Knier Family Foundation
The Knier Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Cary, North Carolina. Its 2025 filing states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and limits awards to education, research, and/or medical assistance.
Knier Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Knier Family Foundation gave $129K across 38 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in North Carolina. 29% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $128,865
- +13.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 38
- +31.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $3,391
- -13.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $1,673,579
- +116.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 29% first-time grantees (11 of 38, 2025)
- Primary geography
- North Carolina (86% 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 Knier Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Its filing says to submit a letter to Steve and Bonnie Knier with an IRS determination letter stating the purpose of the grant request. Awards are limited to education, research, and/or medical assistance.
- Review Cycle
- December 1.
- Deadline
- December 1.
- Contact
Application contact: Steve And Bonnie Knier
Mailing address: 1400 Crescent Green Dr, Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 816-1660
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Knier Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Lake Toxaway Charities ($25K). Together the top 10 received $103K.
Grant Size Distribution
140 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 140 grants of 140 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 86% of grant dollars went to recipients in North Carolina, 8% to Illinois, 2% to Tennessee, 2% to Washington, DC, and 1% to Ohio.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 38 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Knier Family Foundation open to new grantees?
29%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 11 of 38 grantees (29%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $4K. How we count
Medians: $1K first-time, $1K repeat.
- 55% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 32% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 164% of 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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $75K (2020) to $129K (2025). In 2025 it made 38 grants totaling $129K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Toxaway Charities Lake Toxaway, NC | Support of Daily Activities | $25,250 |
| Cardinal Gibbons High School Raleigh, NC | General Endowment | $21,500 |
| The Carying Place Inc Cary, NC | General Support | $21,178 |
| Gigi's Playhouse Hoffman Estates, IL | Support of Daily Activities | $10,000 |
| Bread of Life Brevard, NC | General Support | $10,000 |
| Gabi's Powered by Special Abilities Raleigh, NC | General Support | $5,000 |
| Catholic Diocese of Raleigh Raleigh, NC | Support of Daily Activities | $2,500 |
| Miracle League Cary, NC | General Support | $2,500 |
| Blood Cancer United Washington, DC | General Support | $2,500 |
| Gary Sinise Foundation Nashville, TN | General Support | $2,500 |
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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 | $1,673,579 | $1,045,094 | $143,085 | $128,865 | 38 | $129,771 | $1,032,386 | $79,221 |
| 2024 | $771,570 | $44,970 | $127,271 | $113,091 | 29 | $113,916 | $32,019 | $107,124 |
| 2023 | $853,871 | $35,599 | $108,745 | $95,160 | 22 | $96,560 | $29,082 | $94,829 |
| 2022 | $927,017 | $47,407 | $109,943 | $97,700 | 26 | $98,800 | $35,879 | $95,089 |
| 2021 | $989,553 | $50,510 | $105,645 | $93,078 | 25 | $93,578 | $38,516 | $105,839 |
| 2020 | $1,044,628 | $4,358 | $86,307 | $75,119 | 18 | — | $32,500 | $87,167 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Knier Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $79K 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 filing lists education, research, and medical assistance as the areas for which awards are limited. Recent grants also list purposes such as general support, support of daily activities, and general endowment.
The supported organizations have varied missions. For example, Lake Toxaway Charities says it supports charities, medical outreach, and educators serving people who are abused, disabled, indigent, or have special needs in Transylvania County, North Carolina. The Carying Place says it provides short-term housing and support services while teaching independent-living skills to homeless working families with children. Gigi’s Playhouse describes its work as providing free educational, therapeutic, and career-development programs for people with Down syndrome, their families, and the community.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 38 grants totaling $128,865. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $25,250, with a median of $1,000.
Among the largest 2025 grants were $25,250 to Lake Toxaway Charities for support of daily activities, $21,500 to Cardinal Gibbons High School for general endowment, and $21,178 to The Carying Place for general support. Other notable grants included $10,000 each to Gigi’s Playhouse for support of daily activities and Bread of Life for general support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Steven J. Knier and Bonnie J. Knier as trustees.
Knier Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Bonnie J. Knier
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Steven J. Knier
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Knier Family Foundation
How much does Knier Family Foundation give each year?
Knier Family Foundation gave $129K across 38 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $113K across 29 grants.
What is Knier Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Knier Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $3,391, across 38 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Knier Family Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Knier Family Foundation give grants?
Knier Family Foundation gives mostly in North Carolina: 86% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Illinois (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Raleigh, NC (8 grants), Cary, NC (6 grants), Durham, NC (3 grants) and Apex, NC (3 grants).
Does Knier Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 58% of Knier Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (22 of 38) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Support of Daily Activities" (14 grants).
Who are Knier Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Knier Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Lake Toxaway Charities ($25,250), Cardinal Gibbons High School ($21,500) and The Carying Place Inc ($21,178), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 53% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Knier Family Foundation?
Knier Family Foundation reported $1.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $130K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $79K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Knier Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its filing lists education, research, and medical assistance as the areas for which awards are limited. Recent grants also list purposes such as general support, support of daily activities, and general endowment. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Knier Family Foundation?
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Knier Family Foundation's EIN?
Knier Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 56-2061224. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Knier 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
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 27, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 5, 2026)
Live grants for the work Knier Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Knier Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Knier Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/knier-family-foundation-morg_a91aae3d9b074761bac40f360a19a9d6
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_562061224_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Knier Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/knier-family-foundation-morg_a91aae3d9b074761bac40f360a19a9d6},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Knier 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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