Herak Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Priest Lake, ID EIN: 91-1621226

Herak Foundation is a private foundation based in Priest Lake, Idaho. Its 2025 filing is marked as a final return and states that the foundation made a complete liquidation distribution of its assets on December 31, 2025; it therefore appears to have wound down and stopped grantmaking.

Herak Foundation at a glance

In short: Herak Foundation gave $299K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $30K), mostly in Washington. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$299,000
+686.8% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
10
+11.1% vs 2024
Average grant
$29,900
+608.2% vs 2024
Median grant
$15,000
New grantees (estimate)
20% first-time grantees (2 of 10, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Washington (88% 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 Herak Foundation

How to Apply

The final filing listed a written request regarding qualifications or need; family members of co-trustees were ineligible. The filing listed no deadline.

Contact

Application contact: Donna Herak
Mailing address: PO Box 921, Sandpoint, ID 83864
Phone: (509) 838-5873

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

Who Herak Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Gonzaga University: $100KGonzaga University$100KLady of Lourdes: $68KLady of Lourdes$68KChesterton Academy of Notre Dame: $40KChesterton Academy of NotreDame$40KNazareth Guild: $40KNazareth Guild$40KPriest Lake Food Bank: $20KPriest Lake Food Bank$20KEternal Word Television Network Inc: $10KEternal Word TelevisionNetwork Inc$10KUnion Gospel Mission: $10KUnion Gospel Mission$10KSt Anthony Catholic Church: $5KSt Anthony Catholic Church$5KSt Blanche Church: $4KSt Blanche Church$4KUniversity of Idaho: $2KUniversity of Idaho$2K

The largest 2025 recipient was Gonzaga University ($100K). Together the top 10 received $299K.

Grant Size Distribution

47 grants across all recorded years

45<$50K1$50–100K1$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 45 grants of 47 (96%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 88% of grant dollars went to recipients in Washington, 9% to recipients in Idaho, and 3% to recipients in Alabama.

Grant Distribution by State

3states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.

Cities

SpokanePriest LakeIrondaleMoscow

Is Herak Foundation open to new grantees?

20%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 2 of 10 grantees (20%) 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 $4K; repeat grants $37K. How we count

Medians: $4K first-time, $30K repeat.

  • 80% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 708% 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 (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

$0$100K$200K$300K11 grants2020 10 grants2021 9 grants2022 9 grants2023 9 grants2024 10 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $37K (2021) to $299K (2025). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $299K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Gonzaga University Spokane, WADonation$100,000
Lady of Lourdes Spokane, WADonation$68,000
Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame Spokane, WADonation$40,000
Nazareth Guild Spokane, WADonation$40,000
Priest Lake Food Bank Priest Lake, IDDonation$20,000
Eternal Word Television Network Inc Irondale, ALDonation$10,000
Union Gospel Mission Spokane, WADonation$10,000
St Anthony Catholic Church Spokane, WADonation$5,000
St Blanche Church Priest Lake, IDDonation$4,000
University of Idaho Moscow, IDDonation$2,000
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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—$12,544$308,592$299,00010$299,000$10,576$7,485
2024$296,048$16,394$40,376$38,0009$38,000$14,018$14,955
2023$320,030$16,321$39,250$37,0009$37,000$14,071$16,040
2022$339,946$-49,257$39,125$37,0009$37,000$10,414$16,543
2021$427,720$10,556$39,075$36,50010$36,500$8,667$21,978
2020$469,657$-9,512$44,025$41,50011—$8,453$24,007

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Herak Foundation reported a distributable amount of $7K 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 show support for a range of organizations. Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame describes its mission as raising up joyful leaders and saints through a Catholic classical education. Union Gospel Mission describes its mission as helping people move from homelessness to wholeness by following Christ. Eternal Word Television Network describes its work as operating Catholic television, radio, and internet media networks.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 10 grants totaling $299,000. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $100,000, with a median of $15,000. Larger grants included $100,000 to Gonzaga University, $68,000 to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, $40,000 each to Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame and Nazareth Guild, and $20,000 to Priest Lake Food Bank.

The 2025 filing says the foundation made these distributions in complete liquidation. The filing listed a written request regarding qualifications or need as the application material, no deadline, and a restriction that family members of co-trustees are not eligible. These instructions are from the final filing and should not be treated as a current application process.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing listed Marc A. Dorendorf, Donna Herak, and Jerome P. Herak as trustees.

Herak Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; all 3 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Donna Herak

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2025)

  • Jerome P. Herak

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2025)

  • Marc A. Dorendorf

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $1K (2025)

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.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Marc a Dorendorf — Trustee: $1KMarc a DorendorfTrustee$1KDonna Herak — Trustee: $1KDonna HerakTrustee$1KJerome P Herak — Trustee: $1KJerome P HerakTrustee$1K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $1K, to Marc a Dorendorf (Trustee). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Herak Foundation

How much does Herak Foundation give each year?

Herak Foundation gave $299K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $38K across 9 grants.

What is Herak Foundation's typical grant size?

Herak Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $15,000, and its average grant was $29,900, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Herak Foundation that year got $4K on average.

Where does Herak Foundation give grants?

Herak Foundation gives mostly in Washington: 88% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Idaho (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were Spokane, WA (6 grants) and Priest Lake, ID (2 grants).

Does Herak Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Herak Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Donation" (10 grants).

Who are Herak Foundation's largest grantees?

Herak Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Gonzaga University ($100,000), Lady of Lourdes ($68,000) and Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame ($40,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 70% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

What does Herak Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame describes its mission as raising up joyful leaders and saints through a Catholic classical education. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Herak Foundation?

The final filing listed a written request regarding qualifications or need; family members of co-trustees were ineligible. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

How much is Herak Foundation required to give away each year?

Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2025, Herak Foundation reported a distributable amount of $7K on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

What is Herak Foundation's EIN?

Herak Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 91-1621226. 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

(2)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 5, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Herak Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/herak-foundation-morg_0dcdd8d7d52e4b188af2ca3a29168af3

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_911621226_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Herak Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/herak-foundation-morg_0dcdd8d7d52e4b188af2ca3a29168af3},
  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 Herak 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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