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The Fairfield Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker New York, NY EIN: 80-6135476 Website

The Fairfield Foundation is a private foundation based in New York, NY. Its 2025 filing reports 99 grants totaling $988,225, including grants for education, community service, and health services.

The Fairfield Foundation at a glance

In short: The Fairfield Foundation gave $988K across 99 grants in 2025 (avg $10K), top state Connecticut. 22% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$988,225
+38.9% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
99
+32.0% vs 2024
Average grant
$9,982
+5.2% vs 2024
Median grant
$5,000
Total assets
$11,186,763
+13.6% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
22% first-time grantees (14 of 64, 2025)
Primary geography
Connecticut (37% 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 Fairfield Foundation

Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to Apply

The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Its filing lists a letter as the application material, no deadline, and no restrictions on awards.

Contact

Application contact: The Fairfield Foundation Co
Mailing address: Kenneth R Page Hughes Hubbard Reed, Llp, Battery Pk Plaza, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 837-6440
Website: https://fairfieldfoundation.org

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

Who The Fairfield Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Salisbury School: $155K across 3 grantsSalisbury School$155K · 3 grantsScoville Memorial Library: $110K across 3 grantsScoville Memorial Library$110K · 3 grantsWilliams College: $60K across 2 grantsWilliams College$60K · 2 grantsFishers Island Community Center: $45K across 3 grantsFishers Island CommunityCenter$45K · 3 grantsIsland Health Project: $40K across 4 grantsIsland Health Project$40K · 4 grantsHenry L Ferguson Museum: $30K across 4 grantsHenry L Ferguson Museum$30K · 4 grantsVero Beach Museum of Art: $30K across 2 grantsVero Beach Museum of Art$30K · 2 grantsFishers Island Recreational Path Foundation: $25K across 3 grantsFishers Island RecreationalPath Foundation$25K · 3 grantsJohn's Island Community Service League: $25K across 3 grantsJohn's Island CommunityService League$25K · 3 grantsThe Clark Museum: $25KThe Clark Museum$25K

The largest 2025 recipient was Salisbury School ($155K across 3 grants). Together the top 10 received $545K.

Grant Size Distribution

316 grants across all recorded years

301<$50K9$50–100K6$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 301 grants of 316 (95%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Connecticut (37%), New York (32%), Massachusetts (14%), Florida (14%), and the District of Columbia (2%).

Grant Distribution by State

9states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 99 itemized grants.

Cities

Fishers IslandVero BeachSalisburyLakevilleBostonFisher IslandWashingtonBrooklineCorningSaratoga SpringsWiliiamstownCantonCharlottesvilleDanversMiddletonWest NewtonNew YorkSharonWest CornwallMillerton

Is The Fairfield Foundation open to new grantees?

22%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 14 of 64 grantees (22%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $9K; repeat grants $17K. How we count

Medians: $5K first-time, $10K repeat.

  • 69% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+20%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 89% 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 (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

$0$250K$500K$750K$1M46 grants2020 54 grants2021 45 grants2022 43 grants2023 75 grants2024 99 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $503K (2020) to $988K (2025). In 2025 it made 99 grants totaling $988K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Salisbury School Salisbury, CTEducation$100,000
Salisbury School Salisbury, CTEducation$50,000
Scoville Memorial Library Salisbury, CTEducation$50,000
Scoville Memorial Library Salisbury, CTEducation$50,000
Williams College Wiliiamstown, MAEducation$50,000
Fishers Island Community Center Fishers Island, NYCommunity Service$30,000
The Clark Museum Williamstown, MAEducational$25,000
Island Health Project Fishers Island, NYHealth Services$20,000
Vero Beach Museum of Art Vero Beach, FLEducation$20,000
Henry L Ferguson Museum Fishers Island, NYEducation$15,000
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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$11,186,763$2,524,025$1,186,880$988,22599$988,225$2,253,910$1,115,877
2024$9,849,618$3,021,926$859,469$711,71675$711,716$2,759,536$968,225
2023$7,687,161$1,532,472$803,523$696,03943$696,039$1,312,962$711,716
2022$6,958,212$1,191,728$922,554$825,32045$825,320$957,843$696,039
2021$6,689,038$811,546$735,337$621,78254$621,782$610,281$825,320
2020$6,612,829$765,694$588,878$502,78646—$646,229$621,782

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Fairfield Foundation reported a distributable amount of $1.1M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation made 99 grants totaling $988,225. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $100,000, with a median of $5,000. Among the largest were $100,000 and $50,000 to Salisbury School, and two $50,000 grants to Scoville Memorial Library, all for education. Other reported grants included $30,000 to Fishers Island Community Center for community service and $20,000 to Island Health Project for health services.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists G Anne Harris, David F Harris, and John M Harris as trustees.

The Fairfield Foundation's 2025 filing lists 3 officers; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • David F. Harris

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    0.3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • G. Anne Harris

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    0.3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • John M. Harris

    Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    0.3 hrs/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 Fairfield Foundation

How much does The Fairfield Foundation give each year?

The Fairfield Foundation gave $988K across 99 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $712K across 75 grants.

What is The Fairfield Foundation's typical grant size?

The Fairfield Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $9,982, across 99 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Fairfield Foundation that year got $9K on average.

Where does The Fairfield Foundation give grants?

The Fairfield Foundation's top state is Connecticut, with 37% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (32%) and Massachusetts (14%). The most frequent recipient cities were Fishers Island, NY (29 grants), Vero Beach, FL (18 grants), Salisbury, CT (11 grants) and Lakeville, CT (7 grants).

Does The Fairfield Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 99 grants with a stated purpose on The Fairfield Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Community Service" (29 grants), "Community Services" (26 grants) and "Education" (25 grants).

Who are The Fairfield Foundation's largest grantees?

The Fairfield Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Salisbury School ($155,000 across 3 grants), Scoville Memorial Library ($110,000 across 3 grants) and Williams College ($60,000 across 2 grants), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 33% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Fairfield Foundation?

The Fairfield Foundation reported $11.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $988K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $1.1M (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.

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

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

What is The Fairfield Foundation's EIN?

The Fairfield Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 80-6135476. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Fairfield 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

(6)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 11, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 23, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 13, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 13, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)

Explore Open Grants

Browse active grant opportunities in The Fairfield Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). The Fairfield Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-fairfield-foundation-morg_da491d30137e44a9b3483c79bde2991c

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_806135476_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{The Fairfield Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-fairfield-foundation-morg_da491d30137e44a9b3483c79bde2991c},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-12. 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 Fairfield 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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