Charitable | $15,000 |
| The Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism Inc Newton, MA | Charitable | $15,000 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton Bluffton, SC | To enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens | $15,000 |
| The Salvation Army West Nyack, NY | To preach the gospel of jesus christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination | $15,000 |
| Ducks Unlimited Inc Memphis, TN | Charitable | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation?
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 | $4,473,735 | $401,077 | $385,707 | $298,279 | 24 | $313,815 | $329,185 | $347,180 |
| 2024 | $4,458,365 | $720,924 | $377,161 | $298,881 | 29 | $309,902 | $653,665 | $321,423 |
| 2023 | $4,114,602 | $357,084 | $314,106 | $255,499 | 21 | $258,624 | $300,102 | $272,948 |
| 2022 | $4,071,624 | $106,563 | $382,994 | $312,999 | 29 | $315,874 | $51,570 | $256,741 |
| 2021 | $4,348,055 | $713,749 | $322,899 | $248,649 | 26 | $251,337 | $642,262 | $316,294 |
| 2020 | $3,957,205 | $473,685 | $298,828 | $241,000 | 21 | — | $422,661 | $250,960 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $347K 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 statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Rainforest Trust describes its mission as saving endangered wildlife and protecting the planet by creating rainforest reserves; Road to Responsibility says it supports citizens with disabilities to take productive places in their communities; and Partnership With Native Americans describes work addressing needs including nutrition, health, education, and emergency services. Other supported organizations include schools, community-service groups, arts organizations, and habitat-conservation organizations.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 24 grants totaling $298,279. Awards ranged from $2,500 to $37,000, with a median grant of $10,000. Among the largest were $37,000 to Nichols School for a capital campaign; $30,000 each to Partnership With Native Americans and Rainforest Trust; $23,000 to Road to Responsibility Inc for services for individuals with disabilities; and $19,779 to The Park School for education.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Edwin M Johnston III, Jennifer Johnston, and Sarah F Johnston as trustees.
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; 1 of 3 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Edwin M. Johnston III
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
$64K (2021) → $70K (2025)
Jennifer Johnston
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah F. Johnston
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Edwin M. Johnston Jr. (2020–2021) — Trustee · Filing note: Deceased
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $70K, to Edwin M Johnston III (Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation
How much does Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation give each year?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation gave $298K across 24 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $299K across 29 grants.
What is Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $12,428, across 24 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation that year got $12K on average.
Where does Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation give grants?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's top state is Massachusetts, with 27% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (26%) and South Carolina (10%). The most frequent recipient cities were Boston, MA (3 grants), Buffalo, NY (2 grants) and Bluffton, SC (2 grants).
Does Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 24 grants with a stated purpose on Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (6 grants).
Who are Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Nichols School ($37,000), Partnership with Native Americans ($30,000) and Rainforest Trust ($30,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 33% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation reported $4.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $314K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $347K (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 Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Edwin M Johnston Jr 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 Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's EIN?
Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 16-1578180. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Edwin M Johnston Jr 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
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 10, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 9, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 12, 2026)
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/edwin-m-johnston-jr-family-foundation-morg_2324d9fd2c6b458db3d3b964d4e5eea3
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_161578180_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Edwin M Johnston Jr Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/edwin-m-johnston-jr-family-foundation-morg_2324d9fd2c6b458db3d3b964d4e5eea3},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. 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 Edwin M Johnston Jr 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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