Farms for Life Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Batavia, IL EIN: 83-2048247

Farms for Life Foundation is a private foundation based in Batavia, Illinois. In filing year 2025, it reported giving $848,000 through 20 grants to charitable organizations.

Farms for Life Foundation at a glance

In short: Farms for Life Foundation gave $848K across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $42K), mostly in Indiana. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$848,000
+6.7% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
20
+66.7% vs 2024
Average grant
$42,400
-36.0% vs 2024
Median grant
$14,375
Total assets
$19,442,865
+9.1% vs 2024
Primary geography
Indiana (59% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.

How to apply to Farms for Life Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.

Contact

Mailing address: 37W682 Cigrand Ct, Batavia, IL 60510-5159

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

Who Farms for Life Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Edward Jones Charitable Gift Fund: $500KEdward Jones Charitable GiftFund$500KCommunity Pregnancy Clinic: $60KCommunity Pregnancy Clinic$60KPro Life Across America: $60KPro Life Across America$60KWomens Care Center: $30KWomens Care Center$30KSafe Families: $30KSafe Families$30KHoly Cross Catholic Church: $25K across 2 grantsHoly Cross Catholic Church$25K · 2 grantsLive Action: $20KLive Action$20KSt Judes Childrens Research Hosp: $20KSt Judes Childrens ResearchHosp$20KFeed the Children: $15KFeed the Children$15KEwtn: $15KEwtn$15K

The largest 2025 recipient was Edward Jones Charitable Gift Fund ($500K). Together the top 10 received $775K.

Grant Size Distribution

78 grants across all recorded years

70<$50K6$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K2$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 70 grants of 78 (90%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 59% of grant dollars went to recipients in Indiana, 17% to Illinois, 8% to Minnesota, 7% to Florida, and 2% to Virginia. The remaining share went to recipients in other states.

Grant Distribution by State

13states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.

Cities

AuroraMinneapolisNaplesChicagoMemphisPeoriaArlingtonElburnOklahoma CityAlsipBataviaEaganHarlanAurora CityElginJerrerson CityVancouverAlexandriaArlington COBaltimore

How Farms for Life Foundation gives

  • 56% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 220% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 92% 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$250K$500K$750K$1M0 grants2018 2 grants2020 12 grants2021 18 grants2022 16 grants2023 12 grants2024 20 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $30K (2020) to $848K (2025). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $848K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Edward Jones Charitable Gift Fund Indianapolis, INGeneral Operating Support$500,000
Community Pregnancy Clinic Naples, FLGeneral Operating Support$60,000
Pro Life Across America Minneapolis, MNGeneral Operating Support$60,000
Womens Care Center Peoria, ILGeneral Operating Support$30,000
Safe Families Chicago City, ILGeneral Operating Support$30,000
Live Action Arlington CO, VAGeneral Operating Support$20,000
St Judes Childrens Research Hosp Memphis, TNGeneral Operating Support$20,000
Feed the Children Oklahoma City, OKGeneral Operating Support$15,000
Ewtn Irondale City, ALGeneral Operating Support$15,000
Holy Cross Catholic Church Batavia, ILInternational Appeal$15,000
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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$19,442,865$535,544$965,515$848,00020$849,082$520,587$921,598
2024$17,826,666$1,152,657$905,671$795,00012$797,550$1,044,536$878,973
2023$17,066,120$1,104,780$590,622$406,00016$408,507$873,325$788,057
2022$15,232,423$13,710,613$353,583$265,00018$265,111$3,877,591$425,172
2021$6,608,340$2,303,396$175,683$150,00012$154,325$497,277$226,079
2020$4,535,861$1,730,249$43,249$30,0002—$87,878$155,067

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Farms for Life Foundation reported a distributable amount of $922K 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 organizations whose stated missions address pregnancy support, opposition to abortion, child hunger, and education. For example, Waterleaf Women’s Center says it assists women facing unplanned pregnancy with medical, counseling, educational, material, and community support. Feed the Children says it works to end child hunger by providing food, essentials, and opportunities. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own missions.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation made 20 grants totaling $848,000. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $500,000, with a median of $14,375.

Among its 2025 grants, Edward Jones Charitable Gift Fund received $500,000 for general operating support; Community Pregnancy Clinic and Pro Life Across America each received $60,000 for general operating support. Other grants included $30,000 each to Women’s Care Center and Safe Families, both for general operating support; $20,000 to Live Action for general operating support; $15,000 to Feed the Children for general operating support; $13,750 to Waterleaf Women’s Center for general operating support; and $2,000 to Archangels Academy.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Cathy Muetze as president, Margaret Engel as treasurer, and James Muetze and Max Muetze as directors.

Farms for Life Foundation is led by Cathy Muetze, President since 2020 (on filings since 2018); none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Cathy Muetze

    President

    Director → President, 2020

    On filings since 2018

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • James Muetze

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Max Muetze

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Margaret Engel

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: William Muetze (2018) — President

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2018–2025. "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 Farms for Life Foundation

How much does Farms for Life Foundation give each year?

Farms for Life Foundation gave $848K across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $795K across 12 grants.

What is Farms for Life Foundation's typical grant size?

Farms for Life Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $14,375, and its average grant was $42,400, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Farms for Life Foundation give grants?

Farms for Life Foundation gives mostly in Indiana: 59% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Illinois (17%) and Minnesota (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Batavia, IL (2 grants), Aurora, IL (2 grants), Chicago, IL (2 grants) and Aurora City, IL (2 grants).

Does Farms for Life Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 90% of Farms for Life Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (18 of 20) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Farms for Life Foundation's largest grantees?

Farms for Life Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Edward Jones Charitable Gift Fund ($500,000), Community Pregnancy Clinic ($60,000) and Pro Life Across America ($60,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 73% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Farms for Life Foundation?

Farms for Life Foundation reported $19.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $849K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $922K (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 Farms for Life Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included organizations whose stated missions address pregnancy support, opposition to abortion, child hunger, and education. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Farms for Life Foundation?

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it 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 Farms for Life Foundation's EIN?

Farms for Life Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 83-2048247. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2018–2025.

Does Farms for Life 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

(3)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2018 (received by the IRS May 5, 2021)
  2. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
  3. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Farms for Life Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/farms-for-life-foundation-morg_78bc5012cf2b4b3c92a74614787503c0

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_832048247_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Farms for Life Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/farms-for-life-foundation-morg_78bc5012cf2b4b3c92a74614787503c0},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Farms for Life 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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