Proteus Foundation
Proteus Foundation is a private foundation based in Middleburg, Virginia. Its 2025 filing reports $520,000 in grants to 30 recipients, supporting activities that include scientific research, conservation and environmental education, arts, theatre, scholarships, and community programs.
Proteus Foundation at a glance
In short: Proteus Foundation gave $520K across 30 grants in 2025 (avg $17K), top state Pennsylvania. 17% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $520,000
- +25.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 30
- +11.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $17,333
- +12.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $8,609,702
- -0.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 17% first-time grantees (5 of 30, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Pennsylvania (35% 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 Proteus Foundation
- How to Apply
-
Submit a written request to Celia W Rutt that includes details of the purpose and established need. The filing states there are no restrictions on awards.
- Review Cycle
- None stated.
- Deadline
- None stated.
- Contact
Application contact: Celia W Rutt
Mailing address: C/O Yount Hyde Barbour Pc PO Box, 2560, Winchester, VA 22604
Phone: (540) 662-3417
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Proteus Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was California Institute for Machine Consciousness ($100K). Together the top 10 received $405K.
Grant Size Distribution
125 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 111 grants of 125 (89%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s 2023 filing identifies Highland County and Staunton, Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as places where it supports local charities. Its 2025 grant dollars were reported as going to recipients in Pennsylvania (35%), Virginia (29%), California (19%), Massachusetts (6%), and Indiana (5%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 30 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Proteus Foundation open to new grantees?
17%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 5 of 30 grantees (17%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $27K; repeat grants $16K. How we count
Medians: $6K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 80% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+9%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 105% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
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 $416K (2024) to $520K (2025). In 2025 it made 30 grants totaling $520K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| California Institute for Machine Consciousness San Francisco, CA | Support Scientific Research | $100,000 |
| Center for Open Science Charlottesville, VA | Support Scientific Research | $50,000 |
| Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge Staunton, VA | For Scholarship Fund and Other Community Outreach Programs | $50,000 |
| Fern Hollow Nature Center Sewickley, PA | Support Enviromental Educational Programs | $50,000 |
| Sweetwater Center for Arts Sewickley, PA | Support Arts Center | $37,500 |
| American Shakespeare Center Staunton, PA | Support Theatre | $25,000 |
| Green Forests Work Hope, IN | Support Appalachian Environmental Restoration Projects | $25,000 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | Support Quest for Intelligence Project | $25,000 |
| Santa Fe Institute Santa Fe, NM | Support Interdisciplinary Scientific Research | $25,000 |
| Shenandoah Green Staunton, PA | Support Tree Stewart Projects | $17,000 |
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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 | $8,609,702 | $587,892 | $648,027 | $520,000 | 30 | $520,000 | $486,547 | $495,773 |
| 2024 | $8,669,837 | $1,179,832 | $525,387 | $416,000 | 27 | $416,000 | $1,088,248 | $464,326 |
| 2023 | $8,015,392 | $517,637 | $553,398 | $450,000 | 21 | $450,000 | $431,136 | $444,133 |
| 2022 | $8,051,153 | $616,364 | $604,588 | $475,000 | 22 | $475,000 | $523,191 | $465,294 |
| 2021 | $8,039,377 | $1,022,732 | $611,183 | $479,000 | 25 | — | $904,779 | $474,392 |
| 2020 | $7,627,828 | $315,113 | $555,584 | $442,500 | 23 | — | $223,890 | $435,671 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Proteus Foundation reported a distributable amount of $496K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s 2023 filing states that it supports local charities in Highland County, Virginia; Staunton, Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and promotes conservation programs and activities. It also describes computer programming in support of academic research on complex adaptive systems, with plans to publish scientific papers on the findings once the work is complete.
Its 2025 grants show support for scientific research, environmental education and restoration, arts and theatre, tree projects, scholarships, and community outreach. Among the organizations it funded, Fern Hollow Nature Center describes its mission as operating an environmental education center and conducting related educational activities. The Santa Fe Institute describes itself as a transdisciplinary research community focused on fundamental principles in complex systems. Sewickley Public Library says its mission is to provide lifelong learning opportunities to children and adults in its community.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave 30 grants totaling $520,000. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $100,000, with a median grant of $5,000. The largest awards included $100,000 to the California Institute for Machine Consciousness for scientific research; $50,000 each to the Center for Open Science for scientific research, the Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge for a scholarship fund and other community outreach programs, and Fern Hollow Nature Center for environmental education programs; and $37,500 to Sweetwater Center for Arts to support its arts center.
The 2023 filing says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It requests a written request detailing the purpose and established need; the filing states there are no restrictions on awards.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists James P Rutt, Celia W Rutt, and Kathleen Walker as directors.
Proteus Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Celia W. Rutt
Director
On filings since 2020
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
James P. Rutt
Director
On filings since 2020
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kathleen Walker
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about Proteus Foundation
How much does Proteus Foundation give each year?
Proteus Foundation gave $520K across 30 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $416K across 27 grants.
What is Proteus Foundation's typical grant size?
Proteus Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $17,333, across 30 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Proteus Foundation that year got $27K on average.
Where does Proteus Foundation give grants?
Proteus Foundation's top state is Pennsylvania, with 35% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Virginia (29%) and California (19%). The most frequent recipient cities were Sewickley, PA (7 grants), Staunton, VA (5 grants), Monterey, VA (5 grants) and Staunton, PA (3 grants).
Does Proteus Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 30 grants with a stated purpose on Proteus Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Proteus Foundation's largest grantees?
Proteus Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include California Institute for Machine Consciousness ($100,000), Center for Open Science ($50,000) and Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 38% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Proteus Foundation?
Proteus Foundation reported $8.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $520K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $496K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Proteus Foundation fund?
The foundation’s 2023 filing states that it supports local charities in Highland County, Virginia; Staunton, Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and promotes conservation programs and activities. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Proteus Foundation?
Submit a written request to Celia W Rutt that includes details of the purpose and established need. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Proteus Foundation's EIN?
Proteus Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 54-2013543. 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 October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS March 8, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 27, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 25, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 29, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 2, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Proteus Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/proteus-foundation-morg_1ffb9cef73a543b78878ead2ad6bfd70
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_542013543_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Proteus Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/proteus-foundation-morg_1ffb9cef73a543b78878ead2ad6bfd70},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. 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 Proteus 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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