Lamar County Fire Fighters Association

Public charity · Grantmaker Paris, TX EIN: 75-2449910

LAMAR COUNTY FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION is a public charity based in Paris, Texas, formed in 1992. It oversees public donations and certain fundraising for 19 volunteer fire departments in Lamar County and supports those departments’ education, training, communication, and funding needs.

Key facts about Lamar County Fire Fighters Association

In short: Lamar County Fire Fighters Association gave $257K across 17 grants in 2025 (avg $15K), mostly in Texas. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

EIN
75-2449910
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$256,783
Grants made (2025)
17
Average grant
$15,105
Median grant
$11,609
New grantees (estimate)
0% first-time grantees (0 of 17, 2025)
Total assets
$22,862
Primary geography
Texas (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing

Total Assets

$23K

+20.1% YoY

Annual Giving

$257K

+14.1% YoY

Grant Count

17

+0.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$15K

+14.1% YoY

Is Lamar County Fire Fighters Association open to new grantees?

0%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 0 of 17 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. How we count

  • 100% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 33% from 2022 to 2025. Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2022–2025). 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

The organization’s stated mission is to oversee donations for 19 volunteer fire departments in Lamar County. Its filing describes its role as assisting those departments with programs necessary for the preservation of life and protection of property from fire.

In 2025, the association made grants to volunteer fire departments. Brookston VFD, one of its grantees, describes its own mission as providing fire protection for the unincorporated community of Brookston, Texas.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the association reported 17 grants totaling $256,783. Grant amounts ranged from $5,407 to $42,992, with a median of $11,609. Its largest reported grants included $42,992 to Blossom VFD, $40,034 to Powderly VFD, $22,005 to Faught VFD, $19,794 to Brookston VFD, and $17,098 to Reno VFD. The stated purpose for these grants was to provide donations to help volunteers fight fires.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All reported grant dollars in 2025 went to recipients in Texas.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 17 itemized grants.

States

Cities

ParisSumnerBlossomPowderlyBrookstonChicotaDeportRenoRoxton

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K0 grants2019 0 grants2020 0 grants2021 16 grants2022 17 grants2023 17 grants2024 17 grants2025

From 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $193K (2022) to $257K (2025). In 2025 it made 17 grants totaling $257K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Blossom VFD: $43KBlossom VFD$43KPowderly VFD: $40KPowderly VFD$40KFaught VFD: $22KFaught VFD$22KBrookston VFD: $20KBrookston VFD$20KReno VFD: $17KReno VFD$17KHopewell VFD: $16KHopewell VFD$16KLamar Point VFD: $15KLamar Point VFD$15KTigertown VFD: $13KTigertown VFD$13KChicota VFD: $12KChicota VFD$12KMidway VFD: $10KMidway VFD$10K

The largest 2025 recipient was Blossom VFD ($43K). Together the top 10 received $207K.

Grant Size Distribution

67 grants across all recorded years

67<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 67 grants of 67 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Blossom VFD Blossom, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$42,992
Powderly VFD Powderly, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$40,034
Faught VFD Paris, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$22,005
Brookston VFD Brookston, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$19,794
Reno VFD Reno, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$17,098
Hopewell VFD Sumner, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$16,410
Lamar Point VFD Powderly, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$14,722
Tigertown VFD Sumner, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$12,665
Chicota VFD Chicota, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$11,609
Midway VFD Paris, TXProvide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires$10,021

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2025 $22,862 $285,691 $281,861 $256,783
2024 $19,032 $251,105 $251,747 $225,087
2023 $19,674 $226,672 $225,599 $200,920
Revenue
Expenses
$0$100K$200K$300K$400K2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$22,862$19,032$19,674
Revenue$285,691$251,105$226,672
Expenses$281,861$251,747$225,599

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-EZ for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 11, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 15, 2023)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 3, 2024)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 9, 2025)
  5. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 1, 2026)

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists the following volunteer fire departments as directors: Biardstown VFD, Blossom VFD, Brookston VFD, Chicota VFD, Cummingham VFD, Deport VFD, Direct VFD, East Post Oak VFD, Faught VFD, and Hopewell VFD.

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association is led by Matthew Barbee, President since 2024 (on filings since 2023); none of the 22 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Matthew Barbee

    President

    Vice President → President, 2024

    On filings since 2023

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Biardstown Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Blossom Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Brookston Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Chicota Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Deport Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • East Post Oak Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Hopewell Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Lamar Point Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Reno Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Roxton Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Tigertown Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2021

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Cummingham Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Direct Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Faught Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Midway Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Novice Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Pattonville Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Powderly Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Taylortown Vfd

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Rick Browning

    Secretary & Treasurer

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Brent Cooper

    Vice President

    New on the 2025 filing

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (8)
  • Former: Austin Bush (2022–2024) — Vice President
  • Former: Dakota McDowra (2022) — Vice President
  • Former: Cunningham Vfd (2021) — Director
  • Former: Tyler Bussell (2019–2020) — President
  • Former: Chris Shoemate (2020) — Vice President
  • Former: Chad Graves (2019) — Vice President
  • Former: Chris McLemore (2019) — Secretary
  • Former: Roger Bussell (2019) — President

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.

Contact

Mailing address: 2673 North Main St 101, Paris, TX 75460
Phone: (903) 491-6551

Frequently asked questions about Lamar County Fire Fighters Association

How much does Lamar County Fire Fighters Association give each year?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association gave $257K across 17 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $225K across 17 grants.

What is Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's typical grant size?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's median grant in 2025 was $11,609, and its average grant was $15,105, across 17 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.

Where does Lamar County Fire Fighters Association give grants?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association gives mostly in Texas: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Paris, TX (5 grants), Sumner, TX (3 grants), Powderly, TX (2 grants) and Blossom, TX (2 grants).

Does Lamar County Fire Fighters Association give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 17 grants with a stated purpose on Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Provide Donations to Help Volunteers Fight Fires" (17 grants).

Who are Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's largest grantees?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's largest 2025 grantees include Blossom VFD ($42,992), Powderly VFD ($40,034) and Faught VFD ($22,005), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 41% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Lamar County Fire Fighters Association?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association reported $23K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $286K.

What does Lamar County Fire Fighters Association fund?

The organization’s stated mission is to oversee donations for 19 volunteer fire departments in Lamar County. Its filing describes its role as assisting those departments with programs necessary for the preservation of life and protection of property from fire. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Lamar County Fire Fighters Association?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.

What is Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's EIN?

Lamar County Fire Fighters Association's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 75-2449910. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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