Spears Charitable Trust
Spears Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Lubbock, Texas. Its 2025 filing lists 12 grants totaling $155,000 to charitable organizations, including universities, churches, and other organizations.
Spears Charitable Trust at a glance
In short: Spears Charitable Trust gave $155K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $13K), mostly in Texas. 0% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $155,000
- +25.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- -14.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $12,917
- +45.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $2,808,290
- +4.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 0% first-time grantees (0 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Texas (75% 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 Spears Charitable Trust
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The trust does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 3506 Ross Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79407
Phone: (806) 789-8450
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Spears Charitable Trust funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Generation Next ($40K). Together the top 10 received $148K.
Grant Size Distribution
63 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 63 grants of 63 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 75% of grant dollars went to recipients in Texas, 12% to Indiana, 6% to Oklahoma, and 6% to North Carolina.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Spears Charitable Trust open to new grantees?
0%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 0 of 12 grantees (0%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. How we count
- 100% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 52% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 102% 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 $100K (2020) to $155K (2025). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $155K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Generation Next Lake Dallas, TX | General Operations | $40,000 |
| Baylor University Waco, TX | Scholarship | $20,000 |
| Texas Baptist Missions Foundation Dallas, TX | General Purposes | $20,000 |
| Pre-Born Indianapolis, IN | General Purposes | $18,000 |
| First Baptist Church Lubbock, TX | General Operations | $10,000 |
| Oklahoma Baptist University Shawnee, OK | Scholarship | $10,000 |
| Redeemer Church Lubbock, TX | General Operations | $10,000 |
| Samaritan's Purse Boone, NC | General Operations | $10,000 |
| Murphy Ministries Lubbock, TX | General Purposes | $5,000 |
| Wayland Baptist University Lubbock, TX | Scholarship | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Spears Charitable Trust?
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 | $2,808,290 | $269,418 | $161,966 | $155,000 | 12 | $155,000 | $266,452 | $151,947 |
| 2024 | $2,700,838 | $174,305 | $127,457 | $124,005 | 14 | $124,005 | $172,153 | $142,044 |
| 2023 | $2,653,990 | $324,933 | $132,645 | $130,365 | 14 | $130,365 | $74,931 | $125,946 |
| 2022 | $2,461,702 | $505,479 | $106,261 | $102,000 | 13 | $102,000 | $31,340 | $115,264 |
| 2021 | $2,062,484 | $568,434 | $118,174 | $115,000 | 10 | $115,000 | $108,674 | $104,964 |
| 2020 | $1,612,224 | $72,227 | $102,595 | $99,500 | 16 | — | $40,365 | $91,811 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Spears Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $152K 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
The available filing information does not state the trust’s mission. Its 2025 grants included scholarships and support designated for general operations or general purposes. Among the grantees, Baylor University describes its mission as integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment, while Oklahoma Baptist University describes itself as a Christian liberal arts university that integrates faith with learning. Samaritan’s Purse describes its work as providing spiritual and physical aid to people affected by hardship around the world. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not the trust’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the trust made 12 grants totaling $155,000. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $40,000, with a median of $10,000. The largest awards included $40,000 to Generation Next for general operations; $20,000 each to Baylor University for scholarships and Texas Baptist Missions Foundation for general purposes; and $18,000 to Pre-Born for general purposes. Other listed grants included $10,000 each to First Baptist Church, Oklahoma Baptist University, Redeemer Church, and Samaritan’s Purse.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Cathleen Spears as co-trustee.
Spears Charitable Trust is led by Cathleen Spears, Co-Trustee on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Cathleen Spears
Co-Trustee
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 Spears Charitable Trust
How much does Spears Charitable Trust give each year?
Spears Charitable Trust gave $155K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $124K across 14 grants.
What is Spears Charitable Trust's typical grant size?
Spears Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $12,917, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Spears Charitable Trust give grants?
Spears Charitable Trust gives mostly in Texas: 75% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Indiana (12%) and Oklahoma (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Lubbock, TX (5 grants).
Does Spears Charitable Trust give general operating support?
Yes: 75% of Spears Charitable Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (9 of 12) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Scholarship" (3 grants).
Who are Spears Charitable Trust's largest grantees?
Spears Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Generation Next ($40,000), Baylor University ($20,000) and Texas Baptist Missions Foundation ($20,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 52% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Spears Charitable Trust?
Spears Charitable Trust reported $2.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $155K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $152K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Spears Charitable Trust fund?
The available filing information does not state the trust’s mission. Its 2025 grants included scholarships and support designated for general operations or general purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Spears Charitable Trust?
The trust does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Spears Charitable Trust's EIN?
Spears Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 75-2445912. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Spears Charitable Trust 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Spears Charitable Trust's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Spears Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/spears-charitable-trust-morg_51744cacbd564c48a2653d0ea6220e27
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_752445912_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Spears Charitable Trust funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/spears-charitable-trust-morg_51744cacbd564c48a2653d0ea6220e27},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 Spears Charitable Trust'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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