Nelson Family Charitable Foundation
The Nelson Family Charitable Foundation is a private foundation based in Elkhart, Iowa. Its 2025 filing reports 22 grants totaling $97,700, including support for religious organizations and other charitable organizations.
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation at a glance
In short: Nelson Family Charitable Foundation gave $98K across 22 grants in 2025 (avg $4K), mostly in Iowa. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $97,700
- Grants made (2025)
- 22
- Average grant
- $4,441
- Median grant
- $2,400
- Total assets
- $611,940
- Primary geography
- Iowa (62% 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 Nelson Family Charitable 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.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2734 Ne 96Th Place, Ankeny, IA 50021
Phone: (515) 333-2260
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Nelson Family Charitable Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was New City Church of Ankeny ($49K). Together the top 10 received $79K.
Grant Size Distribution
47 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 47 grants of 47 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 62% of grant dollars went to recipients in Iowa, followed by Colorado (9%), Florida (7%), North Carolina (6%), and Michigan (3%). These figures describe recipient locations for that filing year.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 22 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Nelson Family Charitable Foundation gives
- In 2025 it paid out 319% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2023 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $98K (2025) to $125K (2023). In 2025 it made 22 grants totaling $98K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New City Church of Ankeny Ankeny, IA | Religious | $49,000 |
| Focus on the Family Colorado Springs, CO | General Support | $5,000 |
| Samaritan's Purse Boone, NC | General Support | $5,000 |
| Pioneers Orlando, FL | General Support | $4,800 |
| Alpha Women's Center Ankeny, IA | General Support | $2,500 |
| Family Research Council Holland, MI | General Support | $2,500 |
| Heritage Foundation Washington, DC | General Support | $2,500 |
| Ruth Harbor Des Moines, IA | General Support | $2,500 |
| Ankeny Christian Academy Ankeny, IA | General Support | $2,500 |
| Global Partners Fishers, IN | General Support | $2,400 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $611,940 | $124,759 | $99,579 | $97,700 | 22 | $97,700 | $26,981 | $30,620 |
| 2023 | $564,042 | $189,796 | $125,754 | $124,800 | 25 | $124,800 | $14,796 | $21,395 |
| 2022 | $500,000 | $500,000 | — | — | — | — | — | $2,159 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Nelson Family Charitable Foundation reported a distributable amount of $31K 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 support for religious organizations and organizations whose stated missions span areas such as education, pregnancy-related assistance, help for young women, disaster and humanitarian aid, and services for children with special health care needs. For example, Ankeny Christian Academy says it provides a Bible-based education to more than 500 children per school year; Ruth Harbor says it provides a home and programs for young women facing troubled times; and ChildServe Foundation says it partners with families to help children with special health care needs live a great life.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave 22 grants totaling $97,700. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $49,000, with a median grant of $2,400.
Notable 2025 grants included $49,000 to New City Church of Ankeny, $5,000 each to Focus on the Family and Samaritan’s Purse, and $4,800 to Pioneers. Other grants included $2,500 each to Alpha Women’s Center, Family Research Council, Heritage Foundation, Ruth Harbor, and Ankeny Christian Academy.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists David Nelson as president and treasurer and Jennifer Nelson as secretary.
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation is led by David Nelson, President & Treasurer on every filing since 2022; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
David Nelson
President & Treasurer
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Nelson
Secretary
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2022–2025. "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 Nelson Family Charitable Foundation
How much does Nelson Family Charitable Foundation give each year?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation gave $98K across 22 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
What is Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's typical grant size?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,400, and its average grant was $4,441, across 22 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Nelson Family Charitable Foundation give grants?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation gives mostly in Iowa: 62% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Colorado (9%) and Florida (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Ankeny, IA (5 grants), Colorado Springs, CO (3 grants), Orlando, FL (2 grants) and Des Moines, IA (2 grants).
Does Nelson Family Charitable Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 91% of Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (20 of 22) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include New City Church of Ankeny ($49,000), Focus on the Family ($5,000) and Samaritan's Purse ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 60% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Nelson Family Charitable Foundation?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation reported $612K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $98K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $31K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Nelson Family Charitable Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Nelson Family Charitable Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's EIN?
Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 92-1253794. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2022–2025.
Does Nelson Family Charitable 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
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS June 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 2, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 6, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2022–2025
Live grants for the work Nelson Family Charitable Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Nelson Family Charitable Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Nelson Family Charitable Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/nelson-family-charitable-foundation-morg_9d483f6e87424176a6201f9faab7a1cb
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_921253794_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Nelson Family Charitable Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/nelson-family-charitable-foundation-morg_9d483f6e87424176a6201f9faab7a1cb},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-04. 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 Nelson Family Charitable 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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