Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Denver, CO EIN: 74-2259763

The Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation is a private foundation based in Denver, Colorado. In 2025, it made 19 grants totaling $340,500, primarily to Colorado organizations, including arts, education, health, and social-service organizations.

Key facts about Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation

In short: Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation gave $341K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $18K), mostly in Colorado. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
74-2259763
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$340,500
Grants made (2025)
19
Average grant
$17,921
Median grant
$10,000
New grantees (estimate)
0% first-time grantees (0 of 19, 2025)
Total assets
$3,797,562
Primary geography
Colorado (99% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
How to apply
The filing names Thomas P. Full details ↓
Deadline
Requests must be received by September 30 for consideration at the organization’s annual meeting.

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$3.8M

-3.2% YoY

Annual Giving

$341K

-5.5% YoY

Grant Count

19

+0.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$18K

-5.5% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation reported a distributable amount of $256K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation open to new grantees?

0%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 0 of 19 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. How we count

  • 100% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+15%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 133% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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.

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 a range of charitable organizations. Among the grantees, The Eating Disorder Foundation describes its mission as helping the public and health care community prevent and eliminate eating disorders. Opera Colorado says it uses opera and musical storytelling to connect the community and collaborates with nonprofit institutions. Roundup River Ranch says it offers free, medically supported camp programs for children with life-altering diagnoses and their families.

Other 2025 grantees describe their work as developing children’s musical abilities and friendships (Denver Children’s Choir), supporting young singers and members’ appreciation of opera (Denver Lyric Opera Guild), and providing choral music training for young performers (Colorado Children’s Chorale). Bayaud Enterprises says it works to reduce barriers to self-sufficiency for adults with disabilities and people rebuilding after poverty, homelessness, incarceration, or addiction.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation awarded 19 grants totaling $340,500. Grants ranged from $3,000 to $50,000, with a median of $10,000. Its largest reported awards were $50,000 to Girls Scouts of Colorado; $45,000 each to Central City Opera House Association and The Eating Disorder Foundation; and $40,000 to Opera Colorado. Other notable grants included $25,000 each to Havern School and the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, and $17,500 to Tennyson Center for Children.

Review Cycle

Requests must be received by September 30 for consideration at the organization’s annual meeting.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 99% of grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado and 1% to recipients in New York.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.

Cities

DenverEnglewoodAvonLittletonAuroraNew YorkBoulder

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K$400K19 grants2021 17 grants2022 18 grants2023 19 grants2024 19 grants2025

From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $283K (2021) to $361K (2024). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $341K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Girls Scouts of Colorado: $50KGirls Scouts of Colorado$50KCentral City Opera House Association: $45KCentral City Opera HouseAssociation$45KThe Eating Disorder Foundation: $45KThe Eating Disorder Foundation$45KOpera Colorado: $40KOpera Colorado$40KHavern School: $25KHavern School$25KUniversity of Denver Lamont School of Music: $25KUniversity of Denver LamontSchool of Music$25KTennyson Center for Children: $18KTennyson Center for Children$18KRoundup River Ranch: $15KRoundup River Ranch$15KBayaud Enterprises Inc: $10KBayaud Enterprises Inc$10KDenver Children's Choir: $10KDenver Children's Choir$10K

The largest 2025 recipient was Girls Scouts of Colorado ($50K). Together the top 10 received $283K.

Grant Size Distribution

92 grants across all recorded years

90<$50K2$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 90 grants of 92 (98%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Girls Scouts of Colorado Denver, COCharitable Contributions$50,000
Central City Opera House Association Denver, COCharitable Contributions$45,000
The Eating Disorder Foundation Denver, COCharitable Contributions$45,000
Opera Colorado Englewood, COCharitable Contributions$40,000
Havern School Littleton, COCharitable Contributions$25,000
University of Denver Lamont School of Music Denver, COCharitable Contributions$25,000
Tennyson Center for Children Denver, COCharitable Contributions$17,500
Roundup River Ranch Avon, COCharitable Contributions$15,000
Bayaud Enterprises Inc Denver, COCharitable Contributions$10,000
Denver Children's Choir Denver, COCharitable Contributions$10,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2025 $3,797,562 $265,903 $393,345 $340,500
2024 $3,924,196 $611,696 $400,306 $360,500
2023 $3,712,806 $139,617 $339,036 $300,500
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$200K$400K$600K$800K2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$3,797,562$3,924,196$3,712,806
Revenue$265,903$611,696$139,617
Expenses$393,345$400,306$339,036
Qualifying Distributions$340,500$360,500$300,500
Net Investment Income$229,307$577,200$106,178
Distributable Amount$256,191$244,801$243,852

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Thomas P. Kearns as director and president, John K. Weckbaugh as director and first, and John J. Silver as director and second.

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation is led by Thomas P. Kearns, Director & President on every filing since 2021; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Thomas P. Kearns

    Director & President

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • John J. Silver

    Director & Second

    On filings since 2021

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • John K. Weckbaugh

    Director & First

    On filings since 2021

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

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.

Contact

Application contact: Thomas P Kearns
Mailing address: 568 Lafayette St, Denver, CO 80219
Phone: (303) 921-2735
Email: tkearns303@gmail.com

Frequently asked questions about Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation

How much does Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation give each year?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation gave $341K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $361K across 19 grants.

What is Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's typical grant size?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $17,921, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation give grants?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 99% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (13 grants) and Englewood, CO (2 grants).

Who are Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's largest grantees?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Girls Scouts of Colorado ($50,000), Central City Opera House Association ($45,000) and The Eating Disorder Foundation ($45,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 41% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation reported $3.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $341K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $256K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of charitable organizations. Among the grantees, The Eating Disorder Foundation describes its mission as helping the public and health care community prevent and eliminate eating disorders. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation?

The filing names Thomas P. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's EIN?

Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 74-2259763. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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