Mary Elizabeth Avinger
Mary Elizabeth Avinger is a private foundation based in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It made 15 grants totaling $106,000 in 2024, with all reported grant dollars going to recipients in South Carolina.
Mary Elizabeth Avinger at a glance
In short: Mary Elizabeth Avinger gave $106K across 15 grants in 2024 (avg $7K), mostly in South Carolina. 13% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $106,000
- Grants made (2024)
- 15
- Average grant
- $7,067
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,174,066
- +3.7% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 13% first-time grantees (2 of 15, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- South Carolina (100% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Mary Elizabeth Avinger
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 404, Orangeburg, SC 29116-0404
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Mary Elizabeth Avinger funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Epworth Children's Home ($20K). Together the top 10 received $100K.
Grant Size Distribution
60 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 60 grants of 60 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
All grant dollars reported for 2024 went to recipients in South Carolina.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 15 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Mary Elizabeth Avinger open to new grantees?
13%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 2 of 15 grantees (13%) were first-time recipients. With only 15 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $7K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $5K repeat.
- Giving grew 25% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 128% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $62K (2020) to $106K (2024). In 2024 it made 15 grants totaling $106K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Epworth Children's Home Columbia, SC | Charitable | $20,000 |
| SC School for the Deaf & Blind Spartanburg, SC | Charitable | $20,000 |
| Orangeburg Calhoun Free Medical Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $15,000 |
| Edisto Habitat for Humanity Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Orangeburg Council on Aging Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Orangeburg Preparatory School Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $8,000 |
| Fellowship of Christian Athletes Columbia, SC | Charitable | $5,000 |
| St Andrews Methodist Church Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $5,000 |
| Cooperative Church Ministries of Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $4,000 |
| Orangeburg Historical Society Orangeburg, SC | Charitable | $3,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,174,066 | $173,285 | $131,100 | $106,000 | 15 | $106,000 | $7,732 | $82,782 |
| 2023 | $1,131,881 | $73,042 | $24,070 | — | — | — | $16,068 | $77,101 |
| 2022 | $1,114,557 | $215,272 | $128,162 | $100,000 | 15 | $100,000 | — | $80,592 |
| 2021 | $995,799 | $160,695 | $110,480 | $85,000 | 15 | $85,000 | $6,865 | $40,313 |
| 2020 | $945,934 | $287,911 | $82,057 | $62,000 | 15 | — | $7,931 | $66,399 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Mary Elizabeth Avinger reported a distributable amount of $83K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s filing does not state a mission. Its 2024 grants went to charitable organizations, including organizations working in child and family services, housing, education, health care, aging services, religious activities, and local community support. These categories reflect the listed grantees and do not constitute a stated mission of the foundation.
Epworth Children’s Home describes its mission as child and family well-being through residential group homes, independent living, family care, and foster care services. Edisto Habitat for Humanity describes its mission as residential home construction for low-income families.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation made 15 grants totaling $106,000. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $20,000, with a median grant of $5,000.
Among the largest reported grants were $20,000 to Epworth Children’s Home and $20,000 to the South Carolina School for the Deaf & Blind; $15,000 to Orangeburg Calhoun Free Medical; and $10,000 each to Edisto Habitat for Humanity and Orangeburg Council on Aging.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
James Avinger is listed as a trustee on the 2024 filing.
Mary Elizabeth Avinger is led by James Avinger, Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
James Avinger
Trustee
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Mary Elizabeth Avinger
How much does Mary Elizabeth Avinger give each year?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger gave $106K across 15 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
What is Mary Elizabeth Avinger's typical grant size?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger's median grant in 2024 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,067, across 15 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Mary Elizabeth Avinger that year got $10K on average.
Where does Mary Elizabeth Avinger give grants?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger gives mostly in South Carolina: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Orangeburg, SC (10 grants) and Columbia, SC (3 grants).
Does Mary Elizabeth Avinger give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 15 grants with a stated purpose on Mary Elizabeth Avinger's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (15 grants).
Who are Mary Elizabeth Avinger's largest grantees?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger's largest 2024 grantees include Epworth Children's Home ($20,000), SC School for the Deaf & Blind ($20,000) and Orangeburg Calhoun Free Medical ($15,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 52% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Mary Elizabeth Avinger?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger reported $1.2M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $106K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $83K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Mary Elizabeth Avinger fund?
The foundation’s filing does not state a mission. Its 2024 grants went to charitable organizations, including organizations working in child and family services, housing, education, health care, aging services, religious activities, and local community support. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Mary Elizabeth Avinger?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it 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 Mary Elizabeth Avinger's EIN?
Mary Elizabeth Avinger's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-6108395. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Mary Elizabeth Avinger 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
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Mary Elizabeth Avinger funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Mary Elizabeth Avinger funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/mary-elizabeth-avinger-morg_b29a9a561e12406d971f845aa4732af4
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_206108395_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Mary Elizabeth Avinger funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/mary-elizabeth-avinger-morg_b29a9a561e12406d971f845aa4732af4},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-23. 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 Mary Elizabeth Avinger'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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