Gabus Foundation
Gabus Foundation is a private foundation based in Urbandale, Iowa. Its 2025 filing reports $500,000 in grants to 10 organizations, all of them in Iowa.
Gabus Foundation at a glance
In short: Gabus Foundation gave $500K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $50K), mostly in Iowa. 10% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $500,000
- +17.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +25.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $50,000
- -5.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $50,000
- Total assets
- $1,092,991
- -3.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 10% first-time grantees (1 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Iowa (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 Gabus Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2301 128Th Street, Urbandale, IA 50323
Phone: (515) 334-7726
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Gabus Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Meals on Wheels ($125K). Together the top 10 received $500K.
Grant Size Distribution
40 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $50–100K range: 21 grants of 40 (53%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Iowa.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Gabus Foundation open to new grantees?
10%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 10 grantees (10%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $15K; repeat grants $54K. How we count
Medians: $15K first-time, $50K repeat.
- 50% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+2%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 948% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $165K (2021) to $500K (2025). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $500K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Meals on Wheels Johnston, IA | General Purpose | $125,000 |
| City of Urbandale Urbandale, IA | General Purpose | $75,000 |
| Ellipsis Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Food Bank of Iowa Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Easter Seals Iowa Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Freedom for Youth Ministries Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Wildwood Hills Ranch St Charles, IA | General Purpose | $50,000 |
| Puppy Jake Foundation Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $25,000 |
| Freestore Inc West Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $15,000 |
| Can Play West Des Moines, IA | General Purpose | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Gabus 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 | $1,092,991 | $469,330 | $510,135 | $500,000 | 10 | $500,000 | $74,648 | $52,760 |
| 2024 | $1,133,796 | $421,290 | $435,183 | $425,000 | 8 | $425,000 | $50,131 | $55,792 |
| 2023 | $1,147,689 | $382,902 | $371,193 | $361,111 | 9 | $361,111 | $28,338 | $51,983 |
| 2022 | $1,135,980 | $417,447 | $501,221 | $490,500 | 9 | $490,500 | $21,633 | $50,244 |
| 2021 | $1,219,754 | $486,398 | $173,528 | $165,000 | 4 | $165,000 | $17,779 | $55,437 |
| 2020 | $906,884 | $420,933 | $306,828 | $294,000 | 11 | — | $3,177 | $38,700 |
| 2019 | $792,779 | $416,223 | $312,486 | $291,500 | 10 | — | — | $31,681 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Gabus Foundation reported a distributable amount of $53K 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 show support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Freedom for Youth Ministries describes its work as serving at-risk youth and homeless young adults through programs including after-school activities and work training. The Food Bank of Iowa says it distributes food to member agencies serving people in need. Ellipsis describes its mission as helping kids and families build healthy relationships.
Other 2025 grantees describe work that includes providing trained service dogs to military veterans (Puppy Jake Foundation), supplying furniture and household goods to families leaving abusive situations (Freestore), and offering adapted recreation programs at no cost (Can Play).
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $500,000 through 10 grants. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $125,000, with a median grant of $50,000. Recipients included Meals on Wheels ($125,000), City of Urbandale ($75,000), Ellipsis ($50,000), Food Bank of Iowa ($50,000), Easter Seals Iowa ($50,000), Freedom for Youth Ministries ($50,000), Wildwood Hills Ranch ($50,000), Puppy Jake Foundation ($25,000), Freestore ($15,000), and Can Play ($10,000). Each grant was listed for general purpose.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Jan Gabus as president, Dee Kading as treasurer, and Lynne Gabus as vice president.
Gabus Foundation is led by Jan Gabus, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Jan Gabus
President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dee Kading
Treasurer
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lynne Gabus
Vice President
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Patricia Peterson (2019–2023) — Vice President
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 Gabus Foundation
How much does Gabus Foundation give each year?
Gabus Foundation gave $500K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $425K across 8 grants.
What is Gabus Foundation's typical grant size?
Gabus Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $50,000, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Gabus Foundation that year got $15K on average.
Where does Gabus Foundation give grants?
Gabus Foundation gives mostly in Iowa: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Des Moines, IA (5 grants) and West Des Moines, IA (2 grants).
Does Gabus Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Gabus Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Gabus Foundation's largest grantees?
Gabus Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Meals on Wheels ($125,000), City of Urbandale ($75,000) and Ellipsis ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 50% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Gabus Foundation?
Gabus Foundation reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $500K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $53K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Gabus Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Gabus Foundation?
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and 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 Gabus Foundation's EIN?
Gabus Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 42-1448004. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Gabus 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 13, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 3, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS February 4, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 12, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 27, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 2, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Gabus Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/gabus-foundation-morg_8217819a28f84c5e9571935f007e559d
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_421448004_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Gabus Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/gabus-foundation-morg_8217819a28f84c5e9571935f007e559d},
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 Gabus 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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