Fisa Foundation
FISA Foundation is a private foundation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It funds nonprofit organizations serving southwestern Pennsylvania that benefit women, girls, or people with disabilities, and also works through convening, education, and advocacy.
Fisa Foundation at a glance
In short: Fisa Foundation gave $1.5M across 51 grants in 2025 (avg $29K), mostly in Pennsylvania. 16% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,492,706
- +1.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 51
- -13.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $29,269
- +17.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $48,944,981
- +5.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 16% first-time grantees (8 of 49, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Pennsylvania (92% 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 Fisa Foundation
- How to Apply
-
FISA accepts unsolicited requests as letters of inquiry; it does not accept unsolicited proposals. The foundation’s filing refers applicants to an attachment for forms, materials, deadlines, and award restrictions. For an invited full proposal, the deadline is communicated by the foundation.
- Contact
Application contact: Kristy Trautmann Executive Director
Mailing address: 535 Smithfield Street Suite 710, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 456-5500
Website: https://fisafoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Fisa Foundation
Who Fisa Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Disability Lead ($125K). Together the top 10 received $637K.
Grant Size Distribution
306 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 269 grants of 306 (88%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
FISA funds nonprofit organizations providing services in ten southwestern Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland. Its grants are to benefit women, girls, or people with disabilities. In 2025, 92% of grant dollars went to recipients in Pennsylvania and 8% to recipients in Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 51 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Fisa Foundation open to new grantees?
16%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 49 grantees (16%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $20K; repeat grants $32K. How we count
Medians: $20K first-time, $30K repeat.
- 57% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+10%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 96% 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 (2021–2025). 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 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.4M (2022) to $1.6M (2023). In 2025 it made 51 grants totaling $1.5M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Disability Lead Chicago, IL | Support for building a pipeline of leaders with disabilities in the southwest pa region | $125,000 |
| Gwen's Girls Inc Pittsburgh, PA | Support for Advocacy and Leadership Development | $75,000 |
| Keystone Progress Education Fund Pittsburgh, PA | Support for Civic Engagement in the Disability Community | $66,000 |
| Education Law Center Pittsburgh, PA | Advocacy to ensure that children with disabilities in southwestern pa have access to public education | $60,000 |
| Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery (Power) Pittsburgh, PA | General operating support for services to women in recovery | $60,000 |
| Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA | General Operating Support for the Standing Firm Program | $60,000 |
| Abolitionist Law Center Pittsburgh, PA | Support for Advocacy for Incarcerated People with Disabilities | $50,000 |
| Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, PA | For Girl GOV Programming | $50,000 |
| Autism Connection of PA Pittsburgh, PA | Advocacy for autistic people in the criminal legal system | $46,350 |
| Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation Pittsburgh, PA | To Evaluate the Spinal Cord Injury Resource Connector | $45,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Fisa 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 | $48,944,981 | $2,686,628 | $2,711,511 | $1,492,706 | 51 | $2,225,674 | $2,029,806 | $2,317,627 |
| 2024 | $46,217,713 | $1,580,827 | $2,874,796 | $1,475,000 | 59 | $2,191,453 | $1,330,881 | $2,174,580 |
| 2023 | $43,292,313 | $2,078,866 | $2,408,028 | $1,579,362 | 67 | $2,236,921 | $1,791,595 | $2,074,790 |
| 2022 | $42,523,934 | $2,766,373 | $2,285,444 | $1,352,732 | 65 | $1,967,265 | $2,511,501 | $2,383,951 |
| 2021 | $48,348,920 | $2,501,691 | $2,117,311 | $1,426,432 | 64 | — | $2,254,319 | $2,209,230 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Fisa Foundation reported a distributable amount of $2.3M 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
FISA Foundation’s mission is to champion equity, justice, safety, and inclusion for women, girls, and people with disabilities, while combating systemic racism that impedes progress for these populations in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Its stated priorities include improving health and well-being, increasing access to healthcare and dental care for people with significant disabilities or complex health conditions, and addressing bias among healthcare professionals. It prioritizes the needs of women, girls, and people with disabilities who are Black or other people of color. Disability-related funding includes physical, intellectual, sensory, and developmental disabilities; primary-diagnosis mental illness is outside the foundation’s scope, though it funds cross-disability efforts that include mental health.
Examples of grantees illustrate the range of supported work. Gwen’s Girls describes its mission as empowering girls and young women through gender-specific programs, education, and experiences. Keystone Progress Education Fund says it provides public-affairs education and communications training and encourages civic participation. Autism Connection of PA describes its work as providing autism support and advocacy, while CASA San Jose says it advocates for and empowers Latinos. These are grantee descriptions, not the foundation’s own mission statements.
Grantmaking
In 2025, FISA reported 51 grants totaling $1,492,706. Individual grants ranged from $1,125 to $125,000, with a median of $25,000.
