The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation
THE CLAYTON AND BILLIE POENISCH is a private foundation based in Wray, Colorado. It makes charitable donations to educational institutions, community organizations, and organizations supporting child healthcare and well-being.
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation at a glance
In short: The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation gave $210K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), top state Tennessee. 21% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $210,000
- +8.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 19
- -26.9% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $11,053
- +48.9% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $9,000
- Total assets
- $3,131,636
- +4.9% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (4 of 19, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Tennessee (15% 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 The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 314, Wray, CO 80758
Phone: (970) 332-5091
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Orphanos Foundation ($33K). Together the top 10 received $160K.
Grant Size Distribution
114 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 114 grants of 114 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation is based in Wray, Colorado. Its 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in multiple states; the largest state shares were Tennessee and Colorado at 15% each, followed by Florida (14%), North Carolina (9%), and Nebraska (8%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 4 of 19 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. With only 19 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $13K; repeat grants $10K. How we count
Medians: $13K first-time, $9K repeat.
- 68% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 37% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 100% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. 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 $50K (2019) to $210K (2025). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $210K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Orphanos Foundation Cordova, TN | Charitable | $32,500 |
| Shriners Hospital for Children Tampa, FL | Charitable | $30,000 |
| Samaritan's Purse Boone, NC | Charitable | $18,125 |
| Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY | Charitable | $15,000 |
| Garden County Schools Oshkosh, NE | Charitable | $15,000 |
| Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Operation Kids Salt Lake City, UT | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Salvation Army of Coastal Bend Corpus Christi, TX | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Tohono Chul Park Inc Tuscon, AZ | Charitable | $10,000 |
| Wray Area Foundation Inc Wray, CO | Charitable | $9,000 |
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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 | $3,131,636 | $444,806 | $297,978 | $210,000 | 19 | $218,675 | $280,727 | $219,231 |
| 2024 | $2,984,808 | $604,464 | $299,004 | $192,986 | 26 | $201,241 | $436,652 | $195,496 |
| 2023 | $2,679,348 | $647,738 | $262,881 | $151,167 | 24 | $158,935 | $578,058 | $164,838 |
| 2022 | $2,294,491 | $484,061 | $252,181 | $153,524 | 28 | $162,209 | $216,489 | $131,554 |
| 2021 | $2,062,611 | $459,821 | $183,713 | $82,782 | 17 | — | $218,125 | $131,696 |
| 2019 | $1,687,002 | $626,367 | $234,764 | $50,000 | 6 | — | $452,285 | $101,496 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation reported a distributable amount of $219K 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 foundation describes its charitable activity as educational funding for institutions of higher learning and other educational institutions and charities; support for community organizations, including those serving homeless women, volunteer fire departments, and community gardens; and funding for organizations supporting child healthcare and well-being.
Its 2025 grants included $15,000 to Alice Lloyd College. The college describes its mission as educating mountain people for leadership by making its education accessible to qualified mountain students regardless of their financial situation. The foundation also gave $5,000 to Pencils of Promise, which says it works to expand children’s access to quality education, and $9,000 to Wray Area Foundation, which says it supports local education, school recreation, community development, and families experiencing financial hardship. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own missions.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $210,000 through 19 grants. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $32,500, with a median of $9,000.
Among its largest 2025 grants were $32,500 to Orphanos Foundation, $30,000 to Shriners Hospital for Children, and $18,125 to Samaritan’s Purse. Other grants included $15,000 to Alice Lloyd College and $15,000 to Garden County Schools. Samaritan’s Purse describes its work as providing spiritual and physical aid to people affected by war, poverty, disasters, disease, and famine. Other 2025 recipients included Tohono Chul Park ($10,000), which describes itself as a community oasis focused on the cultural and natural ecology of the Sonoran Desert region, and Horses for Heroes – New Mexico ($4,375), which says it provides a free horsemanship and wellness program for eligible veterans and active military personnel.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Clayton Poenisch as president; Carl M. Poenisch as vice president; Donna Patterson as treasurer; Sydonia Ann Poenisch as secretary; and Billie Neil Poenisch, Brady Poenisch, and Jeff Cooper as directors.
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation is led by Clayton Poenisch, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 7 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Clayton Poenisch
President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Billie Neil Poenisch
Director
Vice President → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brady Poenisch
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jeff Cooper
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carl M. Poenisch
Vice President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sydonia Ann Poenisch
Secretary
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Donna Patterson
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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 The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation
How much does The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation give each year?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation gave $210K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $193K across 26 grants.
What is The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's typical grant size?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $9,000, and its average grant was $11,053, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation that year got $13K on average.
Where does The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation give grants?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's top state is Tennessee, with 15% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Colorado (15%) and Florida (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Wray, CO (4 grants) and Oshkosh, NE (2 grants).
Does The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 19 grants with a stated purpose on The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (19 grants).
Who are The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's largest grantees?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Orphanos Foundation ($32,500), Shriners Hospital for Children ($30,000) and Samaritan's Purse ($18,125), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 38% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation reported $3.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $219K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $219K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation fund?
The foundation describes its charitable activity as educational funding for institutions of higher learning and other educational institutions and charities; support for community organizations, including those serving homeless women, volunteer fire departments, and community gardens; and funding for organizations supporting child healthcare and well-being. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's EIN?
The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 45-3420290. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does The Clayton and Billie Poenisch 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
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 5, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 27, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 24, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS September 6, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS September 11, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 18, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Live grants for the work The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-clayton-and-billie-poenisch-foundation-morg_fd6e9bd2d55c4cf8ad3f80fc8891bde4
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_453420290_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Clayton and Billie Poenisch Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-clayton-and-billie-poenisch-foundation-morg_fd6e9bd2d55c4cf8ad3f80fc8891bde4},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 The Clayton and Billie Poenisch 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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