Nelson Family Foundation
The Nelson Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilson, Wyoming. In its 2025 filing, it reported 16 grants totaling $140,500, all listed as general support.
Nelson Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Nelson Family Foundation gave $141K across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $9K), mostly in California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $140,500
- +19.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 16
- +33.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $8,781
- -10.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,941,763
- -5.1% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- California (65% 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 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: 2925 White Pine Lane, Wilson, WY 83014
Phone: (307) 739-9811
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Nelson Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Stanford University Bosp ($35K). Together the top 10 received $130K.
Grant Size Distribution
72 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 71 grants of 72 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 65% of grant dollars went to recipients in California, 25% to South Carolina, 4% to Wyoming, and 2% to New York. The filing’s state breakdown assigns another 4% to “?”, without identifying a state.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
Cities
How Nelson Family Foundation gives
- 44% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+8%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 100% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $24K (2019) to $141K (2025). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $141K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford University Bosp Stanford, CA | General Support | $35,000 |
| Hoover Institution Stanford, CA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Padrino Childrens Foundation San Diego, CA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Historic Charleston Charleston, SC | General Support | $10,500 |
| Charleston Library Foundation Charleston, SC | General Support | $10,000 |
| ONE80 Place Charleston, SC | General Support | $6,000 |
| Charleston Jazz North Charleston, SC | General Support | $5,000 |
| International Community Foundation National City, CA | General Support | $5,000 |
| Alianza Cero Basura BCS | General Support | $5,000 |
| Grand Teton National Park Foundation Moose, WY | General Support | $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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,941,763 | $78,425 | $183,669 | $140,500 | 16 | $140,500 | $39,674 | $140,264 |
| 2024 | $2,047,007 | $364,390 | $173,738 | $117,500 | 12 | $117,500 | $326,677 | $134,846 |
| 2023 | $1,856,355 | $1,436,426 | $151,683 | $120,000 | 17 | $120,000 | $1,404,743 | $116,556 |
| 2022 | $561,612 | $47,332 | $156,173 | $130,000 | 19 | $130,000 | $24,364 | $130,464 |
| 2021 | $665,453 | $129,242 | $139,346 | $120,000 | 8 | $120,000 | $111,632 | $124,518 |
| 2020 | $675,557 | $79,035 | $102,575 | $96,500 | 11 | — | $76,903 | $107,962 |
| 2019 | $723,762 | $74,532 | $24,250 | $24,250 | 3 | — | $74,532 | $84,695 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Nelson Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $140K 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 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans children’s healthcare, jazz performance and education, community connections, conservation, and historic preservation. For example, Padrino Children’s Foundation says it works to provide professional medical care for children in Todos Santos and surrounding areas of Baja California Sur, Mexico; Charleston Jazz describes its work as growing a local and global jazz community through performance, education, and outreach; and Teton Raptor Center says it advances raptor conservation through education, research, and rehabilitation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 16 grants totaling $140,500. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $35,000, with a median of $5,000. The largest grants included $35,000 to Stanford University BOSP, $25,000 each to Hoover Institution and Padrino Children’s Foundation, $10,500 to Historic Charleston, and $10,000 to Charleston Library Foundation. All were listed as general support.
Other reported 2025 grants included $6,000 to One80 Place; $5,000 each to Charleston Jazz, International Community Foundation, and Alianza Cero Basura BCS; $3,000 each to Grand Teton National Park Foundation and Teton Raptor Center; and $2,500 to Good Friends of the Low Country. Drayton Hall Preservation Trust also received $1,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Charles Nelson is listed as trustee on the 2025 filing.
Nelson Family Foundation is led by Charles Nelson, Trustee on every filing since 2019 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Charles Nelson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
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 Nelson Family Foundation
How much does Nelson Family Foundation give each year?
Nelson Family Foundation gave $141K across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $118K across 12 grants.
What is Nelson Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Nelson Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $8,781, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Nelson Family Foundation give grants?
Nelson Family Foundation gives mostly in California: 65% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was South Carolina (25%). The most frequent recipient cities were Charleston, SC (5 grants) and Stanford, CA (2 grants).
Does Nelson Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Nelson Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (16 of 16) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Nelson Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Nelson Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Stanford University Bosp ($35,000), Hoover Institution ($25,000) and Padrino Childrens Foundation ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 60% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Nelson Family Foundation?
Nelson Family Foundation reported $1.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $141K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $140K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Nelson Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans children’s healthcare, jazz performance and education, community connections, conservation, and historic preservation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Nelson Family 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 Nelson Family Foundation's EIN?
Nelson Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 95-3945578. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Nelson Family 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
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS September 1, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 29, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Nelson Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/nelson-family-foundation-morg_3c05a71cbed242328ae683f9a6f187bc
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_953945578_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Nelson Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/nelson-family-foundation-morg_3c05a71cbed242328ae683f9a6f187bc},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 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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