National Endowment for
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) is a Denver-based private foundation that supports research intended to improve the public’s financial well-being and advance the field of financial education. NEFE describes itself as an independent organization that provides leadership, research and collaboration to advance financial well-being.
National Endowment for at a glance
In short: National Endowment for gave $389K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $39K), top state Montana. 50% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $389,013
- -40.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- -41.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $38,901
- +1.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $28,000
- Total assets
- $154,824,707
- +3.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 50% first-time grantees (5 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Montana (30% 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 National Endowment for
- Invitation Only
-
Applicants begin by submitting a letter of inquiry (LOI) through NEFE’s online grant portal. Applications proceed through review phases that may include internal evaluation, video calls and an invitation to submit a full proposal. NEFE awards funds only after a grant agreement is executed.
- Review Cycle
- NEFE accepts LOIs once per year. The 2025 filing lists the 2025 submission period as March 17 to April 25; that cycle has passed.
- Deadline
- NEFE accepts LOIs once per year.
- Contact
Application contact: Applications Should Be Submitted To
Mailing address: 1550 Market Street Suite 475, Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 741-6333
Website: https://www.nefe.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from National Endowment for
Who National Endowment for funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Montana State University ($117K). Together the top 10 received $389K.
Grant Size Distribution
54 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 31 grants of 54 (57%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
NEFE’s website describes its eligible research as domestic, focused on U.S. households, individuals, systems, issues or trends. Its 2025 itemized grants went to recipients in multiple states; the largest reported shares of grant dollars were in Montana (30%), Maryland (25%), Missouri (15%), Alabama (12%) and California (8%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is National Endowment for open to new grantees?
50%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 10 grantees (50%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $31K; repeat grants $47K. How we count
Medians: $23K first-time, $48K repeat.
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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $389K (2025) to $816K (2022). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $389K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Montana State University Bozeman, MT | Research Grant | $117,000 |
| Morgan State University Baltimore, MD | Research Grant | $85,970 |
| St Louis University St. Louis, MO | Research Grant | $59,126 |
| The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL | Research Grant | $48,208 |
| University of California Los Angeles, CA | Research Grant | $33,000 |
| University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Financial Literacy | $23,000 |
| Jumpstart Coalition Holleywood, MD | 30TH Anniversary Donation | $10,000 |
| Lewis and Clark College Portland, OR | Research Grant | $9,709 |
| Council for Economic Education New York City, NY | 75TH Anniversary Campaign | $1,500 |
| Iowa Jumpstart Des Moines, IA | In Honor Former Board Member | $1,500 |
Ready to take the next step with National Endowment for?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $154,824,707 | $14,792,669 | $9,440,577 | $389,013 | 10 | $8,961,040 | $14,323,701 |
| 2024 | $149,472,615 | $14,941,589 | $10,407,018 | $654,052 | 17 | $9,774,679 | $14,329,284 |
| 2023 | $144,938,044 | $8,158,597 | $10,096,201 | $590,568 | 7 | $9,393,665 | $7,619,673 |
| 2022 | $146,875,648 | $7,928,530 | $8,676,176 | $816,411 | 12 | $7,889,055 | $5,664,740 |
| 2021 | $147,623,294 | $20,278,344 | $7,523,505 | $416,662 | 8 | $6,677,478 | $19,540,575 |
| 2020 | $133,066,338 | $13,703,332 | $7,508,283 | $453,366 | 12 | — | $13,292,028 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
NEFE’s stated mission is to champion effective financial education and advance financial well-being. It funds rigorous, innovative and actionable research, including original research and replication studies, that can contribute to the field. Its priorities are access to effective financial education, quality in education that is rigorous and responsive, and impact through systemic, systematic or generalizable outcomes. Proposals must align with at least one strategic priority and address at least one system-level consideration.
Eligible projects must study U.S. households, individuals, systems, issues or trends; generate new data or use existing datasets; and investigate the direct impacts of financial education or produce findings relevant to the field. The principal researcher must be able to carry out the methodology and analyze results, and must be affiliated with a U.S. nonprofit college, university, research organization or other 501(c)(3) nonprofit. NEFE does not fund projects with commercial or proprietary elements, or projects related to the piloting, development, execution, evaluation, expansion or administration of specific programs, courses or curricula.
