The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust

Private foundation · Grantmaker Cincinnati, OH EIN: 31-6646985

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust is a private foundation based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its 2025 grants supported organizations in areas including health, arts and culture, education, hunger relief, and religious life, primarily in Ohio.

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust at a glance

In short: The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust gave $3.9M across 47 grants in 2025 (avg $83K), mostly in Ohio. 36% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$3,915,000
+28.4% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
47
+42.4% vs 2024
Average grant
$83,298
-9.9% vs 2024
Median grant
$50,000
Total assets
$55,729,057
+5.0% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
36% first-time grantees (17 of 47, 2025)
Primary geography
Ohio (98% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust

How to Apply

The filing states that the trust does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. Applicants should contact Fifth Third Bank N.A. and submit a letter. The filing lists no restrictions on awards.

Contact

Application contact: Fifth Third Bank N A
Mailing address: 38 Fountain Sq Plz Md1090Vd, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 534-7001

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

Who The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Children's Hospital Medical Center: $500KChildren's Hospital MedicalCenter$500KTaft Museum of Art: $415KTaft Museum of Art$415KCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $350KCincinnati Institute of FineArts$350KCincinnati Museum Center: $325KCincinnati Museum Center$325KArt Opportunities Inc: $175KArt Opportunities Inc$175KCincinnati Symphony Orchestra: $150KCincinnati Symphony Orchestra$150KCincinnati Ballet Company: $125KCincinnati Ballet Company$125KAmerican Legacy Theatre: $100KAmerican Legacy Theatre$100KFreestore Foodbank: $100KFreestore Foodbank$100KChrist Church Cathedral: $100KChrist Church Cathedral$100K

The largest 2025 recipient was Children's Hospital Medical Center ($500K). Together the top 10 received $2.3M.

Grant Size Distribution

205 grants across all recorded years

76<$50K74$50–100K46$100–250K7$250–500K2$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 76 grants of 205 (37%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 98% of grant dollars went to recipients in Ohio and 2% to recipients in Kentucky. The listed 2025 grants show support concentrated in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Grant Distribution by State

3states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 47 itemized grants.

Cities

CincinnatiMilfordClarksvilleCovingtonFort MitchellInterlochenNewportBlue AshHamiltonBataviaVinvinnsyiWyoming

Is The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust open to new grantees?

36%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 17 of 47 grantees (36%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $39K; repeat grants $109K. How we count

Medians: $35K first-time, $50K repeat.

  • 36% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving grew 34% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 140% 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

$0$1M$2M$3M$4M45 grants2020 44 grants2021 42 grants2022 39 grants2023 33 grants2024 47 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $2.4M (2023) to $3.9M (2025). In 2025 it made 47 grants totaling $3.9M.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$500,000
Taft Museum of Art Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$415,000
Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts Cincinnati, OHAnnual Fund$350,000
Cincinnati Museum Center Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$325,000
Art Opportunities Inc Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$175,000
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$150,000
Cincinnati Ballet Company Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$125,000
American Legacy Theatre Cincinnati, OHGeneral Operating$100,000
Freestore Foodbank Cincinnati, OHGeneral Operating Support$100,000
Christ Church Cathedral Cincinnati, OHProject/Program Support$100,000
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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$55,729,057$7,113,547$4,479,486$3,915,00047$3,995,696$6,643,217$2,854,878
2024$53,081,479$4,685,301$3,640,565$3,050,00033$3,133,543$4,172,688$2,793,283
2023$52,040,463$17,500,984$3,063,420$2,365,00039$2,491,306$17,180,755$2,392,339
2022$37,820,154$9,074,924$3,496,357$2,920,00042$3,030,940$8,804,764$2,682,204
2021$32,044,378$3,844,987$2,863,551$2,460,00044$2,579,194$3,567,697$2,958,472
2020$31,079,015$2,813,620$2,799,482$2,410,00045—$2,579,062$2,412,622

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust reported a distributable amount of $2.9M 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 trust is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for a children’s hospital, arts organizations, museums, a food bank, and a church. The grantees describe their own work in varied terms: Taft Museum of Art says it connects people with great art; Cincinnati Museum Center says it inspires learning about science and regional history; and Freestore Foodbank says it works to eliminate hunger in partnership with its community.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the trust made 47 grants totaling $3,915,000. Grants ranged from $5,000 to $500,000, with a median of $50,000. Its largest grants included $500,000 to Children’s Hospital Medical Center for project/program support; $415,000 to Taft Museum of Art for project/program support; $350,000 to Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts for its annual fund; and $325,000 to Cincinnati Museum Center for project/program support. Other grants included $175,000 to Art Opportunities Inc, $150,000 to Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and $125,000 to Cincinnati Ballet.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

Fifth Third Bank N.A. is listed as co-trustee on the 2025 filing.

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's only listed officer is Fifth Third Bank N A, Co-Trustee on every filing since 2020 (compensated).

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Fifth Third Bank N A

    Co-Trustee

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    $300K (2020) → $527K (2025)

Former officers (1)
  • Former: Narley L. Haley (2020–2022) — Co-Trustee · Filing note: Until feb 2022

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.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Fifth Third Bank N a — Co-Trustee: $527KFifth Third Bank N aCo-Trustee$527K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $527K, to Fifth Third Bank N a (Co-Trustee).

Frequently asked questions about The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust

How much does The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust give each year?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust gave $3.9M across 47 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $3.0M across 33 grants.

What is The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's typical grant size?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's median grant in 2025 was $50,000, and its average grant was $83,298, across 47 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust that year got $39K on average.

Where does The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust give grants?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust gives mostly in Ohio: 98% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Cincinnati, OH (41 grants) and Covington, KY (2 grants).

Does The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust give general operating support?

Yes: 40% of The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (19 of 47) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Project/Program Support" (26 grants).

Who are The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's largest grantees?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's largest 2025 grantees include Children's Hospital Medical Center ($500,000), Taft Museum of Art ($415,000) and Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts ($350,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 32% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust reported $55.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $4.0M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.9M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust fund?

No mission statement for the trust is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for a children’s hospital, arts organizations, museums, a food bank, and a church. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust?

The filing states that the trust 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 Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's EIN?

The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 31-6646985. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Data last updated September 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 September 13, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS October 12, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 5, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 29, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 25, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 6, 2026)

Live grants for the work The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust funds

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-frances-r-luther-charitable-trust-morg_90220a6888d5465098175ac472c44bbd

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_316646985_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{The Frances R Luther Charitable Trust funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-frances-r-luther-charitable-trust-morg_90220a6888d5465098175ac472c44bbd},
  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 Frances R Luther Charitable Trust'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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