Karen Stirling Family Foundation
The Karen Stirling Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilmington, Delaware. Its 2024 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with listed recipients working in areas including wildlife rehabilitation, food assistance, services for children with serious illnesses, and efforts to end forced and child marriage.
Karen Stirling Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Karen Stirling Family Foundation gave $127K across 13 grants in 2024 (avg $10K), top state Wisconsin. 62% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $127,300
- -31.2% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 13
- -18.8% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $9,792
- -15.3% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $2,229,998
- -2.3% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 62% first-time grantees (8 of 13, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Wisconsin (20% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Karen Stirling Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests; it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE 19809-1377
Phone: (800) 839-1754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Karen Stirling Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was African Oyster Trust ($35K). Together the top 10 received $124K.
Grant Size Distribution
55 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 54 grants of 55 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2024 grants listed recipients in Wisconsin, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The recipient location for African Oyster Trust is not provided.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Karen Stirling Family Foundation open to new grantees?
62%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 8 of 13 grantees (62%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $19K. How we count
Medians: $4K first-time, $25K repeat.
- 31% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+1%). Method
- In 2024 it paid out 106% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $48K (2020) to $185K (2023). In 2024 it made 13 grants totaling $127K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| African Oyster Trust | General & Unrestricted | $35,000 |
| Little Boost Press Inc Elkhorn, WI | General & Unrestricted | $25,000 |
| United Charitable Ashburn, VA | General & Unrestricted | $25,000 |
| Songs of Love Foundation Forest Hills, NY | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Woodlands Wildlife Refuge Inc Pittstown, NJ | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Broken Souls Rescue and Recovery Inc Staten Island, NY | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Sparta Community Food Pantry Inc Sparta, NJ | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Unchained at Last Westfield, NJ | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Blanchet House of Hospitality Portland, OR | General & Unrestricted | $2,000 |
| Sandy Hook Promise Foundation Newtown, CT | General & Unrestricted | $2,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,229,998 | $118,716 | $170,812 | $127,300 | 13 | $143,202 | $92,106 | $135,642 |
| 2023 | $2,282,094 | $135,243 | $227,707 | $185,000 | 16 | $201,718 | $110,854 | $125,989 |
| 2022 | $2,374,558 | $138,749 | $106,466 | $62,000 | 7 | $78,404 | $113,587 | $129,340 |
| 2021 | $2,342,275 | $209,182 | $173,732 | $126,500 | 12 | $144,209 | $182,239 | $143,550 |
| 2020 | $2,306,825 | $136,806 | $87,944 | $47,500 | 7 | — | $214,177 | $120,058 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Karen Stirling Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $136K for 2024 — 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 2024 grants include support for organizations whose own missions include wildlife rehabilitation and education, food and emergency assistance, personalized songs for children and young adults who are chronically or terminally ill, and services and systems change to end forced and child marriage. For example, Woodlands Wildlife Refuge describes its mission as rehabilitating and releasing injured and orphaned native wildlife, while Songs of Love Foundation describes its work as bringing comfort to ill children and young adults through personalized songs.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2024, the foundation reported 13 grants totaling $127,300. Grant amounts ranged from $300 to $35,000, with a median grant of $5,000.
Among its largest 2024 grants, African Oyster Trust received $35,000; Little Boost Press and United Charitable each received $25,000; Songs of Love Foundation and Woodlands Wildlife Refuge each received $10,000; and Broken Souls Rescue and Recovery, Sparta Community Food Pantry, and Unchained at Last each received $5,000. These grants were designated for general and unrestricted purposes. The 2024 filing also lists grants to Blanchet House of Hospitality, Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue, and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation. Source information also identifies a $300 grant to Sparta Ambulance Service in 2024.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation’s 2024 filing lists Karen Stirling as president, director, and secretary; Ian Stirling as vice president; and Stephen Stirling as vice president.
Karen Stirling Family Foundation is led by Karen Stirling, President, Director & Secretary on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Karen Stirling
President, Director & Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ian Stirling
Vice President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephen Stirling
Vice President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Karen Stirling Family Foundation
How much does Karen Stirling Family Foundation give each year?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation gave $127K across 13 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $185K across 16 grants.
What is Karen Stirling Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $5,000, and its average grant was $9,792, across 13 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Karen Stirling Family Foundation that year got $4K on average.
Where does Karen Stirling Family Foundation give grants?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation's top state is Wisconsin, with 20% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Virginia (20%) and New Jersey (18%). The most frequent recipient cities were Sparta, NJ (2 grants).
Does Karen Stirling Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Karen Stirling Family Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 13) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Karen Stirling Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include African Oyster Trust ($35,000), Little Boost Press Inc ($25,000) and United Charitable ($25,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 67% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Karen Stirling Family Foundation?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation reported $2.2M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $143K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $136K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Karen Stirling Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Karen Stirling Family Foundation?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests; it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Karen Stirling Family Foundation's EIN?
Karen Stirling Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-2166368. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Karen Stirling Family 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 September 2026.
Data update history
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Karen Stirling Family Foundation funds
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Browse active grant opportunities in Karen Stirling Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Karen Stirling Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/karen-stirling-family-foundation-morg_57e85413cfa84e1bb5bf046e1f7d7e8e
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_262166368_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Karen Stirling Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/karen-stirling-family-foundation-morg_57e85413cfa84e1bb5bf046e1f7d7e8e},
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 Karen Stirling Family 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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