Among the largest 2025 awards were $125,000 to Disability Lead for building a pipeline of leaders with disabilities in the Southwest PA region; $75,000 to Gwen’s Girls for advocacy and leadership development; and $66,000 to Keystone Progress Education Fund for civic engagement in the disability community. Other awards included $60,000 to Education Law Center for advocacy concerning public education access for children with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania, and $60,000 each to Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery and Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. The latter award supported the Standing Firm program.
FISA accepts letters of inquiry on an ongoing basis and reviews them monthly; it says applicants will receive an update within six weeks. Applicants are encouraged to submit a 2–3-page inquiry describing the need, proposed project or program, and requested amount, with a completed application form. A full proposal is submitted only by invitation, and the foundation communicates its scope, specifications, and deadline to invited applicants. Proposal materials include a cover letter, executive summary, and concise narrative, among other requirements.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Karen Farmer White as board president, Lynette R. Lederman as immediate past president, and Chaton T. Turner as vice president. Other listed board members are Paula Davis, Linda Burke, Blayre Holmes Davis, Susan Davis, Paula Garret, and Peggy Harris. Rachel Kallem Whitman is listed as a board member who exited in April 2025. The 2024 filing identifies Kristy Trautmann as executive director.
Fisa Foundation is led by Kristy Trautmann, Executive Director since 2022 (on filings since 2021); 1 of 19 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Kristy Trautmann
Executive Director
Executive Directors → Executive Director, 2022
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$159K (2021) → $188K (2025)
Karen Farmer White
Board President
Board Member → Board Vice President, 2022
Board Vice President → Board President, 2023
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Chaton T. Turner
Vice President
Board Member → Vice President, 2023
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Linda Burke
Board Member
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Lynette R. Lederman
Immediate Past President
Board President → Immediate Past President, 2023
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Paula K. Davis
Board Secretary
Board Vice President → Board Member, 2024
Board Member → Board Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Susan Davis
Board Member
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer R. Lundy
Board Treasurer
Board Member → Board Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jordana Stephens
Board Member
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Liz Healey
Board Member
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Paula Garret
Board Member
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Peggy Harris
Board Member
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Blayre Holmes Davis
Board Member
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Ena Lebel
Board Member
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rachel Kallem Whitman
Board Member
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Claudette Lewis
Board Member
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Piot
Board Member
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Bernadette Smith
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Sue Cardillo
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (15)
- Former: Josie Badger (2021–2024) — Board Secretary
- Former: Evelyn Savido (2022–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Kathleen Minnock (2021–2023) — Board Treasurer
- Former: Monica Mendez (2021–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Suzanne Parks (2021–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Rhonda Fischer (2022–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Susan Cardillo (2021–2022) — Board Secretary
- Former: Shirl Regan Left Dec (2022) — Board Member
- Former: Thena Robinson Mock Left Oct (2022) — Board Member
- Former: Barbara R. Dewitt (2021) — Board Member
- Former: Jennifer Lundy-Briggs (2021) — Board Member
- Former: Judy Barricella (2021) — Board Member
- Former: Louise R. Brown (2021) — Board Member
- Former: Marsha Blanco (2021) — Board Member
- Former: Shirl Regan (2021) — Board Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 $188K, to Kristy Trautmann (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about Fisa Foundation
How much does Fisa Foundation give each year?
Fisa Foundation gave $1.5M across 51 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.5M across 59 grants.
What is Fisa Foundation's typical grant size?
Fisa Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $29,269, across 51 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Fisa Foundation that year got $20K on average.
Where does Fisa Foundation give grants?
Fisa Foundation gives mostly in Pennsylvania: 92% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Pittsburgh, PA (38 grants) and Philadelphia, PA (5 grants).
Does Fisa Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 16% of Fisa Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (8 of 51) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Fisa Foundation's largest grantees?
Fisa Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Disability Lead ($125,000), Gwen's Girls Inc ($75,000) and Keystone Progress Education Fund ($66,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 18% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Fisa Foundation?
Fisa Foundation reported $48.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.2M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.3M (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 Fisa Foundation fund?
FISA Foundation’s mission is to champion equity, justice, safety, and inclusion for women, girls, and people with disabilities, while combating systemic racism that impedes progress for these populations in southwestern Pennsylvania. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Fisa Foundation?
FISA accepts unsolicited requests as letters of inquiry; it does not accept unsolicited proposals. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Fisa Foundation's EIN?
Fisa Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 25-0965388. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Fisa Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/fisa-foundation-morg_bc9492fe4565479ba0913bdeb5af0061
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_250965388_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Fisa Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/fisa-foundation-morg_bc9492fe4565479ba0913bdeb5af0061},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. 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 Fisa 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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