Scandinavian Seminar
Scandinavian Seminar is a private foundation focused on International, Foreign Affairs & National Security, based in South Hadley, MA. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $2.4M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 9 grants totaling $95K. Net investment income was $412K.
Scandinavian Seminar at a glance
In short: Scandinavian Seminar gave $95K across 9 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), mostly in New York. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $95,000
- +15.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 9
- +28.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $10,556
- -10.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $2,367,271
- +5.2% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- New York (58% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who Scandinavian Seminar funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top recipient in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was American-Scandinavian Foundation ($55K).
Organizations only. It also paid 8 individual scholarships ($40,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
34 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 29 grants of 34 (85%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 9 itemized grants.
Cities
How Scandinavian Seminar gives
- Giving grew 27% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 125% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $60K (2020) to $95K (2025). In 2025 it made 9 grants totaling $95K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| American-Scandinavian Foundation New York, NY | To Provide Scholarship Support to the American-Scandinavian Foundation. | $55,000 |
| 8 individual scholarships Recipients not named | — | $40,000 |
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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 | $2,367,271 | $562,494 | $216,109 | $95,000 | 9 | $134,051 | $411,578 | $106,992 |
| 2024 | $2,250,827 | $99,167 | $174,063 | $82,494 | 7 | $111,444 | $9,453 | $103,081 |
| 2023 | $1,990,270 | $134,576 | $173,694 | $85,000 | 7 | $116,027 | $47,518 | $92,487 |
| 2022 | $1,855,285 | $89,074 | $152,597 | $75,000 | 5 | $104,299 | $25,488 | $102,161 |
| 2021 | $2,360,532 | $38,575 | $162,254 | $90,000 | 6 | $111,178 | — | $105,006 |
| 2020 | $2,001,207 | $101,242 | $131,975 | $60,000 | 2 | — | $43,708 | $84,378 |
| 2019 | $1,803,579 | $189,502 | $153,452 | $90,059 | 8 | — | $146,311 | $79,070 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Scandinavian Seminar reported a distributable amount of $107K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Scandinavian Seminar is led by Bruce E. Buxton, CEO & Trustee on every filing since 2019; none of the 13 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Bruce E. Buxton
CEO & Trustee
On filings since 2019
8 hrs/week
$12K (2019) → $0 (2025)
Daphne L. Davidson
Chair
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Aili Flint
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David H. Brown
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Eugene V. Kokot
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rune Ryden
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Susan Larson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William J. Kaufmann
Trustee
Treasurer → Trustee, 2020
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Holly Howery
Trustee
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tom Lewis
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter Andresen
Treasurer
Trustee → Treasurer, 2020
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Maass
Secretary
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Wegard D. Holby
Vice Chair
On filings since 2019
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (3)
- Former: Col John Norton Usa Ret (2023–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Coljohn Norton Usa Ret (2022) — Trustee
- Former: John Norton (2019–2021) — 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 2022 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2022 filing was $12K, to Bruce E Buxton (CEO/Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about Scandinavian Seminar
How much does Scandinavian Seminar give each year?
Scandinavian Seminar gave $95K across 9 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $82K across 7 grants.
What is Scandinavian Seminar's typical grant size?
Scandinavian Seminar's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $10,556, across 9 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Scandinavian Seminar give grants?
Scandinavian Seminar gives mostly in New York: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Hawaii (5%) and Maine (5%).
Does Scandinavian Seminar give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 9 grants with a stated purpose on Scandinavian Seminar's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship" (8 grants).
How large is Scandinavian Seminar?
Scandinavian Seminar reported $2.4M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $134K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $107K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What is Scandinavian Seminar?
Scandinavian Seminar is a private foundation focused on International, Foreign Affairs & National Security, based in South Hadley, MA. It holds $2.4M in total assets as of 2025.
What is Scandinavian Seminar's EIN?
Scandinavian Seminar's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-1692378. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings.
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 August 3, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 12, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Scandinavian Seminar's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Scandinavian Seminar funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/scandinavian-seminar-morg_589847779f5246b0970fd019e6522574
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_131692378_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Scandinavian Seminar funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/scandinavian-seminar-morg_589847779f5246b0970fd019e6522574},
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 Scandinavian Seminar'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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