Margaret V Ping Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Billings, MT EIN: 26-4347667

The Margaret V Ping Foundation is a private foundation based in Billings, Montana. Its 2025 filing states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and lists award restrictions related to charitable or educational purposes involving peace, combating hunger, and environmental concerns.

Margaret V Ping Foundation at a glance

In short: Margaret V Ping Foundation gave $99K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Montana. 13% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$99,000
+4.2% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
16
-5.9% vs 2024
Average grant
$6,188
+10.7% vs 2024
Median grant
$5,500
Total assets
$592,119
-1.9% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
13% first-time grantees (2 of 16, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Montana (98% 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 Margaret V Ping Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Its filing says to contact Candace Forrette and submit materials typed on plain paper. Awards are restricted to charitable or educational purposes related to peace, combating hunger, and addressing environmental concerns.

Review Cycle
The filing lists September of the current year. For the 2025 filing, that refers to September 2025, a past cycle.
Deadline
The filing lists September of the current year.
Contact

Application contact: Candace Forrette
Mailing address: PO Box 20216, Billings, MT 59104
Phone: (406) 259-3075

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Margaret V Ping Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Family Service: $10KFamily Service$10KNorthern Plains Resource Council: $10KNorthern Plains ResourceCouncil$10KSoft Landing Missoula: $10KSoft Landing Missoula$10KYWCA: $10KYWCA$10KNations to Neighbors: $10KNations to Neighbors$10KMt Audubon: $7KMt Audubon$7KAngelas Piazza: $6KAngelas Piazza$6KMt Environmental Information Center: $6KMt Environmental InformationCenter$6KMissoula Aging: $5KMissoula Aging$5KMountain Home Montana: $5KMountain Home Montana$5K

The largest 2025 recipient was Family Service ($10K). Together the top 10 received $79K.

Grant Size Distribution

74 grants across all recorded years

74<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 74 grants of 74 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation’s 2025 grants were reported as 98% to recipients in Montana and 2% to recipients in South Dakota.

Grant Distribution by State

4states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.

Cities

BillingsMissoulaHelenaSioux FallsMcLeodSaint PaulSalt Lake CityRed Lodge

Is Margaret V Ping Foundation open to new grantees?

13%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 2 of 16 grantees (13%) were first-time recipients. With only 16 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 6 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $7K. How we count

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

  • 88% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+12%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 300% 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

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K14 grants2020 12 grants2021 13 grants2022 16 grants2023 17 grants2024 16 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $87K (2020) to $99K (2025). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $99K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Family Service Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$10,000
Northern Plains Resource Council Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$10,000
Soft Landing Missoula Missoula, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$10,000
YWCA Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$10,000
Nations to Neighbors Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$10,000
Mt Audubon Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$7,000
Angelas Piazza Billings, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$6,000
Mt Environmental Information Center Helena, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$6,000
Missoula Aging Missoula, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$5,000
Mountain Home Montana Missoula, MTPhilanthropic Purposes$5,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$592,119$99,955$107,463$99,00016$99,000$93,014$32,977
2024$603,847$78,835$103,188$95,00017$95,000$71,507$36,374
2023$653,837$37,169$101,580$93,00016$93,000$29,527$37,389
2022$714,248$35,686$98,093$88,50013$88,500$17,214$41,669
2021$766,655$70,470$101,336$90,00012$90,000$60,522$49,419
2020$797,521$48,926$96,142$86,60014—$40,365$44,009

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Margaret V Ping Foundation reported a distributable amount of $33K 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 foundation mission is stated in the available information. The foundation’s 2025 filing lists peace, combating hunger, and environmental concerns among the purposes related to its awards.

Examples of supported organizations illustrate their own stated missions. Northern Plains Resource Council says it organizes Montanans to protect water, land, air, and working landscapes and to support sustainable local economies. Family Service says it works to prevent hunger, homelessness, and poverty in Yellowstone County and surrounding areas. Angela’s Piazza describes itself as supporting women in building safer lives free from addiction and violence. Mountain Home Montana says it provides a safe, stable, and nurturing home for young mothers and their children.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 16 grants totaling $99,000. Grants ranged from $2,000 to $10,000, with a median of $5,500. The largest listed awards were $10,000 each to Family Service, Northern Plains Resource Council, Soft Landing Missoula, YWCA, and Nations to Neighbors. Other listed awards included $7,000 to MT Audubon; $6,000 each to Angela’s Piazza and MT Environmental Information Center; and $5,000 each to Missoula Aging, Mountain Home Montana, and Singing Waters.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Candace Forrette as President, Valerie McMurtry as Vice President, Ed Gulick as Secretary, and Mark Moak as Treasurer.

Margaret V Ping Foundation is led by Candace Forrette, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Candace Forrette

    President

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mark Moak

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Valerie McMurtry

    Vice President

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ed Gulick

    Secretary

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (1)
  • Former: Edward Gulick (2020–2022) — Secretary

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 Margaret V Ping Foundation

How much does Margaret V Ping Foundation give each year?

Margaret V Ping Foundation gave $99K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $95K across 17 grants.

What is Margaret V Ping Foundation's typical grant size?

Margaret V Ping Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,500, and its average grant was $6,188, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Margaret V Ping Foundation that year got $3K on average.

Where does Margaret V Ping Foundation give grants?

Margaret V Ping Foundation gives mostly in Montana: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Billings, MT (9 grants), Missoula, MT (3 grants) and Helena, MT (2 grants).

Does Margaret V Ping Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 16 grants with a stated purpose on Margaret V Ping Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Philanthropic Purposes" (16 grants).

Who are Margaret V Ping Foundation's largest grantees?

Margaret V Ping Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Family Service ($10,000), Northern Plains Resource Council ($10,000) and Soft Landing Missoula ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 30% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Margaret V Ping Foundation?

Margaret V Ping Foundation reported $592K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $99K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $33K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Margaret V Ping Foundation fund?

No foundation mission is stated in the available information. The foundation’s 2025 filing lists peace, combating hunger, and environmental concerns among the purposes related to its awards. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Margaret V Ping Foundation?

The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests and 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 Margaret V Ping Foundation's EIN?

Margaret V Ping Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-4347667. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Margaret V Ping 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

(2)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Margaret V Ping Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/margaret-v-ping-foundation-morg_ade76f580bd24f029832f0252f5f4a56

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_264347667_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Margaret V Ping Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/margaret-v-ping-foundation-morg_ade76f580bd24f029832f0252f5f4a56},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 Margaret V Ping 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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