The Goodnight Educational

Foundation · Grantmaker Cary, NC EIN: 56-6533546

The Goodnight Educational Foundation is a private foundation established in 1998 and based in Cary, North Carolina. Located at 100 SAS Campus Drive, Building A, the foundation operates as a non-operating private foundation focused on philanthropic giving in education, arts and culture, and human services.

Key facts about The Goodnight Educational

EIN: 56-6533546
Latest 990 filing: Form 990-PF, 2024
Annual giving (2024): $8,490,000
Grants made (2024): 34
Average grant: $249,706
Median grant: $25,000
New grantees (estimate): 12% first-time grantees (3 of 25, 2024)
Total assets: $144,976,793
Primary geography: North Carolina (100% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
How to apply: The foundation typically selects grantees rather than accepting unsolicited proposals. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who The Goodnight Educational funds

By grant dollars, the top recipient states for The Goodnight Educational's 34 itemized 2024 grants were North Carolina (100%). The most frequent recipient cities were Raleigh, NC (23 grants), Cary, NC (4 grants), Durham, NC (2 grants) and Siler City, NC (2 grants). 41% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.

Is The Goodnight Educational open to new grantees?

12%

first-time grantees, 2024

In 2024, 3 of 25 grantees (12%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $52K; repeat grants $379K. How we count

Medians: $45K first-time, $33K repeat.

88% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+6%). Method
In 2024 it paid out 92% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method

Estimate from itemized IRS Form 990-PF grant lists (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Next steps with The Goodnight Educational

How to evaluate The Goodnight Educational as a funder
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Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$145.0M

+0.8% YoY

Annual Giving

$8.5M

-1.9% YoY

Grant Count

-8.1% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$250K

+6.8% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Goodnight Educational reported a distributable amount of $9.2M for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

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

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation's giving priorities include:

Arts and Culture
Education (elementary, secondary, and higher education)
Human Services

The foundation gives primarily for higher education and the arts.

Grantmaking

Grant Range

approximately $255,000

Average Grant

approximately $255,000

How to Apply

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation primarily supports projects within North Carolina, with documented giving in:

Cary
Chapel Hill
Coats
Cullowhee
Durham
Raleigh
Research Triangle Park
Siler City

Limited grants have also been distributed to organizations in Colorado.

Grant Distribution by State

North Carolina $8.5M (100%)

Share of all 34 itemized 2024 grant dollars.

States

Colorado North Carolina

Cities

RaleighCaryChapel HillDurhamSiler CityCullowheeResearch Triangle ParkCoatsColorado Springs

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Assets & Revenue (2024):

Total Assets: $144,976,793
Total Revenue: $9,960,729
Total Expenses: $8,585,450
Net Income: $1.3M

Assets & Revenue (2023):

Total Assets: $143,818,333
Total Revenue: $5,826,421
Total Expenses: $8,778,972

Revenue Composition (2023):

Investment income and dividends: $6,337,686
Net gain from sale of non-inventory assets: -$511,265

Asset Growth: Total assets have grown from $40.9M in 2011 to $143.8M in 2023.

Tax Status:

EIN: 56-6533546
501(c)(3) organization
Tax-exempt since June 2000
Required to file IRS Form 990-PF
Contributions are tax-deductible

Revenue

Expenses

Qualifying Distributions

Net Investment Income

Metric	2024	2023	2022
Total Assets	$144,976,793	$143,818,333	$146,662,935
Revenue	$9,960,729	$5,826,421	$6,481,834
Expenses	$8,585,450	$8,778,972	$9,109,728
Qualifying Distributions	$8,490,000	$8,651,200	$9,070,000
Net Investment Income	$9,865,279	$6,209,914	$6,442,106
Distributable Amount	$9,181,065	$8,490,634	$8,651,732

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

March 1, 2026 IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Grant Size Distribution

174 grants across all recorded years

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

Among its reported 2024 grants, the largest recipients include NC Museum of Art ($5,000,000), Myfuturenc ($1,000,000), NC Museum of History Foundation ($1,000,000).

Recipient	Purpose	Amount
NC MUSEUM OF ART Raleigh, NC	ENDOWMENT, RESTRICTED FUNDS FOR PARK	$5,000,000
MYFUTURENC Raleigh, NC	UNRESTRICTED FUNDS	$1,000,000
NC MUSEUM OF HISTORY FOUNDATION Raleigh, NC	ANNUAL FUND	$1,000,000
CARY ACADEMY Cary, NC	SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT	$565,000
NC COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION Raleigh, NC	UNRESTRICTED FUNDS	$100,000
NCSU FOUNDATION INC Raleigh, NC	STUDENT ENERGENCY FUND	$100,000
NCSU FOUNDATION INC Raleigh, NC	COLLEGE OF ED, MATH SUMMIT	$70,000
FRIENDS OF NC STATE MUSEUM OF NS Raleigh, NC	EDUCATORS OF EXCELLENCE FUND	$50,000
NC SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & MATH FOUND Durham, NC	NCSSM - MORGANTON	$50,000
NC BUSINESS LEADERS FOR EDUCATION Cary, NC	UNRESTRICTED FUNDS	$45,000

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The board of directors includes:

James H. Goodnight
Ann Baggett Goodnight
Leah A. Goodnight
Susan G. Ellis
James A. Goodnight
Donald R. Parker

All board members serve without compensation.

Compensation Overview

No officer or director reported compensation in the available filings.

From 2024 IRS filing

Name	Title	Hours	Compensation
James H Goodnight	Director	1	—
Ann Baggett Goodnight	Director	1	—
Leah a Goodnight	Director	1	—
Susan G Ellis	Director	1	—
James a Goodnight	Director	1	—
Donald R Parker	Director	1	—

Recent News & Activity

Recent developments and announcements

The foundation has supported several notable educational initiatives:

**Goodnight Scholarships Program** at NC State University, offering support to first-year and transfer students

The Goodnight Scholarships program offers first-year and transfer ...

**Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship** launched to support graduate students

Goodnight Doctoral Fellowship Launches a New Phase of Graduate Student Support

**Goodnight Distinguished Professorship in Early Literacy** established at NC State University's College of Education

Support for the **Science of Reading Initiative** through the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU)

grant Archives | North Carolina Wesleyan University

Grants to North Carolina Wesleyan University

grant Archives | North Carolina Wesleyan University

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking

Frequently Asked Questions

What does The Goodnight Educational fund?

The foundation's giving priorities include: • **Arts and Culture** • **Education** (elementary, secondary, and higher education) • **Human Services** The foundation gives primarily for higher education and the arts.

How do I apply for a grant from The Goodnight Educational?

The foundation typically selects grantees rather than accepting unsolicited proposals. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

Where does The Goodnight Educational make grants?

The foundation primarily supports projects within North Carolina, with documented giving in: • Cary • Chapel Hill • Coats • Cullowhee • Durham • Raleigh • Research Triangle Park • Siler City Limited grants have also been distributed to organizations in Colorado.

What size grants does The Goodnight Educational award?

In 2024, The Goodnight Educational awarded 34 grants totaling $8.5M — an average of about $250K per grant, based on its IRS Form 990 filings.

How much is The Goodnight Educational required to give away each year?

Private foundations must generally distribute about 5% of their assets annually. For 2024, The Goodnight Educational reported a distributable amount of $9.2M on its IRS Form 990-PF — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.