James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust

Private foundation · Grantmaker Canton, IL EIN: 36-7139856

The James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust is a private foundation based in Canton, Illinois. Its 2025 filing reports scholarship grants to applicants who must be Canton High School graduates attending a four-year college.

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust at a glance

In short: James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust gave $45K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $2K), mostly in Illinois. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$44,800
+40.4% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
19
+26.7% vs 2024
Average grant
$2,358
+10.9% vs 2024
Median grant
$2,300
Total assets
$409,381
-5.9% vs 2024
Primary geography
Illinois (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.

How to apply to James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust

How to Apply

The 2025 filing says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It lists the Canton High School counselor as the contact and the Canton High School principal and guidance office as the source of recipient materials. Applicants must be Canton High School graduates attending a four-year college.

Review Cycle
April 1. The filing does not specify a year for this deadline; the stated date is past as of September 28, 2026.
Deadline
April 1.
Contact

Application contact: Counselor Canton High School
Mailing address: 1001 N Main St, Canton, IL 61520
Phone: (309) 647-1820

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

Who James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

72 grants across all recorded years

72<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 72 grants of 72 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Illinois. The listed 2025 recipients were in Canton, Illinois.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.

States

Cities

Canton

How James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust gives

  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 102% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$20K$40K$60K9 grants2020 9 grants2021 13 grants2022 16 grants2023 15 grants2024 19 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $24K (2020) to $48K (2023). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $45K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
19 individual scholarships Recipients not named —$44,800
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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$409,381$26,592$52,213$44,80019$44,800$19,193$44,071
2024$435,040$26,361$38,957$31,90015$31,900$17,794$43,620
2023$447,669$26,721$55,288$48,32516$48,325$20,297$38,587
2022$476,328$8,184$53,556$45,62513$45,625$13,571$39,284
2021$522,021$56,191$37,288$29,7509$29,750$49,900$43,925
2020$500,584$56,642$29,934$23,7509—$51,053$35,765

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust reported a distributable amount of $44K 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 is provided. The 2025 filing describes the grants as scholarships and states that applicants must be Canton High School graduates attending a four-year college.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the trust reported 19 grants totaling $44,800. Grant amounts ranged from $2,300 to $3,400, with a median of $2,300. Named recipients included an individual recipient, who received $3,400, and 11 individual recipients, who each received $2,300. The listed purpose for these grants was scholarship.

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's only listed officer is Midamerica National Bank, Trustee on every filing since 2020 (compensated).

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Midamerica National Bank

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $5K (2020) → $7K (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

Midamerica National Bank — Trustee: $7KMidamerica National BankTrustee$7K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $7K, to Midamerica National Bank (Trustee).

Frequently asked questions about James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust

How much does James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust give each year?

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust gave $45K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $32K across 15 grants.

What is James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's typical grant size?

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's median grant in 2025 was $2,300, and its average grant was $2,358, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust give grants?

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust gives mostly in Illinois: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there.

Does James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 19 grants with a stated purpose on James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship" (19 grants).

How large is James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust?

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust reported $409K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $45K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $44K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust fund?

No mission statement is provided. The 2025 filing describes the grants as scholarships and states that applicants must be Canton High School graduates attending a four-year college. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust?

The 2025 filing says 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 James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's EIN?

James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-7139856. 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

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 12, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 11, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 12, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 12, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open

Figures come from James & Lena Halsey Educational Trust'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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