Gardner Foundation
The Gardner Foundation is a private foundation based in Wakefield, Nebraska. Founded in 1990 after the Gardner family sold its interest in the M.G. Waldbaum Co., it provides charitable grants to tax-exempt organizations conducting religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational activities.
Gardner Foundation at a glance
In short: Gardner Foundation gave $1.4M across 21 grants in 2025 (avg $67K), mostly in Nebraska. 50% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,397,188
- +1.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 21
- +5.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $66,533
- -3.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $15,000
- Total assets
- $25,263,960
- +9.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 50% first-time grantees (10 of 20, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Nebraska (93% 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 Foundation
- How to Apply
-
Submit a letter of inquiry for consideration; the foundation’s filing names the Board of Trustees as the contact and specifies use of the Gardner Foundation grant application.
- Review Cycle
- The filing lists no deadlines. The website lists annual letter-of-inquiry review dates of February 1, May 1, June 1, August 1, September 1, October 1, and November 1, and says inquiries must be submitted by the 25th of the preceding month.
- Deadline
- The filing lists no deadlines.
- Contact
Application contact: Board Of Trustees Gardner Foundatio
Mailing address: P O Box 629, Wakefield, NE 68784
Phone: (402) 287-2538
Website: https://gardner-foundation.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Gardner Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Wayne State Foundation ($936K across 2 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.3M.
Grant Size Distribution
92 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 63 grants of 92 (68%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation gives preference to organizations that will use substantially all grant funds in Nebraska, particularly within 75 miles of Wakefield. Its website describes its reach as extending across eastern Nebraska, northwest Iowa, and beyond. In 2025, 93% of grant dollars went to recipients in Nebraska and 7% to recipients in South Carolina.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 21 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Gardner Foundation open to new grantees?
50%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 10 of 20 grantees (50%) were first-time recipients. With only 20 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $18K; repeat grants $121K. How we count
Medians: $16K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 40% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving fell 28% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 93% 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 (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 $1.3M (2020) to $1.9M (2022). In 2025 it made 21 grants totaling $1.4M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne State Foundation Wayne, NE | Scholarships | $764,194 |
| Wayne State Foundation Wayne, NE | Scholarships | $171,946 |
| St Peter's Catholic Church Beaufort, SC | Tuition Assistance | $100,000 |
| Little Red Hen Theatre Wakefield, NE | Outreach | $75,000 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE | Scholarships | $75,000 |
| City of Ponca Ponca, NE | Playground Equipment | $38,210 |
| Wisner Police Department Wisner, NE | Radio Systems | $35,000 |
| Stanton County Emergency Management Agency Stanton, NE | DRONE | $27,595 |
| Homer Volunteer Fire Department Homer, NE | Lucas Device | $19,550 |
| Dixon County Ponca, NE | DRONE | $17,104 |
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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 | $25,263,960 | $3,379,197 | $1,978,491 | $1,397,188 | 21 | $1,397,188 | $3,093,794 | $1,508,534 |
| 2024 | $23,148,365 | $2,929,987 | $1,928,138 | $1,382,811 | 20 | $1,382,811 | $2,733,478 | $1,397,169 |
| 2023 | $21,694,801 | $923,471 | $1,841,701 | $1,356,056 | 19 | $1,356,056 | $738,955 | $1,377,828 |
| 2022 | $22,157,129 | $1,401,183 | $2,572,721 | $1,939,902 | 17 | $1,939,902 | $1,095,735 | $1,356,047 |
| 2021 | $22,634,581 | $2,247,059 | $2,083,394 | $1,406,403 | 15 | $1,406,403 | $1,867,792 | $1,939,902 |
| 2020 | $22,470,908 | $1,517,787 | $1,692,385 | $1,262,474 | 22 | — | $1,330,453 | $1,406,403 |
| 2019 | $22,645,506 | $1,662,969 | $1,968,886 | $1,356,036 | 24 | — | $1,063,428 | $1,397,430 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Gardner Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.5M 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
The foundation’s stated objective is to provide grants to worthy tax-exempt organizations. It generally funds organizations exempt under Section 501(c)(3) that are not private foundations, as well as public entities for exclusively public purposes. It does not fund individuals, private for-profit businesses, or private non-operating foundations.