NEFE’s 2025 filing states that it approved funding for five grant applicants that year, bringing its ongoing research studies to eight, and that it had funded 53 research projects since 2006. It also describes support for scale validation and for work by a research advisory council.
Among the 2025 recipients, Saint Louis University describes its mission as pursuing truth and serving humanity through teaching, research, health care and community service. The University of California, Irvine Foundation describes its mission as raising and managing private funds to support UC Irvine’s teaching, research and public service.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, NEFE reported 10 itemized grants totaling $389,013. The grants ranged from $1,500 to $117,000, with a median of $28,000. NEFE’s website says most grants typically range from $25,000 to $250,000, with no mandated funding limit. The 2025 filing separately reports that five grant applicants were approved for funding.
The largest reported 2025 grants included $117,000 to Montana State University for a research grant, $85,970 to Morgan State University for a research grant, $59,126 to St. Louis University for a research grant, and $48,208 to the University of Alabama for a research grant. Other listed awards included $23,000 to the University of Notre Dame for financial literacy and $9,709 to Lewis and Clark College for a research grant.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Dionne Blue, PhD, as chair; Rachelle Feldman as vice chair; and Jason Young, Rick Ketchum, Megan Gorman, Jourdan Jones, Beth Lesen, PhD, Margaret Libby, Bob Lewis and Christine Lovely as members.
National Endowment for is led by Billy Hensley, President & CEO on every filing since 2020; 3 of 17 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Billy Hensley
President & CEO
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$369K (2020) → $502K (2025)
Dionne Blue PhD
Chair
Member → Vice Chair, 2024
Vice Chair → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joanne Flores Moses
Treasurer & CFO
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$202K (2020) → $313K (2025)
Brian Ford
Secretary & Cos
Secretary & Chief of Staff → Secretary & Cos, 2022
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$125K (2021) → $172K (2025)
Jason Young
Member
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
Chair → Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jourdan Jones
Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Manisha Thakor
Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Margaret Libby
Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rachelle Feldman
Vice Chair
Member → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rick Ketchum
Member
Vice Chair → Chair, 2023
Chair → Member, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Connie Weaver
Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Megan Gorman
Member
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bob Lewis
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christine Lovely
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Loretta Sanchez
Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Beth Lesen PhD
Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tracy Shaw
Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (11)
- Former: Kevin Plummer (2020–2024) — Member
- Former: Robin Nunn (2021–2024) — Member
- Former: Nancy Kim Yun (2024) — Member
- Former: Colleen Walker (2020–2023) — Member
- Former: Helen Norris (2020–2023) — Member
- Former: Doug McCormick (2020–2022) — Member
- Former: Joyce Nelson (2020–2022) — Member
- Former: Carol Chapman (2020–2021) — Secretary & Executive Assistant
- Former: David G Strege (2020–2021) — Emeritus Chair
- Former: Greg Maged (2020–2021) — Chair
- Former: Patrick Bannigan (2020) — Emeritus Chair
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $502K, to Billy Hensley (Pres. & CEO). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about National Endowment for
How much does National Endowment for give each year?
National Endowment for gave $389K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $654K across 17 grants.
What is National Endowment for's typical grant size?
National Endowment for's median grant in 2025 was $28,000, and its average grant was $38,901, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from National Endowment for that year got $31K on average.
Where does National Endowment for give grants?
National Endowment for's top state is Montana, with 30% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Maryland (25%) and Missouri (15%).
Does National Endowment for give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on National Endowment for's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Research Grant" (6 grants).
Who are National Endowment for's largest grantees?
National Endowment for's largest 2025 grantees include Montana State University ($117,000), Morgan State University ($85,970) and St Louis University ($59,126), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 67% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is National Endowment for?
National Endowment for reported $154.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $14.8M.
What does National Endowment for fund?
NEFE’s stated mission is to champion effective financial education and advance financial well-being. It funds rigorous, innovative and actionable research, including original research and replication studies, that can contribute to the field. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from National Endowment for?
Applicants begin by submitting a letter of inquiry (LOI) through NEFE’s online grant portal. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is National Endowment for's EIN?
National Endowment for's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-0632115. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 29, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 2, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 8, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 7, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 6, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 8, 2026)
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). National Endowment for funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/national-endowment-for-morg_0985367ec1d8483980bc4c5d41c086fd
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_840632115_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{National Endowment for funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/national-endowment-for-morg_0985367ec1d8483980bc4c5d41c086fd},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 National Endowment for'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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