Maria Fisher Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Lititz, PA EIN: 81-1213285

The Maria Fisher Foundation is a private foundation based in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations and scholarship recipients, with most grant dollars going to recipients in Pennsylvania.

Maria Fisher Foundation at a glance

In short: Maria Fisher Foundation gave $91K across 17 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), mostly in Pennsylvania. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$90,601
+154.8% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
17
+88.9% vs 2024
Average grant
$5,329
+34.9% vs 2024
Median grant
$1,000
Total assets
$2,032,540
+19.1% vs 2024
Primary geography
Pennsylvania (88% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.

How to apply to Maria Fisher Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

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

Contact

Mailing address: 22 Station Stone Lane, Lititz, PA 17513
Phone: (717) 368-6311

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

Who Maria Fisher Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Milagro House: $35KMilagro House$35KChildren Deserve a Chance Foundationattollo: $25KChildren Deserve a ChanceFoundationattollo$25KKamp Dovetail: $10KKamp Dovetail$10KAssets Lancaster: $5KAssets Lancaster$5KNativity School: $3KNativity School$3KA Week Away: $2KA Week Away$2KTrinity Reformed Ucoc: $1KTrinity Reformed Ucoc$1KWater Street Rescue Mission: $1KWater Street Rescue Mission$1KTenfold: $586Tenfold$586World Central Kitchen: $550World Central Kitchen$550

The largest 2025 recipient was Milagro House ($35K). Together the top 10 received $83K.

Organizations only. It also paid 2 individual scholarships ($6,500), which are not listed by name.

Grant Size Distribution

33 grants across all recorded years

33<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 33 grants of 33 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 88% of grant dollars went to recipients in Pennsylvania, 11% to Ohio, and 1% to Washington, DC. The filing also lists recipients in Tennessee and Oregon, each accounting for 0% of grant dollars.

Grant Distribution by State

6states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 17 itemized grants.

Cities

LancasterHarrisburgColumbiaChicagoClackamasHillsboroLandisvilleLebanonLititzMemphisMountvilleWashington DCEast PetersburgMount Joy

How Maria Fisher Foundation gives

  • 13% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 2920% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 98% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (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$100K3 grants2020 3 grants2021 1 grant2022 3 grants2023 9 grants2024 17 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $3K (2022) to $91K (2025). In 2025 it made 17 grants totaling $91K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Milagro House Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$35,000
Children Deserve a Chance Foundationattollo Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$25,000
Kamp Dovetail Hillsboro, OHDonation to Charity$10,000
Assets Lancaster Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$5,000
2 individual scholarships Recipients not named —$6,500
Nativity School Harrisburg, PAScholarship$3,000
A Week Away Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$1,750
Trinity Reformed Ucoc Mountville, PADonation to Charity$1,000
Water Street Rescue Mission Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$1,000
Tenfold Lancaster, PADonation to Charity$586
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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$2,032,540$85,480$92,981$90,60117$90,601$44,431$92,149
2024$1,706,783$1,542,302$36,344$35,5639$35,563$22,421—
2023$200,825$12,073$16,696$16,0003$16,000$11,073—
2022$205,448$15,921$3,525$3,0001$3,000$10,500$1,144
2021$193,052$175,250$6,250$6,2503$6,250$2,250$1,676
2020$24,052$27,057$6,505$6,5003——$610

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Maria Fisher Foundation reported a distributable amount of $92K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation’s stated contribution policy is limited to preselected charitable organizations. Its 2025 grants also included scholarships.

The supported organizations describe a range of activities in their own missions. Milagro House says it provides educational programming, housing, and life-skills training for women and children experiencing homelessness. Assets Lancaster says it works with businesses to build a more equitable and ethical economy through entrepreneur training and financing, and to improve businesses’ social and environmental impact. Tenfold says it works on equitable housing and financial security through coaching, education, lending, and advocacy. World Central Kitchen says it provides meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. The Edible Classroom says it creates and sustains learning gardens where children, families, and communities engage with nutritious food.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation gave 17 grants totaling $90,601. Grants ranged from $50 to $35,000, with a median grant of $1,000. The largest grants were $35,000 to Milagro House and $25,000 to Children Deserve a Chance Foundation Attollo, both in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and $10,000 to Kamp Dovetail in Hillsboro, Ohio. Other listed grants included $5,000 to Assets Lancaster, $3,500 to an individual recipient, and $3,000 to Nativity School.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Daniel Fisher as president and secretary, Tricia Fisher as vice president and treasurer, and Connie Fisher as a board member.

Maria Fisher Foundation is led by Daniel Fisher, President & Secretary on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Daniel Fisher

    President & Secretary

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Connie Fisher

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Tricia Fisher

    Vice President & Treasurer

    On filings since 2020

    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 Maria Fisher Foundation

How much does Maria Fisher Foundation give each year?

Maria Fisher Foundation gave $91K across 17 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $36K across 9 grants.

What is Maria Fisher Foundation's typical grant size?

Maria Fisher Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $5,329, across 17 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does Maria Fisher Foundation give grants?

Maria Fisher Foundation gives mostly in Pennsylvania: 88% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Ohio (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Lancaster, PA (6 grants) and Columbia, PA (2 grants).

Does Maria Fisher Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 17 grants with a stated purpose on Maria Fisher Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Donation to Charity" (14 grants) and "Scholarship" (3 grants).

Who are Maria Fisher Foundation's largest grantees?

Maria Fisher Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Milagro House ($35,000), Children Deserve a Chance Foundationattollo ($25,000) and Kamp Dovetail ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 2 individual scholarships ($6,500), which are not listed by name. Together they received 77% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Maria Fisher Foundation?

Maria Fisher Foundation reported $2.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $91K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $92K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.

What does Maria Fisher Foundation fund?

The foundation’s stated contribution policy is limited to preselected charitable organizations. Its 2025 grants also included scholarships. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Maria Fisher Foundation?

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

What is Maria Fisher Foundation's EIN?

Maria Fisher Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-1213285. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Maria Fisher 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 October 2026.

Data update history

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 10, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS March 10, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 25, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 14, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 3, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

Live grants for the work Maria Fisher Foundation funds

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Maria Fisher Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/maria-fisher-foundation-morg_cd678821596b445ea2e60ba4b4af43f2

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_811213285_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Maria Fisher Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/maria-fisher-foundation-morg_cd678821596b445ea2e60ba4b4af43f2},
  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 Maria Fisher 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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