Kesselman Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Lakewood, CO EIN: 84-1406852

The Kesselman Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Lakewood, Colorado. It reported 22 grants totaling $72,555 in filing year 2025, supporting charitable organizations including scholarship funds, food assistance organizations, and community service organizations.

Key facts about Kesselman Family Foundation

In short: Kesselman Family Foundation gave $73K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Colorado. 9% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
84-1406852
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$72,555
Grants made (2025)
22
Average grant
$3,298
Median grant
$2,500
New grantees (estimate)
9% first-time grantees (2 of 22, 2025; small sample)
Total assets
$1,081,958
Primary geography
Colorado (52% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$1.1M

-1.2% YoY

Annual Giving

$73K

+14.6% YoY

Grant Count

22

-15.4% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$3K

+35.5% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Kesselman Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $71K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is Kesselman Family Foundation open to new grantees?

9%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 2 of 22 grantees (9%) were first-time recipients. With only 22 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $6K; repeat grants $3K. How we count

Medians: $6K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 77% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 21% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 104% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

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 included support for organizations whose stated missions include providing access to nutritious food (Feeding America), responding to humanitarian and community crises with meals (World Central Kitchen), and meeting people’s physical and spiritual needs (Denver Rescue Mission). The foundation also gave to education-related recipients, including the Jerome and Fern Kesselman Endowed Scholarships and CU Foundation Boulder Financial Aid.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 22 grants totaling $72,555. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $7,500, with a median grant of $2,500. Its largest listed grants included $7,500 each to the Jerome Kesselman Endowed Scholarship and Fern Kesselman Endowed Scholarship; $6,250 to Tunnel to Towers; $6,215 to International Fellowship of Christi; and $6,000 each to The Trevor Project and Feeding America.

Other listed 2025 grants included $3,215 to CU Foundation Boulder Financial Aid; $3,125 each to Georgetown University Fund for, The Action Center, and The Family Tree; and $2,500 each to Denver Rescue Mission and Habitat for Humanity. Additional reported recipients included Mile High United Way, Colorado Academy, Geneva Glen Camp, Asia Initiatives, and World Central Kitchen.

How to Apply

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 52% of grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado, 17% to Illinois, 14% to New York, 8% to California, and 6% to Washington, DC.

Grant Distribution by State

10states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.

Cities

DenverNew YorkWashingtonLakewoodBostonCentennialIndian HillsIthacaWest HollywoodWheat RidgeBerkeleyChicagoColorado SpringsEnglewoodMemphisAlexandriaCastle RockCommerce CityNewtonPittsburg

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$20K$40K$60K$80K32 grants2021 25 grants2022 28 grants2023 26 grants2024 22 grants2025

From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $60K (2022) to $77K (2021). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $73K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Jerome Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi: $8KJerome Kesselman EndowedScholarshi$8KFern Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi: $8KFern Kesselman EndowedScholarshi$8KTunnel to Towers: $6KTunnel to Towers$6KInternational Fellowship of Christi: $6KInternational Fellowship ofChristi$6KThe Trevor Project: $6KThe Trevor Project$6KFeeding America: $6KFeeding America$6KCu Foundation Boulder Financial Aid: $3KCu Foundation BoulderFinancial Aid$3KGeorgetown University Fund for: $3KGeorgetown University Fund for$3KThe Action Center: $3KThe Action Center$3KThe Family Tree: $3KThe Family Tree$3K

The largest 2025 recipient was Jerome Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi ($8K). Together the top 10 received $52K.

Grant Size Distribution

133 grants across all recorded years

133<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 133 grants of 133 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Jerome Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi Denver, COCharitable$7,500
Fern Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi Denver, COCharitable$7,500
Tunnel to Towers Staten Island, NYCharitable$6,250
International Fellowship of Christi Chicago, ILCharitable$6,215
The Trevor Project West Hollywood, CACharitable$6,000
Feeding America Chicago, ILCharitable$6,000
Cu Foundation Boulder Financial Aid Denver, COCharitable$3,215
Georgetown University Fund for Washington, DCCharitable$3,125
The Action Center Lakewood, COCharitable$3,125
The Family Tree Wheat Ridge, COCharitable$3,125

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2025 $1,081,958 $65,747 $79,165 $72,555 (22 grants)
2024 $1,095,376 $69,662 $69,650 $63,300 (26 grants)
2023 $1,095,364 $37,433 $65,996 $60,050 (28 grants)
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$25K$50K$75K$100K2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$1,081,958$1,095,376$1,095,364
Revenue$65,747$69,662$37,433
Expenses$79,165$69,650$65,996
Qualifying Distributions$73,983$65,061$61,527
Net Investment Income$35,581$32,954$25,081
Distributable Amount$70,944$62,223$62,451

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 12, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 14, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 6, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 15, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 21, 2026)
  6. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Edward N Kesselman as president.

Kesselman Family Foundation is led by Edward N. Kesselman, President on every filing since 2021 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Edward N. Kesselman

    President

    On filings since 2021

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Contact

Mailing address: 2140 S Parfet Dr, Lakewood, CO 80227-1943
Phone: (303) 980-8278

Frequently asked questions about Kesselman Family Foundation

How much does Kesselman Family Foundation give each year?

Kesselman Family Foundation gave $73K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $63K across 26 grants.

What is Kesselman Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Kesselman Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $3,298, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Kesselman Family Foundation that year got $6K on average.

Where does Kesselman Family Foundation give grants?

Kesselman Family Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 52% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Illinois (17%) and New York (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (8 grants), Chicago, IL (2 grants), Washington, DC (2 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).

Does Kesselman Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 22 grants with a stated purpose on Kesselman Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (22 grants).

Who are Kesselman Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Kesselman Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Jerome Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi ($7,500), Fern Kesselman Endowed Scholarshi ($7,500) and Tunnel to Towers ($6,250), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 29% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Kesselman Family Foundation?

Kesselman Family Foundation reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $74K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $71K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Kesselman Family Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Kesselman Family Foundation?

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Kesselman Family Foundation's EIN?

Kesselman Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-1406852. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.

Does Kesselman 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.

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