The Ellis Foundation
The Ellis Foundation is a private foundation based in Eagan, Minnesota. Its 2025 filing reports 10 grants totaling $151,000, including support for organizations working in areas such as climate justice, housing, public radio, and poverty reduction.
The Ellis Foundation at a glance
In short: The Ellis Foundation gave $151K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $15K), mostly in Washington. 20% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $151,000
- +58.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- -9.1% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $15,100
- +74.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $1,808,224
- -2.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 20% first-time grantees (2 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Washington (97% 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 Ellis Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The filing says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It lists an application form and Joanne Ellis as the person to contact. The filing’s statement about award restrictions is incomplete.
- Review Cycle
- None listed.
- Deadline
- None listed.
- Contact
Application contact: Joanne Ellis
Mailing address: 7868 Madrona Drive Ne, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Phone: (503) 464-4908
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Ellis Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was The Ellis Foundation ($61K). Together the top 10 received $151K.
Grant Size Distribution
80 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 78 grants of 80 (98%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 filing reports that 97% of grant dollars went to recipients in Washington and 3% to recipients in Washington, DC.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Ellis Foundation open to new grantees?
20%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 2 of 10 grantees (20%) 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 $33K; repeat grants $11K. How we count
Medians: $33K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 60% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+14%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 141% 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
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $95K (2024) to $381K (2023). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $151K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The Ellis Foundation Seattle, WA | General Operating | $61,000 |
| Puget Sound Sage Seattle, WA | General Operating | $25,000 |
| 350 Seattle Seattle, WA | General Operating | $25,000 |
| Kuow Puget Sound Public Radio Seattle, WA | General Operating | $10,000 |
| Farestart Seattle, WA | General Operating | $5,000 |
| Solid Ground Washington Seattle, WA | General Operating | $5,000 |
| YMCA Washington, DC | General Operating | $5,000 |
| Weld Seattle Seattle, WA | General Operating | $5,000 |
| Washington Community Action Network Seattle, WA | General Operating | $5,000 |
| Real Change Homeless Empowerment Seattle, WA | General Operating | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Ellis 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 | $1,808,224 | $125,107 | $171,708 | $151,000 | 10 | $154,257 | $111,008 | $109,736 |
| 2024 | $1,854,825 | $155,789 | $111,618 | $95,000 | 11 | $98,125 | $142,390 | $102,255 |
| 2023 | $1,810,652 | $35,645 | $397,441 | $380,500 | 14 | $383,713 | $43,628 | $99,942 |
| 2022 | $2,174,347 | $96,787 | $151,537 | $132,500 | 22 | $135,740 | $80,464 | $111,299 |
| 2021 | $2,230,371 | $185,300 | $175,461 | $149,000 | 23 | $152,396 | $167,998 | $126,771 |
| 2020 | $2,222,059 | $301,181 | $249,254 | $231,000 | 33 | — | $282,014 | $109,624 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Ellis Foundation reported a distributable amount of $110K 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 include organizations whose stated missions span several areas. For example, 350 Seattle says it works toward climate justice through organizing and systems change; Puget Sound SAGE says it combines research, public policy, and organizing around housing, jobs, the environment, and transportation; and KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio says it provides news, information, and cultural programs to serve a more informed public.
Other 2025 grantees describe work that includes food-based job training and poverty reduction (FareStart), services and advocacy to end poverty (Solid Ground Washington), and economic fairness and racial, social, and gender justice (Washington Community Action Network). These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own work, not stated focus areas of the foundation.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation gave $151,000 through 10 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $5,000 to $61,000, with a median of $5,000. Notable grants included $61,000 to The Ellis Foundation, $25,000 each to Puget Sound SAGE and 350 Seattle, and $10,000 to KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio. The other listed grants were $5,000 each to FareStart, Solid Ground Washington, the YMCA, Weld Seattle, Washington Community Action Network, and Real Change Homeless Empowerment. All listed grants were for general operating support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Edmund Ellis as president, Joanne Ellis as secretary, Christina Ellis as sergeant at arms, Charles Ellis as vice president, and Robyn Ellis as treasurer.
The Ellis Foundation is led by Edmund Ellis, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Edmund Ellis
President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Charles Ellis
Vice President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Christina Ellis
Sgt at Arms
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joanne Ellis
Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robyn Ellis
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about The Ellis Foundation
How much does The Ellis Foundation give each year?
The Ellis Foundation gave $151K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $95K across 11 grants.
What is The Ellis Foundation's typical grant size?
The Ellis Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $15,100, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Ellis Foundation that year got $33K on average.
Where does The Ellis Foundation give grants?
The Ellis Foundation gives mostly in Washington: 97% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Seattle, WA (9 grants).
Does The Ellis Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of The Ellis Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Ellis Foundation's largest grantees?
The Ellis Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include The Ellis Foundation ($61,000), Puget Sound Sage ($25,000) and 350 Seattle ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 74% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Ellis Foundation?
The Ellis Foundation reported $1.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $154K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $110K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Ellis Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include organizations whose stated missions span several areas. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Ellis Foundation?
The filing says the foundation does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Ellis Foundation's EIN?
The Ellis Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-3894940. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- 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 May 26, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 21, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 8, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 9, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 5, 2026)
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Ellis Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-ellis-foundation-morg_a868ba1aed524309bd583c4e6f3a8b0c
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_263894940_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Ellis Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-ellis-foundation-morg_a868ba1aed524309bd583c4e6f3a8b0c},
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 Ellis 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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