Stella and James Melillo Foundation

Foundation · Grantmaker Nashville, TN EIN: 68-0575267

Stella and James Melillo Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on Education, based in Nashville, TN. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. In 2025, it awarded 13 grants totaling $98K.

Key facts about Stella and James Melillo Foundation

EIN
68-0575267
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$98,000
Grants made (2025)
13
Average grant
$7,538
Median grant
$2,500
New grantees (estimate)
62% first-time grantees (8 of 13, 2025)
Primary geography
California (94% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

Who Stella and James Melillo Foundation funds

By grant dollars, the top recipient states for Stella and James Melillo Foundation's 13 itemized 2025 grants were California (94%) and Washington (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Santa Barbara, CA (10 grants) and Seattle, WA (2 grants). None of its 13 grants with a stated purpose were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "charitable" (13 grants).

Is Stella and James Melillo Foundation open to new grantees?

62%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 8 of 13 grantees (62%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $7K; repeat grants $8K. How we count

Medians: $2K first-time, $5K repeat.

  • 8% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 69% from 2022 to 2025. 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.

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Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

—

Annual Giving

$98K

+92.7% YoY

Grant Count

13

+116.7% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$8K

-11.1% YoY

About Stella and James Melillo Foundation

Based on IRS filings

Stella and James Melillo Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on Education, based in Nashville, TN. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. In 2025, it awarded 13 grants totaling $98K.

Focus Areas

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Share of all 13 itemized 2025 grant dollars.

Cities

Santa BarbaraMontecitoLos AngelesGlassellLake Forest ParkPasadenaSeattleBronxvilleEast HaddamGoletaHollywoodLittle RockNotre DameShorelineVenturaWood Village

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$0.5$1$1.5202020212022202320242025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets———
Revenue———
Expenses———
Qualifying Distributions———
Net Investment Income———
Distributable Amount———

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 5, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 10, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 30, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 15, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS June 3, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 15, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K11 grants202010 grants20216 grants20227 grants20236 grants202413 grants2025

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

DVS: $37KDVS$37KSTESA of Santa Barbara: $20KSTESA of Santa Barbara$20KSanta Barbara Museum of Art: $10KSanta Barbara Museum of Art$10KVarious Donee: $10KVarious Donee$10KNew Beginnings: $5KNew Beginnings$5KMOXI Museum: $5KMOXI Museum$5KMuseum of Natural History: $3KMuseum of Natural History$3KMuseum of Modern Art: $3KMuseum of Modern Art$3KUcsb: $2KUcsb$2KSanctuary Center: $2KSanctuary Center$2K

Grant Size Distribution

42 grants across all recorded years

42<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

Among its reported 2025 grants, the largest recipients include DVS ($36,500), STESA of Santa Barbara ($20,000), Santa Barbara Museum of Art ($10,000).

RecipientPurposeAmount
DVS Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$36,500
STESA of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$20,000
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$10,000
Various Donee Montecito, CAcharitable$10,000
New Beginnings Seattle, WAcharitable$5,000
MOXI Museum Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$4,500
Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$2,500
Museum of Modern Art Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$2,500
UCSB Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$2,000
Sanctuary Center Santa Barbara, CAcharitable$2,000

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Stella and James Melillo Foundation is led by James Melillo, President on every filing since 2020 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • James Melillo

    President

    On filings since 2020

    10 hrs/week

    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.

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stella and James Melillo Foundation?

Stella and James Melillo Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on Education, based in Nashville, TN. It holds — in total assets as of 2025.

Where does Stella and James Melillo Foundation operate?

Stella and James Melillo Foundation has awarded grants in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, New York, Oregon, Washington.

What size grants does Stella and James Melillo Foundation award?

In 2025, Stella and James Melillo Foundation awarded 13 grants totaling $98K — an average of about $8K per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.

What is Stella and James Melillo Foundation's EIN?

Stella and James Melillo Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 68-0575267. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

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Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings.

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