Ruth a Carver Foundation
The Ruth a Carver Foundation is a private foundation based in Aspen, Colorado. In 2024, it made grants to organizations in Colorado and other states, including organizations whose listed purposes included religious, educational, social welfare, and environmental activities.
Ruth a Carver Foundation at a glance
In short: Ruth a Carver Foundation gave $320K across 37 grants in 2024 (avg $9K), mostly in Colorado. 42% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $320,185
- +18.3% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 37
- -7.5% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $8,654
- +27.9% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $2,500
- Total assets
- $4,743,109
- +0.2% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 42% first-time grantees (15 of 36, 2024)
- Primary geography
- Colorado (90% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Ruth a Carver Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 116 S Aspen Street, Aspen, CO 81611
Phone: (563) 299-4567
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Ruth a Carver Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Aspen Community Church (5) ($86K). Together the top 10 received $228K.
Organizations only. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($51,575), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
178 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 174 grants of 178 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, 90% of grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado, 5% to Iowa, 4% to Washington, DC, and 1% to New York. California accounted for 0% as reported.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 37 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Ruth a Carver Foundation open to new grantees?
42%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 15 of 36 grantees (42%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $14K; repeat grants $5K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $2K repeat.
- 39% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving grew 51% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 107% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $184K (2020) to $320K (2024). In 2024 it made 37 grants totaling $320K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Aspen Community Church (5) Aspen, CO | Religious | $86,000 |
| Dance Aspen Initiative (4) Aspen, CO | Educational | $52,210 |
| 2 grants to individuals Recipients not named | — | $51,575 |
| Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Aspen, CO | Environmental | $25,000 |
| Crested Butte Land Trust (3) Crested Butte, CO | Environmental | $11,300 |
| Crested Butte Center for the Arts (3) Crested Butte, CO | Educational | $10,650 |
| Aspen Historical Society (3) Aspen, CO | Educational | $10,500 |
| Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA | Educational | $10,000 |
| Innocence Project (2) Denver, CO | Educational | $9,000 |
| Buddy Program (3) Aspen, CO | Educational | $7,900 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4,743,109 | $430,860 | $396,492 | $320,185 | 37 | $320,185 | $357,453 | $298,577 |
| 2023 | $4,733,196 | $171,283 | $333,297 | $270,710 | 40 | $270,710 | $108,661 | $264,834 |
| 2022 | $4,870,225 | $334,762 | $340,512 | $267,590 | 42 | $267,590 | $273,640 | $268,122 |
| 2021 | $4,871,977 | $1,039,560 | $281,673 | $211,410 | 29 | $211,410 | $980,597 | $282,519 |
| 2020 | $4,131,180 | $387,390 | $231,961 | $183,634 | 30 | — | $341,913 | $241,537 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Ruth a Carver Foundation reported a distributable amount of $299K for 2024 — 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 foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations working in education, environmental efforts, religious activity, social welfare, and other areas. For example, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies describes its mission as inspiring a lifelong commitment to the earth through programming for all ages. Cornell College describes its mission as providing a rigorous learning community that develops students’ intellectual curiosity, creativity, and moral courage.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation reported 37 grants totaling $320,185. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $86,000, with a median of $2,500. Its largest reported grants included Aspen Community Church ($86,000), Dance Aspen Initiative ($52,210), Aspen Institute (an individual recipient) ($46,575), and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies ($25,000).
Other 2024 recipients included Crested Butte Land Trust ($11,300), Crested Butte Center for the Arts ($10,650), Aspen Historical Society ($10,500), Cornell College ($10,000), and Innocence Project ($9,000). Aspen Junior Hockey Inc. describes its work as developing young people’s character through hockey. Last Hope Animal Rescue describes its work as rescuing and placing at-risk animals.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Ruth A. Carver is listed as president on the 2024 filing.
Ruth a Carver Foundation is led by Ruth A. Carver, President on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Ruth A. Carver
President
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Ruth a Carver Foundation
How much does Ruth a Carver Foundation give each year?
Ruth a Carver Foundation gave $320K across 37 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $271K across 40 grants.
What is Ruth a Carver Foundation's typical grant size?
Ruth a Carver Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $2,500, and its average grant was $8,654, across 37 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Ruth a Carver Foundation that year got $14K on average.
Where does Ruth a Carver Foundation give grants?
Ruth a Carver Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 90% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Aspen, CO (10 grants), Crested Butte, CO (6 grants), New York, NY (5 grants) and Denver, CO (3 grants).
Does Ruth a Carver Foundation give general operating support?
Occasionally: 5% of Ruth a Carver Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (2 of 37) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Educational" (26 grants) and "Social Welfare" (3 grants).
Who are Ruth a Carver Foundation's largest grantees?
Ruth a Carver Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Aspen Community Church (5) ($86,000), Dance Aspen Initiative (4) ($52,210) and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies ($25,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 2 grants to individuals ($51,575), which are not listed by name. Together they received 51% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Ruth a Carver Foundation?
Ruth a Carver Foundation reported $4.7M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $320K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $299K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Ruth a Carver Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations working in education, environmental efforts, religious activity, social welfare, and other areas. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Ruth a Carver Foundation?
The foundation 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 Ruth a Carver Foundation's EIN?
Ruth a Carver Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-5169797. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does Ruth a Carver 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
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Ruth a Carver Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/ruth-a-carver-foundation-morg_38534f6d2c454c6bb6f498ee216f2647
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_475169797_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Ruth a Carver Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/ruth-a-carver-foundation-morg_38534f6d2c454c6bb6f498ee216f2647},
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 Ruth a Carver 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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