Gardner Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Carbondale, CO EIN: 82-2184597

Gardner Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Carbondale, Colorado. In filing year 2025, it reported giving $240,523 through 10 grants to charitable organizations.

Gardner Family Foundation at a glance

In short: Gardner Family Foundation gave $241K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $24K), mostly in Colorado. 30% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$240,523
-57.6% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
10
-28.6% vs 2024
Average grant
$24,052
-40.6% vs 2024
Median grant
$6,500
Total assets
$345,993
+31.8% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
30% first-time grantees (3 of 10, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Colorado (76% 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 Gardner Family Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

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

Contact

Mailing address: PO Box 1628, Carbondale, CO 81623
Phone: (303) 764-4047

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

Who Gardner Family Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Crosspurpose: $100KCrosspurpose$100KCityunite: $58KCityunite$58KStand Together Foundation: $50KStand Together Foundation$50KHope House of Colorado: $12KHope House of Colorado$12KCRU: $8KCRU$8KAll in Fostering Futures Inc: $5KAll in Fostering Futures Inc$5KBeyond Home: $5KBeyond Home$5KSecond Chance Bike: $1KSecond Chance Bike$1KRevive Church: $1KRevive Church$1KHabitat for Humanity: $783Habitat for Humanity$783

The largest 2025 recipient was Crosspurpose ($100K). Together the top 10 received $241K.

Grant Size Distribution

52 grants across all recorded years

37<$50K7$50–100K6$100–250K2$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 37 grants of 52 (71%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 76% of grant dollars went to organizations in Colorado, 21% to organizations in Virginia, and 3% to organizations in Florida.

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.

Cities

DenverArvadaWestminsterArlingtonLakewoodOrlandoAuroraBoulderErieOaklandPalmer LakeAtlantaCentennialCincinnatiEnglewoodGreenwood VillageIndianapolisLittletonLongmontOceanside

Is Gardner Family Foundation open to new grantees?

30%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 3 of 10 grantees (30%) 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 $974; repeat grants $34K. How we count

Medians: $1K first-time, $12K repeat.

  • 60% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving fell 56% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out well above 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

$0$200K$400K$600K13 grants2019 12 grants2020 11 grants2021 8 grants2022 9 grants2023 14 grants2024 10 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $223K (2023) to $567K (2024). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $241K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Crosspurpose Denver, COGeneral Support$100,000
Cityunite Westminster, COGeneral Support$58,000
Stand Together Foundation Arlington, VAGeneral Support$50,000
Hope House of Colorado Arvada, COGeneral Support$12,100
CRU Orlando, FLGeneral Support$8,000
All in Fostering Futures Inc Lakewood, COGolf Tournament Sponsorship$5,000
Beyond Home Palmer Lake, COGeneral Support$4,500
Second Chance Bike Denver, COGeneral Support$1,140
Revive Church Arvada, COGeneral Support$1,000
Habitat for Humanity Denver, COGeneral Support$783
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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$345,993$709,236$362,140$240,52310$356,034$124,874$6,379
2024$262,555$133,417$595,832$567,03714$589,878$127,044$32,345
2023$686,595$29,997$237,512$222,8379$230,263$29,548$43,423
2022$894,110$28,514$587,353$545,9998$576,158$19,533$43,224
2021$1,452,949$1,508,073$565,564$478,35111$560,630$33,459$35,203
2020$510,440$220,984$454,446$354,57212—$12,819$30,214
2019$743,902$435,001$403,050$376,50013—$9,742$35,753

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Gardner Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $6K 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 general support for organizations such as CrossPurpose, CityUnite, Stand Together Foundation, and Hope House of Colorado, as well as a golf tournament sponsorship for All In Fostering Futures Inc.

The grantees describe their work in different ways. CrossPurpose says it assists families living in poverty by addressing barriers to self-sufficiency. CityUnite says it unites churches and faith-based organizations in the Denver metropolitan area to serve people in need. Stand Together Foundation describes itself as empowering changemakers and social entrepreneurs through funding and other support. Hope House of Colorado says it empowers parenting teenage moms to pursue personal and economic self-sufficiency.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 10 grants totaling $240,523. Grant amounts ranged from $783 to $100,000, with a median grant of $6,500.

The largest grants were $100,000 to CrossPurpose, $58,000 to CityUnite, and $50,000 to Stand Together Foundation. Other notable grants included $12,100 to Hope House of Colorado and $8,000 to Cru.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

James Gardner was listed as president on the 2025 filing.

Gardner Family Foundation is led by James Gardner, President on every filing since 2019 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • James Gardner

    President

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: Allyson Gardner (2019–2022) — 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 Gardner Family Foundation

How much does Gardner Family Foundation give each year?

Gardner Family Foundation gave $241K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $567K across 14 grants.

What is Gardner Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Gardner Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $6,500, and its average grant was $24,052, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Gardner Family Foundation that year got $974 on average.

Where does Gardner Family Foundation give grants?

Gardner Family Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 76% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Virginia (21%). The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (3 grants) and Arvada, CO (2 grants).

Does Gardner Family Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 90% of Gardner Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (9 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Gardner Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Gardner Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Crosspurpose ($100,000), Cityunite ($58,000) and Stand Together Foundation ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 86% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Gardner Family Foundation?

Gardner Family Foundation reported $346K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $356K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $6K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Gardner Family Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included general support for organizations such as CrossPurpose, CityUnite, Stand Together Foundation, and Hope House of Colorado, as well as a golf tournament sponsorship for All In Fostering Futures Inc. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Gardner Family Foundation?

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds; 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 Gardner Family Foundation's EIN?

Gardner Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 82-2184597. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does Gardner Family 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 2019 (received by the IRS January 29, 2020)
  2. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 27, 2026)
  3. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Gardner Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/gardner-family-foundation-morg_1eae465f77ca47efb9a733fc7abdf340

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_822184597_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Gardner Family Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/gardner-family-foundation-morg_1eae465f77ca47efb9a733fc7abdf340},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Gardner Family 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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