John D Gruwell Trust
The John D Gruwell Trust is a private foundation based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Its 2025 filing reports scholarship grants to Maryland universities and states that awards are available to high school students enrolled at a Caroline County high school.
John D Gruwell Trust at a glance
In short: John D Gruwell Trust gave $68K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Maryland. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $68,000
- +2.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 22
- +46.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,091
- -30.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,050
- Total assets
- $1,267,476
- -0.6% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Maryland (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 John D Gruwell Trust
- How to Apply
-
The filing lists the Center for Scholarship Admin as the application contact and directs applicants to its online materials. Awards are available to high school students enrolled at a Caroline County high school. The filing states that the Trust does not restrict giving to preselected organizations.
- Review Cycle
- The filing states that all materials must be submitted to CSA with a postmark no later than “F.”
- Deadline
- The filing states that all materials must be submitted to CSA with a postmark no later than “F.”
- Contact
Application contact: Center For Scholarship Admin
Mailing address: 4320 G Wade Hampton Blvd, Taylors, SC 29687
Phone: (886) 608-0001
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who John D Gruwell Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 5 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was University of Maryland College Park ($30K across 9 grants). Together the top 5 received $68K.
Grant Size Distribution
111 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 111 grants of 111 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Maryland. The filing also limits award availability to high school students enrolled at a Caroline County high school.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How John D Gruwell Trust gives
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+5%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 109% 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
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $57K (2019) to $68K (2025). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $68K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Towson University Towson, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| Salisbury University Salisbury, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland College Park College Park, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland College Park College Park, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| Towson University Towson, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| Towson University Towson, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland College Park College Park, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland College Park College Park, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
| University of Maryland College Park College Park, MD | Scholarship | $5,000 |
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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 | $1,267,476 | $91,412 | $98,654 | $68,000 | 22 | $80,950 | $74,519 | $74,179 |
| 2024 | $1,274,813 | $60,374 | $94,963 | $66,500 | 15 | $78,925 | $43,508 | $86,034 |
| 2023 | $1,292,807 | $44,044 | $90,415 | $65,000 | 28 | $75,549 | $28,445 | $78,010 |
| 2022 | $1,328,081 | $52,123 | $93,271 | $65,000 | 20 | $75,739 | $36,439 | $71,301 |
| 2021 | $1,366,969 | $143,890 | $87,570 | $59,000 | 26 | $68,660 | $125,758 | $80,549 |
| 2020 | $1,306,188 | $116,899 | $85,602 | $58,000 | 38 | — | $100,990 | $71,660 |
| 2019 | $1,269,488 | $110,983 | $82,935 | $56,995 | 5 | — | $95,048 | $64,690 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, John D Gruwell Trust reported a distributable amount of $74K 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 Trust is provided. Its 2025 grants were designated for scholarships. One grantee, the University of Maryland College Park, describes its own mission as administering property and making expenditures to benefit the university in support of its mission, goals, and programs.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the Trust reported 22 grants totaling $68,000. Grants ranged from $600 to $5,000, with a median of $2,050. All reported grant dollars went to recipients in Maryland, and the listed grants were for scholarships. Recipients included Towson University, Salisbury University, the University of Maryland College Park, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; each received grants of up to $5,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Wells Fargo Bank N.A. is listed as trustee on the 2025 filing.
John D Gruwell Trust's only listed officer is Wells Fargo Bank N A, Trustee on every filing since 2019 (compensated).
Officers on the 2025 filing
Wells Fargo Bank N A
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
$19K (2019) → $22K (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 $22K, to Wells Fargo Bank N a (Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about John D Gruwell Trust
How much does John D Gruwell Trust give each year?
John D Gruwell Trust gave $68K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $67K across 15 grants.
What is John D Gruwell Trust's typical grant size?
John D Gruwell Trust's median grant in 2025 was $2,050, and its average grant was $3,091, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does John D Gruwell Trust give grants?
John D Gruwell Trust gives mostly in Maryland: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were College Park, MD (9 grants), Towson, MD (6 grants), Salisbury, MD (3 grants) and Princess Anne, MD (2 grants).
Does John D Gruwell Trust give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 22 grants with a stated purpose on John D Gruwell Trust's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship" (22 grants).
Who are John D Gruwell Trust's largest grantees?
John D Gruwell Trust's largest 2025 grantees include University of Maryland College Park ($30,200 across 9 grants), Towson University ($21,100 across 6 grants) and Salisbury University ($8,500 across 3 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 88% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is John D Gruwell Trust?
John D Gruwell Trust reported $1.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $81K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $74K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does John D Gruwell Trust fund?
No mission statement for the Trust is provided. Its 2025 grants were designated for scholarships. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from John D Gruwell Trust?
The filing lists the Center for Scholarship Admin as the application contact and directs applicants to its online materials. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is John D Gruwell Trust's EIN?
John D Gruwell Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 25-6699434. 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
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 6, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 4, 2026)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 3, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 5, 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 May 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 19, 2024)
Live grants for the work John D Gruwell Trust funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in John D Gruwell Trust's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). John D Gruwell Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/john-d-gruwell-trust-morg_e778929eb69646219d665522e957035b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_256699434_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{John D Gruwell Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/john-d-gruwell-trust-morg_e778929eb69646219d665522e957035b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 John D Gruwell 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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