Sterzing Charitable Trust

Private foundation · Grantmaker Virginia Beach, VA EIN: 87-6877891

Sterzing Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations working in areas including community services, health, arts and culture, environmental causes, and animal welfare.

Sterzing Charitable Trust at a glance

In short: Sterzing Charitable Trust gave $117K across 40 grants in 2025 (avg $3K), mostly in Virginia. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$117,000
+18.2% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
40
+14.3% vs 2024
Average grant
$2,925
+3.4% vs 2024
Median grant
$2,000
Total assets
$1,653,564
+2.3% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
20% first-time grantees (8 of 40, 2025)
Primary geography
Virginia (81% 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 Sterzing Charitable Trust

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.

Contact

Mailing address: 4475 Lee Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757) 572-5556

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

Who Sterzing Charitable Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Old Donation Episcopal Church: $25KOld Donation Episcopal Church$25KCHKD: $5KCHKD$5KElephant Sanctuary: $5KElephant Sanctuary$5KKeep Va Beautiful: $5KKeep Va Beautiful$5KReach: $5KReach$5KSamaritan House: $5KSamaritan House$5KThe Wells TheaterVa Stage: $5KThe Wells TheaterVa Stage$5KWHRO: $5KWHRO$5KWorld Central Kitchen: $5KWorld Central Kitchen$5KEastern Virginia Medical School Foundation: $5KEastern Virginia MedicalSchool Foundation$5K

The largest 2025 recipient was Old Donation Episcopal Church ($25K). Together the top 10 received $70K.

Grant Size Distribution

109 grants across all recorded years

109<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 109 grants of 109 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, Virginia recipients received 81% of grant dollars. Recipients in the District of Columbia received 5%, Tennessee 4%, California 4%, and Maryland 2%.

Grant Distribution by State

10states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 40 itemized grants.

Cities

NorfolkVirginia BeachChesapeakeWashingtonAlachuaAlexandriaBarabooCharlottesvilleChathamCovingtonHohenwaldJamesvilleJarrattKanabLos AngelesManhattan BeachRichmondTucsonWaynesboroFarmville

Is Sterzing Charitable Trust open to new grantees?

20%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 8 of 40 grantees (20%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $3K. How we count

Medians: $1K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 78% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 122% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2023–2025). 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$50K$100K$150K34 grants2023 35 grants2024 40 grants2025

From 2023 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $99K (2023) to $117K (2025). In 2025 it made 40 grants totaling $117K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Old Donation Episcopal Church Virginia Beach, VAGeneral Fund$25,000
CHKD Norfolk, VAMental Health Program$5,000
Elephant Sanctuary Hohenwald, TNGeneral Fund$5,000
Keep Va Beautiful Richmond, VAGeneral Fund$5,000
Reach Norfolk, VAGeneral Fund$5,000
Samaritan House Virginia Beach, VAGeneral Fund$5,000
The Wells TheaterVa Stage Norfolk, VAGeneral Fund$5,000
WHRO Norfolk, VAGeneral Fund$5,000
World Central Kitchen Washington, DCGeneral Fund$5,000
Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation Norfolk, VAStrelitz Diabetes Center$5,000
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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$1,653,564$157,217$120,218$117,00040$117,000$103,386$95,653
2024$1,616,565$172,433$102,020$99,00035$99,000$101,985$86,415
2023$1,546,152$1,649,006$107,854$99,00034$99,000$2,744$67,984

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Sterzing Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $96K 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 trust is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Samaritan House says it works to promote safety and self-sufficiency for adults and children affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and homelessness. World Central Kitchen describes its work as providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. The Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation says it strengthens the financial security of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University by managing gifts and bequests.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the trust awarded 40 grants totaling $117,000. Grant amounts ranged from $500 to $25,000, with a median of $2,000. The largest grant listed was $25,000 to Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach for its General Fund. Other notable grants included $5,000 each to CHKD for its Mental Health Program; Elephant Sanctuary, Keep Va Beautiful, REACH, Samaritan House, The Wells TheaterVa Stage, WHRO, World Central Kitchen, Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation for the Strelitz Diabetes Center, and Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia. YMCA Camp Silver Beach received $3,000 for its General Fund.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Carl Sterzing is listed as a trustee on the 2025 filing.

Sterzing Charitable Trust is led by Carl Sterzing, Trustee on every filing since 2023 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Carl Sterzing

    Trustee

    On filings since 2023

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2023–2025. "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 Sterzing Charitable Trust

How much does Sterzing Charitable Trust give each year?

Sterzing Charitable Trust gave $117K across 40 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $99K across 35 grants.

What is Sterzing Charitable Trust's typical grant size?

Sterzing Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $2,000, and its average grant was $2,925, across 40 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Sterzing Charitable Trust that year got $2K on average.

Where does Sterzing Charitable Trust give grants?

Sterzing Charitable Trust gives mostly in Virginia: 81% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was District of Columbia (5%). The most frequent recipient cities were Norfolk, VA (13 grants), Virginia Beach, VA (6 grants), Washington, DC (2 grants) and Chesapeake, VA (2 grants).

Does Sterzing Charitable Trust give general operating support?

Yes: 85% of Sterzing Charitable Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (34 of 40) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Sterzing Charitable Trust's largest grantees?

Sterzing Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Old Donation Episcopal Church ($25,000), CHKD ($5,000) and Elephant Sanctuary ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 30% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Sterzing Charitable Trust?

Sterzing Charitable Trust reported $1.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $117K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $96K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Sterzing Charitable Trust fund?

No mission statement for the trust is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Samaritan House says it works to promote safety and self-sufficiency for adults and children affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and homelessness. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Sterzing Charitable Trust?

The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is Sterzing Charitable Trust's EIN?

Sterzing Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 87-6877891. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2023–2025.

Does Sterzing 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

  1. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 13, 2026)
  2. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2023–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Sterzing Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/sterzing-charitable-trust-morg_b426394149d14d83a66314d5f052a28e

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_876877891_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Sterzing Charitable Trust funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/sterzing-charitable-trust-morg_b426394149d14d83a66314d5f052a28e},
  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 Sterzing 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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