Tesson Foundation
Tesson Foundation is a private foundation based in Metairie, Louisiana. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with recipients including schools, educational and research organizations, and social-service organizations.
Tesson Foundation at a glance
In short: Tesson Foundation gave $188K across 32 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Louisiana. 56% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $187,785
- +13.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 32
- +128.6% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $5,868
- -50.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $250
- Total assets
- $2,523,631
- +0.4% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 56% first-time grantees (18 of 32, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Louisiana (84% 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 Tesson Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The 2023 filing says the foundation does not accept unsolicited requests. It lists Patrick Tesson as the contact, specifies no preprinted form, and says the recipient organization must be a 501(c)(3).
- Review Cycle
- None stated in the 2023 filing.
- Deadline
- None stated in the 2023 filing.
- Contact
Application contact: Patrick Tesson
Mailing address: 321 Sena, Metairie, LA 70005
Phone: (985) 764-6552
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Tesson Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The STEM Library ($95K). Together the top 10 received $182K.
Grant Size Distribution
97 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 95 grants of 97 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 84% of grant dollars went to recipients in Louisiana and 13% to recipients in Mississippi. The filing also reports small shares for recipients in Illinois, Virginia, and Kansas.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 32 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Tesson Foundation open to new grantees?
56%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 18 of 32 grantees (56%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $517; repeat grants $13K. How we count
Medians: $200 first-time, $5K repeat.
- 25% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 81% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 158% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $95K (2020) to $188K (2025). In 2025 it made 32 grants totaling $188K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The STEM Library Metairie, LA | General | $95,000 |
| University of Southern Mississippi Hattiseburg, MS | General | $25,275 |
| St Mary's Academy New Orleans, LA | General | $20,000 |
| Archbishop Hannan High School Covington, LA | General | $10,260 |
| The 18TH Ward New Orleans, LA | General | $10,000 |
| Second Harvest New Orleans, LA | General | $5,500 |
| Covenant House New Orleans New Orleans, LA | General | $5,200 |
| St Paul's Catholic School Covington, LA | General | $5,000 |
| Tulane Research New Orleans, LA | General | $5,000 |
| Special Olympics Hammond, LA | General | $1,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Tesson Foundation?
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 | $2,523,631 | $120,947 | $202,744 | $187,785 | 32 | $190,185 | $105,946 | $120,688 |
| 2024 | $2,514,588 | $97,884 | $179,569 | $165,500 | 14 | $168,020 | $83,145 | $113,283 |
| 2023 | $2,305,381 | $-44,072 | $117,751 | $104,650 | 15 | $107,109 | $70,400 | $111,450 |
| 2022 | $2,272,033 | $69,480 | $121,261 | $103,600 | 19 | $106,661 | $45,908 | $126,299 |
| 2021 | $2,630,645 | $253,021 | $167,919 | $138,000 | 17 | — | $223,102 | $125,050 |
| 2020 | $2,566,820 | $273,228 | $119,453 | $94,800 | 9 | — | $248,575 | $127,267 |
| 2019 | $2,601,854 | $190,273 | $135,394 | $131,500 | 14 | — | $186,379 | $123,872 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Tesson Foundation reported a distributable amount of $121K 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 foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Operation Smile says it provides surgery for people with cleft conditions and supports medical education and health-system initiatives.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 32 grants totaling $187,785. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $95,000, with a median of $250. Its largest reported grants were $95,000 to The STEM Library in Metairie, $25,275 to the University of Southern Mississippi, $20,000 to St Mary’s Academy, $10,260 to Archbishop Hannan High School, and $10,000 to The 18th Ward.
The foundation’s 2023 filing states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. The filing names Patrick Tesson as the contact, says there is no preprinted form, and restricts awards to organizations that are 501(c)(3)s.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The foundation’s 2025 filing lists Patrick A Tesson as President, Cherish Van Mullem as Vice President, and Tiffany T Hillegass as Secretary/Treasurer.
Tesson Foundation is led by Patrick A. Tesson, President since 2021 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Patrick A. Tesson
President
Director → President, 2021
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Tiffany T. Hillegass
Secretary & Treasurer
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Cherish Van Mullem
Vice President
On filings since 2021
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Michael Shannon (2019–2020) — President & CEO
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.
Frequently asked questions about Tesson Foundation
How much does Tesson Foundation give each year?
Tesson Foundation gave $188K across 32 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $166K across 14 grants.
What is Tesson Foundation's typical grant size?
Tesson Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $250, and its average grant was $5,868, across 32 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Tesson Foundation that year got $517 on average.
Where does Tesson Foundation give grants?
Tesson Foundation gives mostly in Louisiana: 84% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Mississippi (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were New Orleans, LA (9 grants), Covington, LA (2 grants) and Topeka, KS (2 grants).
Does Tesson Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Tesson Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (32 of 32) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Tesson Foundation's largest grantees?
Tesson Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include The STEM Library ($95,000), University of Southern Mississippi ($25,275) and St Mary's Academy ($20,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 75% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Tesson Foundation?
Tesson Foundation reported $2.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $190K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $121K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Tesson Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Operation Smile says it provides surgery for people with cleft conditions and supports medical education and health-system initiatives. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Tesson Foundation?
The 2023 filing says the foundation does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Tesson Foundation's EIN?
Tesson Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 72-1285110. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Tesson Foundation 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 8, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS April 24, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS July 30, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 25, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 3, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Tesson Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Tesson Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/tesson-foundation-morg_c28af4877e9648bd884c778c1030fad1
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_721285110_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Tesson Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/tesson-foundation-morg_c28af4877e9648bd884c778c1030fad1},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14. 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 Tesson Foundation'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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