Sarkisian Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Northfield, IL EIN: 20-3983247

The Sarkisian Foundation is a private foundation located in Northfield, Illinois. In its 2025 filing, it reported 13 grants totaling $67,001 to organizations including Armenian religious and cultural organizations, charities, and educational and medical institutions.

Sarkisian Foundation at a glance

In short: Sarkisian Foundation gave $67K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), top state New Jersey. 8% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$67,001
+28.5% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
13
+8.3% vs 2024
Average grant
$5,154
+18.6% vs 2024
Median grant
$2,500
Total assets
$720,880
+1.5% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
8% first-time grantees (1 of 13, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
New Jersey (31% 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 Sarkisian Foundation

How to Apply

The filing says to submit materials in writing to Ralph Sarkisian. It lists no restrictions on awards and says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations.

Review Cycle
None listed.
Deadline
None listed.
Contact

Application contact: Ralph Sarkisian
Mailing address: 668 Sunset Ridge Road, Northfield, IL 60093
Phone: (239) 692-8903

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Sarkisian Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Armenian Diocese of America: $20KArmenian Diocese of America$20KAmaa: $12KAmaa$12KMake a Wish Foundation of Illinois: $12KMake a Wish Foundation ofIllinois$12KHoly Cross Armenian Church: $5KHoly Cross Armenian Church$5KCompassion International: $4KCompassion International$4KMercy Center: $3KMercy Center$3KArmenia Fund: $3KArmenia Fund$3KArmenian Museum: $2KArmenian Museum$2KMission Aviation Fellowship: $2KMission Aviation Fellowship$2KLurie Childrens Hospital: $2KLurie Childrens Hospital$2K

The largest 2025 recipient was Armenian Diocese of America ($20K). Together the top 10 received $64K.

Grant Size Distribution

69 grants across all recorded years

69<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 69 grants of 69 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The 2025 filing reports that grant dollars went to recipients in New Jersey (31%), New York (30%), Illinois (21%), California (8%), and Colorado (5%).

Grant Distribution by State

10states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.

Cities

GlendaleChicagoNew YorkAsbury ParkColorado SpringsMemphisNampaUnion CityParamusJersey CityArmonkHowellTenaflyTucsonAberdeenBrickSan DimasWoburnLake Forest

Is Sarkisian Foundation open to new grantees?

8%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 1 of 13 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $5K. How we count

Medians: $2K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 85% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+16%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 192% 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

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K19 grants2020 19 grants2021 12 grants2022 13 grants2023 12 grants2024 13 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $40K (2023) to $87K (2020). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $67K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Armenian Diocese of America New York, NYGeneral Funds$20,000
Amaa Paramus, NJGeneral Funds$12,000
Make a Wish Foundation of Illinois Chicago, ILGeneral Funds$12,000
Holy Cross Armenian Church Union City, NJGeneral Funds$5,000
Compassion International Colorado Springs, COGeneral Funds$3,501
Mercy Center Asbury Park, NJGeneral Funds$3,000
Armenia Fund Glendale, CAGeneral Funds$2,500
Armenian Museum Glendale, CAGeneral Funds$2,000
Mission Aviation Fellowship Nampa, IDGeneral Fundsgeneral Funds$2,000
Lurie Childrens Hospital Chicago, ILGeneral Purpose$2,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$720,880$85,050$68,783$67,00113$67,899$59,195$35,365
2024$710,324$95,320$53,832$52,15712$53,032$69,505$34,176
2023$676,695$38,635$41,747$39,85713$40,809$13,209$32,522
2022$686,833$2,015$60,764$57,91812$57,918$9,632$33,594
2021$792,690$189,607$88,529$83,85019$83,850$109,603$34,961
2020$622,947$110,042$89,732$86,63819—$56,948$29,578

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Sarkisian Foundation reported a distributable amount of $35K 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 organizations whose work spans different areas. Mercy Center, a 2025 grantee, describes its mission as empowering, enriching, and educating people facing socioeconomic challenges, with a special emphasis on women and children. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, also a 2025 grantee, describes its mission as advancing cures and prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation gave $67,001 through 13 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $20,000, with a median of $2,500. Listed recipients included the Armenian Diocese of America ($20,000), AMAA ($12,000), Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois ($12,000), Holy Cross Armenian Church ($5,000), and Compassion International ($3,501). Mercy Center received $3,000, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received $1,000. The filing lists the purposes of these grants as general funds, general purpose, or—where specified—does not provide a separate purpose in the available information.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Ralph Sarkisian as president, Mike Noble as vice president, and John Hayes as secretary.

Sarkisian Foundation is led by Ralph Sarkisian, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Ralph Sarkisian

    President

    On filings since 2020

    0.5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • John Hayes

    Secretary

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Mike Noble

    Vice President

    On filings since 2020

    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 Sarkisian Foundation

How much does Sarkisian Foundation give each year?

Sarkisian Foundation gave $67K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $52K across 12 grants.

What is Sarkisian Foundation's typical grant size?

Sarkisian Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $5,154, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Sarkisian Foundation that year got $2K on average.

Where does Sarkisian Foundation give grants?

Sarkisian Foundation's top state is New Jersey, with 31% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (30%) and Illinois (21%). The most frequent recipient cities were Glendale, CA (3 grants) and Chicago, IL (2 grants).

Does Sarkisian Foundation give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Sarkisian Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 13) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Sarkisian Foundation's largest grantees?

Sarkisian Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Armenian Diocese of America ($20,000), Amaa ($12,000) and Make a Wish Foundation of Illinois ($12,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 66% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Sarkisian Foundation?

Sarkisian Foundation reported $721K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $68K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $35K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Sarkisian Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for organizations whose work spans different areas. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Sarkisian Foundation?

The filing says to submit materials in writing to Ralph Sarkisian. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Sarkisian Foundation's EIN?

Sarkisian Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-3983247. 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 September 2026.

Data update history

(2)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 2, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Sarkisian Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/sarkisian-foundation-morg_880a59be279f4e5c84d493841c4d1cd6

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_203983247_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Sarkisian Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/sarkisian-foundation-morg_880a59be279f4e5c84d493841c4d1cd6},
  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 Sarkisian 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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