Harken Foundation
Harken Foundation is a private foundation based in Highland Park, Illinois. It makes grants to charitable organizations, with 80 grants totaling $250,080 reported for 2025.
Harken Foundation at a glance
In short: Harken Foundation gave $250K across 80 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Massachusetts. 33% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $250,080
- +2.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 80
- -2.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,126
- +5.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $500
- Total assets
- $671,899
- -14.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 33% first-time grantees (26 of 79, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (72% 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 Harken Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. A letter requesting a contribution is sufficient; there is no standard submission form. Contact Ronald Foreman. Applicants must be organizations that are educational, religious, or charitable as defined under IRC Section 501(c)(3).
- Contact
Application contact: Ronald Foreman
Mailing address: 332 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (847) 831-1133
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Harken Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Marine Biological Lab ($71K across 2 grants). Together the top 10 received $197K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($3,500), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
370 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 361 grants of 370 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 72% of grant dollars went to recipients in Massachusetts, 9% to New York, 6% to Illinois, and 2% to Minnesota. The largest listed awards included several recipients in Woods Hole and Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 80 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Harken Foundation open to new grantees?
33%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 26 of 79 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $4K. How we count
Medians: $500 first-time, $1K repeat.
- 51% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−15%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 371% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 $108K (2020) to $295K (2022). In 2025 it made 80 grants totaling $250K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Biological Lab Woods Hole, MA | General | $66,238 |
| The 300 Committee Land Trust Falmouth, MA | Healer/Augusta | $50,000 |
| Woods Hole Community Assoc Woods Hole, MA | General | $25,000 |
| Doctors Without Borders New York, NY | General | $10,500 |
| YMCA Cape Cod Hyannis, MA | General | $10,000 |
| GDMI | General | $10,000 |
| Alight Minneapolis, MN | General | $6,000 |
| Marine Biological Lab Woods Hole, MA | General | $5,000 |
| Ravinia Highland Park, IL | General | $5,000 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY | General | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Harken 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 | $671,899 | $322,234 | $260,299 | $250,080 | 80 | $250,080 | $117,363 | $67,377 |
| 2024 | $789,511 | $520,381 | $252,354 | $243,803 | 82 | $243,803 | $173,753 | $60,009 |
| 2023 | $736,148 | $476,360 | $282,145 | $273,511 | 53 | $273,511 | $144,007 | $52,386 |
| 2022 | $651,127 | $344,451 | $305,142 | $295,101 | 84 | $295,101 | $137,997 | $48,111 |
| 2021 | $735,764 | $720,416 | $280,028 | $273,937 | 71 | — | $322,446 | $39,226 |
| 2020 | $585,932 | $507,663 | $113,156 | $108,037 | 60 | — | $194,472 | $26,166 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Harken Foundation reported a distributable amount of $67K 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 grantees include organizations whose own missions span land conservation, education, humanitarian assistance, and community services. For example, The 300 Committee Land Trust says it works to preserve land in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and raise awareness of open space; Alight says it supports displaced people in building lives with dignity, connection, and purpose; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute says it educates leaders for technology-based careers.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 80 grants totaling $250,080. Grants ranged from $50 to $66,238, with a median grant of $500. The largest awards included $66,238 to Marine Biological Laboratory, $50,000 to The 300 Committee Land Trust, and $25,000 to Woods Hole Community Association. Other notable awards were $10,500 to Doctors Without Borders and $10,000 each to YMCA Cape Cod and GDMI.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Ronald Foreman as president and director, Jan Grant as secretary and director, and Kenneth Foreman as vice president and director.
Harken Foundation is led by Ronald Foreman, President & Director on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Ronald Foreman
President & Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jan Grant
Secretary & Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kenneth Foreman
Vice President & Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/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 Harken Foundation
How much does Harken Foundation give each year?
Harken Foundation gave $250K across 80 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $244K across 82 grants.
What is Harken Foundation's typical grant size?
Harken Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $500, and its average grant was $3,126, across 80 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Harken Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Harken Foundation give grants?
Harken Foundation gives mostly in Massachusetts: 72% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were New York (9%) and Illinois (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Falmouth, MA (8 grants), Chicago, IL (8 grants), Woods Hole, MA (5 grants) and Hyannis, MA (5 grants).
Does Harken Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 96% of Harken Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (77 of 80) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Harken Foundation's largest grantees?
Harken Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Marine Biological Lab ($71,238 across 2 grants), The 300 Committee Land Trust ($50,000) and Woods Hole Community Assoc ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 individual scholarship ($3,500), which are not listed by name. Together they received 58% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Harken Foundation?
Harken Foundation reported $672K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $250K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $67K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Harken Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose own missions span land conservation, education, humanitarian assistance, and community services. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Harken Foundation?
The foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Harken Foundation's EIN?
Harken Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3712655. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 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 May 24, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS July 18, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 20, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 2, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 27, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Harken Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/harken-foundation-morg_cbd4cccdea9f40349ec9644bd1290770
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363712655_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Harken Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/harken-foundation-morg_cbd4cccdea9f40349ec9644bd1290770},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. 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 Harken 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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