Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust

Private foundation · Grantmaker Cincinnati, OH EIN: 31-6436462

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported 10 grants totaling $52,500 in 2025, with recipients in Ohio and Kentucky.

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust at a glance

In short: Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust gave $53K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), mostly in Ohio. 60% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$52,500
-8.7% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
10
-9.1% vs 2024
Average grant
$5,250
+0.4% vs 2024
Median grant
$3,750
Total assets
$1,019,778
+0.8% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
60% first-time grantees (6 of 10, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Ohio (95% 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 Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust

Accepts unsolicited proposals
Yes
How to Apply

The foundation accepts unsolicited requests. Its 2025 filing directs applicants to contact William H Fry by letter. It states there are no restrictions on awards.

Review Cycle
October 31, as stated in the 2025 filing; this date has passed for 2025.
Deadline
October 31, as stated in the 2025 filing; this date has passed for 2025.
Contact

Application contact: William H Fry
Mailing address: 600 Vine Street Suite 2650, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 381-9200

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

Who Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Elder High School: $10KElder High School$10KHearing Speech & Deaf Center: $10KHearing Speech & Deaf Center$10KSeton High School: $10KSeton High School$10KThe Beechwood Home: $5KThe Beechwood Home$5KOhio Valley Voices: $5KOhio Valley Voices$5KMount Orb Community Playground: $3KMount Orb Community Playground$3KProkids: $3KProkids$3KThe Carnegie Theatre: $3KThe Carnegie Theatre$3KThe Dragonfly Foundation: $3KThe Dragonfly Foundation$3KOhio River Foundation: $3KOhio River Foundation$3K

The largest 2025 recipient was Elder High School ($10K). Together the top 10 received $53K.

Grant Size Distribution

55 grants across all recorded years

55<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 55 grants of 55 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients in Ohio and 5% to recipients in Kentucky. The listed grants show awards to organizations in Cincinnati, Loveland, and Mount Orb, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.

States

Cities

CincinnatiCinicnnatiHighland HeightsMilfordCovingtonLovelandHamiltonEvendaleMount Orb

Is Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust open to new grantees?

60%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 6 of 10 grantees (60%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $3K; repeat grants $9K. How we count

Medians: $3K first-time, $10K repeat.

  • 20% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 22% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 100% 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$20K$40K$60K16 grants2020 14 grants2021 9 grants2022 11 grants2023 11 grants2024 10 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $35K (2023) to $58K (2024). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $53K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Elder High School Cinicnnati, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$10,000
Hearing Speech & Deaf Center Cincinnati, OHPromote Chatitable Purpose$10,000
Seton High School Cincinnati, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$10,000
The Beechwood Home Cincinnati, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$5,000
Ohio Valley Voices Loveland, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$5,000
Mount Orb Community Playground Mount Orb, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$2,500
Prokids Cincinnati, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$2,500
The Carnegie Theatre Covington, KYPromote Charitable Purpose$2,500
The Dragonfly Foundation Cincinnati, OHPromote Charitable Purpose$2,500
Ohio River Foundation Cincinnati, OHPromote Chartiable Purpose$2,500
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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$1,019,778$96,249$87,942$52,50010$62,735$71,042$62,498
2024$1,011,659$88,736$92,873$57,50011$66,871$62,733$59,814
2023$1,015,975$26,810$68,599$35,00011$43,812$4,995$55,460
2022$1,058,838$52,427$79,530$43,0009$54,396$27,292$57,149
2021$1,085,067$143,885$96,003$55,50014$66,077$114,546$66,022
2020$1,038,093$95,335$80,792$49,50016—$72,556$57,370

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $62K 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 information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including schools, a hearing and speech center, a residential care provider, a community playground, and charitable organizations.

Among its grantees, Ohio Valley Voices says its mission is to teach children who are deaf or hard of hearing to listen and speak, and to advocate for families navigating a child’s hearing loss. The Dragonfly Foundation says it supports families of pediatric cancer patients through family connections, quality-of-life programs, hospital partnerships, and psychosocial research. Ohio River Foundation says it works to protect and improve the Ohio River and its watershed through advocacy, habitat restoration, school education, and youth programs. ProKids says it advocates for abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation gave $52,500 through 10 grants. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $10,000, with a median of $3,750. Recipients included Elder High School ($10,000), Hearing Speech & Deaf Center ($10,000), Seton High School ($10,000), The Beechwood Home ($5,000), Ohio Valley Voices ($5,000), Mount Orb Community Playground ($2,500), ProKids ($2,500), The Carnegie Theatre ($2,500), The Dragonfly Foundation ($2,500), and Ohio River Foundation ($2,500).

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists William H Fry, Terence K Fry, and Addison C Fry as trustees.

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; all 3 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Addison C. Fry

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1.5 hrs/week

    $5K (2020) → $5K (2025)

  • Terence K. Fry

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1.5 hrs/week

    $5K (2020) → $5K (2025)

  • William H. Fry

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1.5 hrs/week

    $5K (2020) → $5K (2025)

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.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

William H Fry — Trustee: $5KWilliam H FryTrustee$5KTerence K Fry — Trustee: $5KTerence K FryTrustee$5KAddison C Fry — Trustee: $5KAddison C FryTrustee$5K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $5K, to William H Fry (Trustee). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust

How much does Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust give each year?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust gave $53K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $58K across 11 grants.

What is Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's typical grant size?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $3,750, and its average grant was $5,250, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust that year got $3K on average.

Where does Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust give grants?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust gives mostly in Ohio: 95% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Cincinnati, OH (6 grants).

Who are Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's largest grantees?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Elder High School ($10,000), Hearing Speech & Deaf Center ($10,000) and Seton High School ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 57% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust reported $1.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $63K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $62K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust fund?

The available information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including schools, a hearing and speech center, a residential care provider, a community playground, and charitable organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust?

The foundation accepts unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's EIN?

Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 31-6436462. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust accept unsolicited proposals?

Yes, 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

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/stella-m-buerger-charitable-trust-morg_c291cf6d9900482abccd0f364a59df95

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_316436462_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Stella M Buerger Charitable Trust funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/stella-m-buerger-charitable-trust-morg_c291cf6d9900482abccd0f364a59df95},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Stella M Buerger 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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