Minerva Foundation
Minerva Foundation is a private foundation based in Pennington, New Jersey. Its 2025 filing reports 13 grants totaling $567,492, including support for organizations working in areas such as democracy, wildlife conservation, education, and humanitarian relief, as reflected in the grantees’ stated missions and the listed grant recipients.
Minerva Foundation at a glance
In short: Minerva Foundation gave $567K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $44K), mostly in District of Columbia. 38% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $567,492
- +14.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 13
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $43,653
- +14.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $30,000
- Total assets
- $11,397,422
- +1.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 38% first-time grantees (5 of 13, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- District of Columbia (58% 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 Minerva Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 1532 Aft, Pennington, NJ 08534
Phone: (888) 866-3275
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Minerva Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Democracy Forward Fdn ($180K). Together the top 10 received $537K.
Grant Size Distribution
56 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 36 grants of 56 (64%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grant dollars were distributed among recipients in several states and the District of Columbia: DC received 58%, NY 23%, MD 9%, VA 4%, and PA 2%. The listed 2025 recipients also included New Urban Arts in Rhode Island.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Minerva Foundation open to new grantees?
38%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 13 grantees (38%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $63K; repeat grants $32K. How we count
Medians: $44K first-time, $28K repeat.
- 62% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+6%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 93% 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 (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $295K (2020) to $567K (2025). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $567K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Democracy Forward Fdn Washington, DC | Unrestricted General | $180,164 |
| Defenders of Wildlife Washington, DC | Unrestricted General | $75,000 |
| Planned Parenthood Federation New York, NY | Unrestricted General | $50,000 |
| Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD | Unrestricted General | $50,000 |
| Doctors Without Borders New York, NY | Unrestricted General | $44,164 |
| Unrwa USA Washington, DC | Unrestricted General | $44,164 |
| Fund for Constitutional Government Washington, DC | Unrestricted General | $30,000 |
| Sarah Lawrence College Bronxville, NY | Unrestricted General | $25,000 |
| The Nature Conservancy Arlington, VA | Unrestricted General | $25,000 |
| NSVC - Earthwalk Old Zionsville, PA | Unrestricted General | $14,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Minerva Foundation?
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 | $11,397,422 | $908,194 | $698,847 | $567,492 | 13 | $619,454 | $524,506 | $669,553 |
| 2024 | $11,188,529 | $1,552,185 | $622,344 | $495,943 | 13 | $544,646 | $1,200,116 | $589,195 |
| 2023 | $10,258,679 | $-822,943 | $606,311 | $474,165 | 10 | $518,134 | $202,349 | $539,907 |
| 2022 | $11,687,929 | $3,567,620 | $635,227 | $536,214 | 9 | $582,889 | $3,221,069 | $520,845 |
| 2021 | $8,756,597 | $812,980 | $546,091 | $437,334 | 11 | — | $447,388 | $584,021 |
| 2020 | $8,489,708 | $672,949 | $377,409 | $295,284 | 9 | — | $332,491 | $477,565 |
| 2019 | $8,194,172 | $607,791 | $620,633 | $536,218 | 10 | — | $270,304 | $455,007 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Minerva Foundation reported a distributable amount of $670K 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 2025 grants included unrestricted general support for organizations whose own stated missions include protecting native animals and plants (Defenders of Wildlife), promoting democracy and transparency (Fund for Constitutional Government), conserving lands and waters (The Nature Conservancy), and supporting creative expression among high school students and adult mentors (New Urban Arts). Sarah Lawrence College describes its mission as graduating diverse, intellectually disciplined citizens of the world; Johns Hopkins University describes its mission as supporting and promoting the university’s objectives and best interests.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $567,492 through 13 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $180,164, with a median of $30,000. The largest grants included $180,164 to Democracy Forward Fdn, $75,000 to Defenders of Wildlife, $50,000 each to Planned Parenthood Federation and Johns Hopkins University, and $44,164 each to Doctors Without Borders and UNRWA USA. The listed grants were designated for unrestricted general support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Kristie Miller as president and Dr W Sanderson Twaddell and Ellen Johnson Twaddell as trustees.
Minerva Foundation is led by Kristie Miller, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Kristie Miller
President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ellen Johnson Twaddell
Trustee
Secretary → Treasurer, 2020
Treasurer → Trustee, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
W. Sanderson Twaddell
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: William Twaddell (2019) — Vice 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.
Frequently asked questions about Minerva Foundation
How much does Minerva Foundation give each year?
Minerva Foundation gave $567K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $496K across 13 grants.
What is Minerva Foundation's typical grant size?
Minerva Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $30,000, and its average grant was $43,653, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Minerva Foundation that year got $63K on average.
Where does Minerva Foundation give grants?
Minerva Foundation gives mostly in District of Columbia: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were New York (23%) and Maryland (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were Washington, DC (4 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).
Does Minerva Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Minerva Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 13) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Minerva Foundation's largest grantees?
Minerva Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Democracy Forward Fdn ($180,164), Defenders of Wildlife ($75,000) and Planned Parenthood Federation ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 54% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Minerva Foundation?
Minerva Foundation reported $11.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $619K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $670K (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 Minerva Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Minerva Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Minerva Foundation's EIN?
Minerva Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-1836334. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Minerva 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS March 3, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 24, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 10, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 8, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 29, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 1, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Live grants for the work Minerva Foundation funds
Medical Research Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Minerva Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Minerva Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/minerva-foundation-morg_a58080c36c6743d5bf43d0aa2948f2ae
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_201836334_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Minerva Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/minerva-foundation-morg_a58080c36c6743d5bf43d0aa2948f2ae},
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 Minerva 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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