The Cravens Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Brooklyn, NY EIN: 35-7014492

The Cravens Foundation is a private foundation based in Brooklyn, New York. Its 2025 grants supported charitable organizations working in areas including climate policy, girls’ education, democracy, civil liberties, land conservation, design, and the arts.

The Cravens Foundation at a glance

In short: The Cravens Foundation gave $595K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $31K), mostly in New York. 68% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$595,000
+54.5% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
19
+35.7% vs 2024
Average grant
$31,316
+13.9% vs 2024
Median grant
$25,000
Total assets
$5,013,668
-3.1% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
68% first-time grantees (13 of 19, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
New York (62% 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 Cravens Foundation

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: 188 8Th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: (917) 250-7334

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

Who The Cravens Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Spring Street Climate Fund: $60KSpring Street Climate Fund$60KGirls Education Collaborative: $50KGirls Education Collaborative$50KInternational African Amer Museum: $50KInternational African AmerMuseum$50KBrooklyn Org: $50KBrooklyn Org$50KPlaces Journal: $50KPlaces Journal$50KLow Country Land Trust: $50KLow Country Land Trust$50KAmerican Civil Liberties Union: $50KAmerican Civil Liberties Union$50KDemocracy Forward: $50KDemocracy Forward$50KOne Community: $25KOne Community$25KTorn Space Theater: $25KTorn Space Theater$25K

The largest 2025 recipient was Spring Street Climate Fund ($60K). Together the top 10 received $460K.

Grant Size Distribution

72 grants across all recorded years

49<$50K21$50–100K1$100–250K1$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 49 grants of 72 (68%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 62% of grant dollars went to recipients in New York, 17% to South Carolina, 8% each to California and the District of Columbia, and 4% to Massachusetts.

Grant Distribution by State

6states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.

Cities

BrooklynNew YorkBuffaloCharlestonColumbiaNorth CharlestownRochesterArkvilleEast AuroraSan FranciscoBethesdaBostonLong Island CitySan FransciscoWashington

Is The Cravens Foundation open to new grantees?

68%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 13 of 19 grantees (68%) 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 $25K; repeat grants $45K. How we count

Medians: $25K first-time, $50K repeat.

  • 26% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 46% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 170% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). 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$200K$400K$600K11 grants2021 15 grants2022 13 grants2023 14 grants2024 19 grants2025

From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $293K (2023) to $595K (2025). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $595K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Spring Street Climate Fund Brooklyn, NYCharitable$60,000
Girls Education Collaborative East Aurora, NYCharitable$50,000
International African Amer Museum Charleston, SCCharitable$50,000
Brooklyn Org Brooklyn, NYCharitable$50,000
Places Journal San Franscisco, CACharitable$50,000
Low Country Land Trust Charleston, SCCharitable$50,000
American Civil Liberties Union New York, NYCharitable$50,000
Democracy Forward Washington, DCCharitable$50,000
One Community Brooklyn, NYCharitable$25,000
Torn Space Theater Buffalo, NYCharitable$25,000
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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$5,013,668$605,102$692,593$595,00019$605,698$488,265$355,748
2024$5,174,729$886,229$465,686$385,00014$391,430$751,973$319,924
2023$4,754,794$50,689$419,214$292,50013$296,245—$315,364
2022$5,086,620$1,240,765$462,404$407,50015$409,785$835,392$305,212
2021$4,319,014$985,469$600,292$548,50011—$836,493$281,377

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Cravens Foundation reported a distributable amount of $356K 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’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its grants show support for a range of charitable organizations. For example, Spring Street Climate Fund says it backs grassroots campaigns for climate solutions in New York; Girls Education Collaborative says it partners with locally led organizations to address barriers to girls’ education in under-resourced regions of the global south; and Democracy Forward says it works to build collective power to defend and advance democracy.

Other 2025 grantees describe their work as advancing civil liberties (American Civil Liberties Union), designing and advocating for buildings and environments intended to improve lives in underserved regions (MASS Design Group), promoting forest stewardship in the Catskill region (Catskill Forest Association), caring for and operating Prospect Park (Prospect Park Alliance), and presenting performing arts (St. Ann’s Warehouse).

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation reported 19 grants totaling $595,000. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $60,000, with a median of $25,000. Notable awards included $60,000 to Spring Street Climate Fund; $50,000 each to Girls Education Collaborative, International African American Museum, Brooklyn Org, Places Journal, Low Country Land Trust, American Civil Liberties Union, and Democracy Forward; and $25,000 each to One Community, Torn Space Theater, and MASS Design Group.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Curtis L. Cravens as trustee.

The Cravens Foundation is led by Curtis L. Cravens, Trustee on every filing since 2021 — the only officer listed, and uncompensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Curtis L. Cravens

    Trustee

    On filings since 2021

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 Cravens Foundation

How much does The Cravens Foundation give each year?

The Cravens Foundation gave $595K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $385K across 14 grants.

What is The Cravens Foundation's typical grant size?

The Cravens Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $31,316, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Cravens Foundation that year got $25K on average.

Where does The Cravens Foundation give grants?

The Cravens Foundation gives mostly in New York: 62% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were South Carolina (17%) and California (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Brooklyn, NY (7 grants), Charleston, SC (2 grants), New York, NY (2 grants) and Buffalo, NY (2 grants).

Does The Cravens Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 19 grants with a stated purpose on The Cravens Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (19 grants).

Who are The Cravens Foundation's largest grantees?

The Cravens Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Spring Street Climate Fund ($60,000), Girls Education Collaborative ($50,000) and International African Amer Museum ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 27% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Cravens Foundation?

The Cravens Foundation reported $5.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $606K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $356K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Cravens Foundation fund?

The foundation’s own mission is not stated in the available information. Its grants show support for a range of charitable organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Cravens Foundation?

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 The Cravens Foundation's EIN?

The Cravens Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 35-7014492. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.

Does The Cravens 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

(1)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2021–2025

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). The Cravens Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-cravens-foundation-morg_742f4c6ed2f84b4281854e6b5c2a4dbe

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_357014492_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{The Cravens Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-cravens-foundation-morg_742f4c6ed2f84b4281854e6b5c2a4dbe},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-13. 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 Cravens 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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