Sara H Woodruff Foundation
Sara H Woodruff Foundation is a private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. It makes charitable contributions to preselected organizations; its 2025 grants included support for organizations in Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina.
Sara H Woodruff Foundation at a glance
In short: Sara H Woodruff Foundation gave $233K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $12K), mostly in Georgia. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $232,500
- +15.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 19
- +18.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $12,237
- -2.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $7,500
- Total assets
- $4,917,179
- +4.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Georgia (63% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Sara H Woodruff 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: PO Box 803878, Chicago, IL 60680
Phone: (312) 630-6000
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Sara H Woodruff Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Grace House in Brunswick ($30K). Together the top 10 received $180K.
Grant Size Distribution
109 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 109 grants of 109 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 63% of grant dollars went to recipients in Georgia, 26% to recipients in Florida, and 11% to recipients in North Carolina.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.
Cities
How Sara H Woodruff Foundation gives
- 47% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+13%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 98% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $201K (2024) to $265K (2019). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $233K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grace House in Brunswick Brunswick, GA | General Support | $30,000 |
| Skylark Clinic Inc Brunswick, GA | General Support | $30,000 |
| Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau Cashiers, NC | General Support | $25,000 |
| Habitat for Humanity - Greene County Greensboro, GA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Lake Oconee Humane Society Greensboro, GA | General Support | $25,000 |
| Hold Fast Foundation South Miami, FL | General Support | $10,000 |
| Zoo Miami Foundation Miami, FL | General Support | $10,000 |
| Center for Great Apes Wauchula, FL | General Support | $10,000 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami Miami, FL | General Support | $7,500 |
| Camillus House Miami, FL | General Support | $7,500 |
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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 | $4,917,179 | $524,118 | $311,021 | $232,500 | 19 | $277,044 | $463,241 | $281,834 |
| 2024 | $4,705,028 | $210,414 | $280,129 | $201,000 | 16 | $244,972 | $147,011 | $273,481 |
| 2023 | $4,775,901 | $282,506 | $307,092 | $225,825 | 25 | $267,297 | $236,153 | $251,856 |
| 2022 | $4,802,469 | $140,132 | $288,805 | $205,139 | 25 | $247,603 | $101,614 | $256,289 |
| 2021 | $4,952,090 | $450,136 | $297,440 | $208,000 | 24 | $253,929 | $406,490 | $288,308 |
| 2020 | $4,828,265 | $243,348 | $301,406 | $225,000 | 1 | — | $179,711 | $250,051 |
| 2019 | $4,885,838 | $153,752 | $353,631 | $264,500 | 1 | — | $122,997 | $264,118 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Sara H Woodruff Foundation reported a distributable amount of $282K 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 foundation mission statement is provided. Its grants supported organizations whose stated missions include addressing crisis pregnancies, reducing pet homelessness, preserving nature, supporting young people through mentoring, helping people experiencing homelessness, building homes with low-income families, and advocating for children affected by abuse and neglect. These are the grantees’ missions, not stated focus areas of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 19 grants totaling $232,500. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $30,000, with a median of $7,500. The listed grants were designated for general support.
Among the largest grants were $30,000 each to Grace House in Brunswick and Skylark Clinic Inc. in Brunswick, Georgia; $25,000 each to Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau in Cashiers, North Carolina, Habitat for Humanity - Greene County in Greensboro, Georgia, and Lake Oconee Humane Society in Greensboro, Georgia. Other listed grants included $10,000 each to Hold Fast Foundation, Zoo Miami Foundation, and Center for Great Apes, and $7,500 each to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, Camillus House, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami, and Chapman Partnership.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Northern Trust Company is listed as trustee on the 2025 filing.
Sara H Woodruff Foundation's only listed officer is Northern Trust Company, Trustee on every filing since 2021 (compensated).
Officers on the 2025 filing
Northern Trust Company
Trustee
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$60K (2021) → $73K (2025)
Former officers (1)
- Former: The Northern Trust Company (2019–2020) — Trustee
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $73K, to Northern Trust Company (Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about Sara H Woodruff Foundation
How much does Sara H Woodruff Foundation give each year?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation gave $233K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $201K across 16 grants.
What is Sara H Woodruff Foundation's typical grant size?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $7,500, and its average grant was $12,237, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Sara H Woodruff Foundation give grants?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation gives mostly in Georgia: 63% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Florida (26%) and North Carolina (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Brunswick, GA (6 grants), Miami, FL (5 grants) and Greensboro, GA (4 grants).
Does Sara H Woodruff Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Sara H Woodruff Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (19 of 19) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Sara H Woodruff Foundation's largest grantees?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Grace House in Brunswick ($30,000), Skylark Clinic Inc ($30,000) and Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 37% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Sara H Woodruff Foundation?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation reported $4.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $277K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $282K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Sara H Woodruff Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Sara H Woodruff 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 Sara H Woodruff Foundation's EIN?
Sara H Woodruff Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 59-6123443. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Sara H Woodruff Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 1, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 7, 2026)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 27, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 6, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 12, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 1, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 1, 2024)
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Sara H Woodruff Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/sara-h-woodruff-foundation-morg_1585922092c94092953010efe89a876e
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_596123443_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Sara H Woodruff Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/sara-h-woodruff-foundation-morg_1585922092c94092953010efe89a876e},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Sara H Woodruff 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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