The foundation describes its grantmaking interests as broad. Its policy gives lower priority to requests for normal operating budgets and annual fundraising campaigns; seed money for innovative programs may be considered. Grants may require matching funds or other sources of project support. Capital-construction grants are conditional on completion of the improvement.
Examples of supported organizations illustrate a range of activities. Nebraska Wesleyan University describes its mission as fostering intellectual and personal growth through liberal arts education in an environment of Christian concern. Project Pink’d says it supports breast cancer survivors in Nebraska and western Iowa with tools, resources, and a network. Lindsay Area Development says it works to strengthen the village’s community, school, and parish through events, projects, and investments.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 21 grants totaling $1,397,188. Grant sizes ranged from $750 to $764,194, with a median of $15,000. Its largest awards included $764,194 and $171,946 to Wayne State Foundation for scholarships; $100,000 to St. Peter’s Catholic Church for tuition assistance; and $75,000 each to Little Red Hen Theatre for outreach and Nebraska Wesleyan University for scholarships. Other listed awards included $38,210 to the City of Ponca for playground equipment and $35,000 to the Wisner Police Department for radio systems.
The foundation’s 2025 filing says it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It directs applicants to contact the Board of Trustees and use the Gardner Foundation grant application. Applicants rejected for a grant cannot resubmit within one year. The website says qualified organizations submit a letter of inquiry and that those selected receive a formal application by mail.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Leslie A. Bebee as executive director and David J. Gardner and Kirk N. Gardner as trustees.
Gardner Foundation is led by Leslie A. Bebee, Executive Director on every filing since 2019; all 3 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Leslie A. Bebee
Executive Director
On filings since 2019
30 hrs/week
$40K (2019) → $60K (2025)
David J. Gardner
Trustee
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
$12K (2019) → $12K (2025)
Kirk N. Gardner
Trustee
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
$12K (2019) → $12K (2025)
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $60K, to Leslie a Bebee (Executive Director). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Gardner Foundation
How much does Gardner Foundation give each year?
Gardner Foundation gave $1.4M across 21 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.4M across 20 grants.
What is Gardner Foundation's typical grant size?
Gardner Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $15,000, and its average grant was $66,533, across 21 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Gardner Foundation that year got $18K on average.
Where does Gardner Foundation give grants?
Gardner Foundation gives mostly in Nebraska: 93% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was South Carolina (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Wayne, NE (2 grants), Wakefield, NE (2 grants), Ponca, NE (2 grants) and Omaha, NE (2 grants).
Does Gardner Foundation give general operating support?
Occasionally: 5% of Gardner Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 21) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Scholarships" (3 grants).
Who are Gardner Foundation's largest grantees?
Gardner Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Wayne State Foundation ($936,140 across 2 grants), St Peter's Catholic Church ($100,000) and Little Red Hen Theatre ($75,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 80% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Gardner Foundation?
Gardner Foundation reported $25.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.4M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.5M (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 Gardner Foundation fund?
The foundation’s stated objective is to provide grants to worthy tax-exempt organizations. It generally funds organizations exempt under Section 501(c)(3) that are not private foundations, as well as public entities for exclusively public purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Gardner Foundation?
Submit a letter of inquiry for consideration; the foundation’s filing names the Board of Trustees as the contact and specifies use of the Gardner Foundation grant application. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Gardner Foundation's EIN?
Gardner Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3705723. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
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 May 26, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 23, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 26, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Gardner Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Gardner Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/gardner-foundation-morg_0f84e4044e54448e945bb228fc77a63d
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363705723_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Gardner Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/gardner-foundation-morg_0f84e4044e54448e945bb228fc77a63d},
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 Gardner 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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