Gause Foundation
Gause Foundation is a private foundation based in Nashville, Tennessee, and files Form 990-PF. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including churches, arts organizations, educational institutions, and organizations working in areas such as food access and environmental protection.
Gause Foundation at a glance
In short: Gause Foundation gave $123K across 75 grants in 2025 (avg $2K), mostly in Tennessee. 13% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $122,550
- -6.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 75
- -11.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $1,634
- +6.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $405,772
- -4.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 13% first-time grantees (10 of 75, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (73% 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 Gause Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 500 Elmington Ave 118, Nashville, TN 37205
Phone: (901) 604-2201
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Gause Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was St George Episcopal Church ($21K). Together the top 10 received $54K.
Grant Size Distribution
394 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 394 grants of 394 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 73% of grant dollars went to recipients in Tennessee and 21% to recipients in Georgia. Recipients in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia each received 2%, 1%, and 1%, respectively.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 75 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Gause Foundation open to new grantees?
13%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 10 of 75 grantees (13%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $920; repeat grants $2K. How we count
Medians: $750 first-time, $1K repeat.
- 81% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 21% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 94% 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 (2020–2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $78K (2020) to $131K (2024). In 2025 it made 75 grants totaling $123K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| St George Episcopal Church Nashville, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $20,500 |
| Nashville Opera Nashville, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $6,000 |
| Crossroads Campus Nashville, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $5,000 |
| St Marys Episcopal Cathedral Memphis, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $5,000 |
| Nashville Symphony Nashville, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $5,000 |
| Candler School of Theology Atlanta, GA | General Charitable and Educational | $2,500 |
| Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN | General Charitable and Educational | $2,500 |
| Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Atlanta, GA | General Charitable and Educational | $2,500 |
| Clark Atanta University Atlanta, GA | General Charitable and Educational | $2,500 |
| Morehouse College Atlanta, GA | General Charitable and Educational | $2,500 |
Ready to take the next step with Gause 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 | $405,772 | $100,353 | $125,700 | $122,550 | 75 | $122,550 | $100,353 | $131,040 |
| 2024 | $425,869 | $148,693 | $134,500 | $130,650 | 85 | $130,650 | $148,693 | $126,590 |
| 2023 | $408,979 | $93,717 | $128,660 | $126,500 | 76 | $126,500 | $93,717 | $113,614 |
| 2022 | $442,423 | $26,081 | $101,993 | $101,140 | 80 | $101,140 | $47,458 | $112,333 |
| 2021 | $511,334 | $146,175 | $112,825 | $110,700 | 78 | $110,700 | $146,175 | $109,813 |
| 2020 | $477,976 | $61,126 | $78,235 | $78,235 | 81 | — | $61,126 | $97,309 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Gause Foundation reported a distributable amount of $131K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Nashville Opera says it works to imagine the power and passion of opera and who can sing and enjoy it; The Crossroads Campus says it creates opportunities for people facing poverty and homelessness through humane education, job training, affordable housing, and pet adoptions. The Nashville Food Project says it brings people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food to alleviate hunger and work toward a more just and sustainable food system.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 75 grants totaling $122,550. Grant amounts ranged from $200 to $20,500, with a median of $1,000.
Among the largest reported grants were $20,500 to St George Episcopal Church in Nashville; $6,000 to Nashville Opera; $5,000 each to Crossroads Campus, St Marys Episcopal Cathedral, and Nashville Symphony; and $2,500 each to Candler School of Theology, Vanderbilt University, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Clark Atanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and the University of North Carolina.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Luther P Gause as Foundation Mgr., and Dorothea O Gause, Nan Gause Evans, and Sidney Gause Childress as trustees.
Gause Foundation's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Dorothea O. Gause
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Nan Gause Evans
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sidney Gause Childress
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Luther P. Gause
Foundation Manager
On filings since 2020
8 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 Gause Foundation
How much does Gause Foundation give each year?
Gause Foundation gave $123K across 75 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $131K across 85 grants.
What is Gause Foundation's typical grant size?
Gause Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $1,634, across 75 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Gause Foundation that year got $920 on average.
Where does Gause Foundation give grants?
Gause Foundation gives mostly in Tennessee: 73% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Georgia (21%). The most frequent recipient cities were Nashville, TN (34 grants), Atlanta, GA (16 grants), Memphis, TN (9 grants) and Decatur, GA (2 grants).
Does Gause Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 97% of Gause Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (73 of 75) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Gause Foundation's largest grantees?
Gause Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include St George Episcopal Church ($20,500), Nashville Opera ($6,000) and Crossroads Campus ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 26% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Gause Foundation?
Gause Foundation reported $406K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $123K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $131K (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 Gause Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its grants include support for organizations with varied missions. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Gause Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Gause Foundation's EIN?
Gause Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 62-6288610. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Gause 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 October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS September 29, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS April 29, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS April 28, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 30, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 30, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 10, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Gause Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/gause-foundation-morg_015c170573014ff29d8d0c2de6911376
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_626288610_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Gause Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/gause-foundation-morg_015c170573014ff29d8d0c2de6911376},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-12. 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 Gause 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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