ESL Charitable Foundation
ESL Charitable Foundation is a private foundation based in Rochester, New York. Its 2025 filing reports 173 grants totaling $22,465,516, all to recipients in New York. The filing says awards are restricted to 501(c)(3) organizations serving geographical areas of ESL Federal Credit Union members.
ESL Charitable Foundation at a glance
In short: ESL Charitable Foundation gave $22.5M across 173 grants in 2025 (avg $130K), mostly in New York. 12% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $22,465,516
- +3.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 173
- -12.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $129,858
- +18.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $122,073,550
- +14.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 12% first-time grantees (17 of 140, 2025)
- Primary geography
- New York (100% 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 ESL Charitable Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The filing says applications should be submitted in writing and include the requested amount, date, and reason for the request. Applicants must provide an IRS letter confirming 501(c)(3) status, deductibility status, a W-9 form with TIN/EIN, and a list of the organization’s board of directors, CEO, and president. The filing names Ajamu Kitwana as the application contact. Awards are restricted to 501(c)(3) organizations serving geographical areas of ESL Federal Credit Union members.
- Contact
Application contact: Ajamu Kitwana
Mailing address: 225 Chestnut Street, Rochester, NY 14604
Phone: (585) 336-1000
Email: akitwana@esl.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who ESL Charitable Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Wealthforward Roc ($2.8M). Together the top 10 received $10.6M.
Grant Size Distribution
1,065 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 622 grants of 1,065 (58%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in New York. The filing states that eligible organizations must serve geographical areas of ESL Federal Credit Union members.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 173 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is ESL Charitable Foundation open to new grantees?
12%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 17 of 140 grantees (12%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $200K; repeat grants $155K. How we count
Medians: $15K first-time, $50K repeat.
- 64% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 30% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 396% 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 $14.1M (2020) to $26.3M (2023). In 2025 it made 173 grants totaling $22.5M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wealthforward Roc Rochester, NY | To Support Housing | $2,815,662 |
| Rochesterworks Inc Rochester, NY | To Support Employment | $886,300 |
| Monroe Community College Foundation Rochester, NY | To Support Education | $849,868 |
| Wayne County Action Program Inc Lyons, NY | To Support Employment | $675,000 |
| Center for Employment Opportunities Inc Rochester, NY | To Support Employment | $672,000 |
| University of Rochester Rochester, NY | To Support Education | $615,000 |
| Finger Lakes Performing Provider System Inc Rochester, NY | To Support Employment | $526,000 |
| The Center for Youth Services Rochester, NY | To Support Employment | $511,888 |
| Rochester Regional Health Foundation Rochester, NY | To Support Employment | $500,000 |
| Flower City Habitat for Humanity Rochester, NY | To Support Housing | $478,151 |
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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 | $122,073,550 | $33,448,710 | $24,377,364 | $22,465,516 | 173 | $22,516,654 | $13,116,683 | $5,693,201 |
| 2024 | $106,768,666 | $45,087,385 | $22,486,192 | $21,653,512 | 197 | $21,696,553 | $2,859,838 | $4,855,428 |
| 2023 | $76,265,678 | $28,600,563 | $21,164,345 | $26,285,750 | 262 | $26,333,594 | $1,455,219 | $3,280,946 |
| 2022 | $67,656,615 | $26,562,687 | $25,396,544 | $17,266,143 | 281 | $17,314,003 | $1,448,190 | $3,152,940 |
| 2021 | $70,448,779 | $19,586,006 | $22,552,489 | $14,970,284 | 152 | $15,012,610 | $5,766,030 | $3,337,658 |
| 2020 | $61,788,187 | $20,157,692 | $15,719,565 | $14,130,801 | 91 | — | $989,174 | $2,799,045 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, ESL Charitable Foundation reported a distributable amount of $5.7M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The provided information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grant purposes and grantees show support for housing, employment, and education, among other work.
Grantees describe their own work in a range of ways. WealthForward ROC says it works to expand inclusive wealth-building through homeownership. RochesterWorks says it provides employment education, support, and training. Monroe Community College Foundation says it seeks philanthropic investment to advance academic achievement, innovation, and the college’s mission. The University of Rochester describes its work as including higher education, research, and charitable patient care. The Center for Youth Services says it partners with youth to realize their potential, remove barriers, and promote racial justice.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 173 grants totaling $22,465,516. Grants ranged from $500 to $2,815,662, with a median of $50,000.
Among the largest grants were $2,815,662 to WealthForward ROC for housing, $886,300 to RochesterWorks for employment, $849,868 to Monroe Community College Foundation for education, and $675,000 to Wayne County Action Program for employment. Other large awards included $672,000 to Center for Employment Opportunities for employment, $615,000 to the University of Rochester for education, and $526,000 to an individual recipient Performing Provider System for employment.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Maureen Wolfe as chair; Faheem Masood as first vice chair; Tom Rogers as vice chair and treasurer; and Arline Santiago as vice chair and secretary. Directors listed are Ajamu Kitwana, Tina Knapp, Jennifer Shoemaker, Catherine Bowser, and Edward French.
ESL Charitable Foundation is led by Maureen Wolfe, Chair on every filing since 2020; none of the 9 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Maureen Wolfe
Chair
On filings since 2020
8 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ajamu Kitwana
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Catherine Bowser
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Edward French
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Shoemaker
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tina Knapp
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Arline Santiago
Vice Chair & Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Faheem Masood
First Vice Chair
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tom Rogers
Vice Chair & Treasurer
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (5)
- Former: Celeste Kier (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: David Brooks (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Joseph Buscaglia (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Leo Iocabelli (2022) — Director
- Former: Leo Iacobelli (2020–2021) — Director
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 ESL Charitable Foundation
How much does ESL Charitable Foundation give each year?
ESL Charitable Foundation gave $22.5M across 173 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $21.7M across 197 grants.
What is ESL Charitable Foundation's typical grant size?
ESL Charitable Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $129,858, across 173 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from ESL Charitable Foundation that year got $200K on average.
Where does ESL Charitable Foundation give grants?
ESL Charitable Foundation gives mostly in New York: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Rochester, NY (133 grants), Lyons, NY (7 grants), Geneva, NY (5 grants) and Webster, NY (5 grants).
Does ESL Charitable Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 173 grants with a stated purpose on ESL Charitable Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "To Support Education" (57 grants), "To Support Employment" (27 grants) and "To Support Connected Neighborhoods" (20 grants).
Who are ESL Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?
ESL Charitable Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Wealthforward Roc ($2,815,662), Wayne County Action Program Inc ($1,313,207 across 6 grants) and The Center for Youth Services ($986,888 across 2 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 23% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is ESL Charitable Foundation?
ESL Charitable Foundation reported $122.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $22.5M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $5.7M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does ESL Charitable Foundation fund?
The provided information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grant purposes and grantees show support for housing, employment, and education, among other work. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from ESL Charitable Foundation?
The filing says applications should be submitted in writing and include the requested amount, date, and reason for the request. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is ESL Charitable Foundation's EIN?
ESL Charitable Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-0548352. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated October 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 July 6, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in ESL Charitable Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). ESL Charitable Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/esl-charitable-foundation-morg_ca10872befdf424298c5bc448802fecc
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_820548352_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{ESL Charitable Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/esl-charitable-foundation-morg_ca10872befdf424298c5bc448802fecc},
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 ESL Charitable 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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