The Hartwell Foundation Corporation
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation is a private foundation based in Fullerton, California. Its primary mission is to fund early-stage biomedical research with the potential to benefit children in the United States; it also supports special projects intended to benefit children’s health and well-being.
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation at a glance
In short: The Hartwell Foundation Corporation gave $4.0M across 14 grants in 2025 (avg $288K), mostly in Virginia. 21% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $4,025,000
- +89.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 14
- +16.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $287,500
- +62.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $112,500
- Total assets
- $71,934,740
- +24.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (3 of 14, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Virginia (72% 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 Hartwell Foundation Corporation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests. Individual biomedical research nominees must be nominated by participating institutions, which conduct their own internal competitions under Foundation guidelines. The Foundation also states that funding for child education, camps, and other service programs is awarded through an application process, with only organizations it has preselected considered for funding.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2750 Moore Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92833
Phone: (714) 870-0217
Website: https://thehartwellfoundation.com
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Hartwell Foundation Corporation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Mercy Chefs ($1.0M). Together the top 10 received $3.8M.
Grant Size Distribution
77 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $100–250K range: 35 grants of 77 (45%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Foundation’s 2025 grant dollars went primarily to recipients in Virginia (72%), followed by Pennsylvania (6%), California (5%), New York (4%), and Florida (3%). Its biomedical research awards and fellowships are for work at participating U.S. research institutions.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 14 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Hartwell Foundation Corporation open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 3 of 14 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. With only 14 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 7 points. First grants averaged $683K; repeat grants $180K. How we count
Medians: $1M first-time, $100K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $1.7M (2020) to $4.0M (2025). In 2025 it made 14 grants totaling $4.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Mercy Chefs Portsmouth, VA | General Donation | $1,000,000 |
| The Salvation Army Alexandria, VA | La Fires | $1,000,000 |
| Tragedy Assistance Program Arlington, VA | Children Camps & Programs | $900,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | Fellowship Award | $200,000 |
| Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Fellowship Award | $150,000 |
| Regents of University of CA Oakland, CA | Fellowship Award | $150,000 |
| Ami Kids Tampa, FL | Children Programs | $125,000 |
| Yale University New Haven, CT | Fellowship Award | $100,000 |
| Duke University Durham, NC | Fellowship Award | $100,000 |
| University of Wisconsin Madison, WI | Fellowship Award | $100,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Hartwell Foundation Corporation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $71,934,740 | $11,688,406 | $8,573,335 | $4,025,000 | 14 | $8,537,103 | $113,481 |
| 2024 | $57,794,443 | $-286,076 | $6,210,816 | $2,125,000 | 12 | $6,073,206 | $281,409 |
| 2023 | $46,079,635 | $-21,629,643 | $7,406,761 | $2,161,000 | 15 | $7,382,627 | $280,808 |
| 2022 | $46,392,645 | $5,256,698 | $7,066,444 | $1,948,680 | 19 | $6,900,783 | $2,756,542 |
| 2021 | $88,595,532 | $17,280,759 | $12,614,509 | $2,327,636 | 17 | — | $9,103,485 |
| 2020 | $60,064,128 | $18,255,608 | $4,849,768 | $1,661,531 | 17 | — | $4,762,688 |
| 2019 | $37,065,355 | $-11,269,906 | $9,265,784 | $2,097,619 | 20 | — | $314,872 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Foundation’s primary mission is to award funding for innovative, cutting-edge biomedical applied research that could benefit children. It aims to support early-stage projects that have not yet qualified for funding from traditional sources. The Foundation also supports special projects that directly benefit children’s health and well-being in the United States.
For Individual Biomedical Research Awards, participating institutions nominate researchers through an internal competition. Nominees must be U.S. citizens and come from appropriate areas of basic and applied life sciences, including engineering focused on biomedical applications. Awards provide three years of support at $100,000 in direct costs per year. For each funded nominee, the sponsoring institution receives a fellowship to designate to a qualified postdoctoral researcher; these fellowships provide two years of support at $50,000 in direct costs per year. These awards and fellowships are administered through participating institutions, rather than offered as open grant programs for outside applicants.
The Foundation’s other grants include support for children’s education, camps, and service programs. Among its 2025 grantees, Mercy Chefs describes its mission as providing restaurant-quality meals to people affected by disasters and emergencies, and providing food service in underserved communities. Drexel University describes its mission as preparing students for professional and civic lives and applying its expertise to society’s problems.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the Foundation reported 14 grants totaling $4,025,000. Grants ranged from $50,000 to $1,000,000, with a median grant of $112,500. The largest reported grants were $1,000,000 to Mercy Chefs for a general donation and $1,000,000 to The Salvation Army for LA fires, followed by $900,000 to the Tragedy Assistance Program for children’s camps and programs. Other reported grants included $200,000 to the University of Pennsylvania for a fellowship award; $150,000 each to Cornell University and the Regents of the University of California for fellowship awards; and $125,000 to AMI Kids for children’s programs. Drexel University also received $50,000 in 2025.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Larry H Smead as Chairman, Robert Norton as CEO, Frederick Dombrose as President, and Robert Wolfert as VP.
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation is led by Robert Norton, CEO on the 2025 filing; 3 of 4 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Robert Norton
CEO
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$233K (2025)
Frederick Dombrose
President
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$186K (2024) → $213K (2025)
Larry H. Smead
Chairman
Chairman → Chairman & CEO, 2022
Chairman & CEO → Chairman, 2025
On filings since 2019
20 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Robert L. Wolfert
Vice President
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$69K (2021) → $180K (2025)
Former officers (5)
- Former: Fred Dombrose (2019–2023) — President
- Former: Heather Houser (2019–2023) — Assistant Se
- Former: Stacey Morse (2019–2022) — Officer
- Former: Jeff Germany (2021) — CEO
- Former: Russell J. Hensley (2019–2020) — CEO
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "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
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $233K, to Robert Norton (CEO). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about The Hartwell Foundation Corporation
How much does The Hartwell Foundation Corporation give each year?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation gave $4.0M across 14 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $2.1M across 12 grants.
What is The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's typical grant size?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's median grant in 2025 was $112,500, and its average grant was $287,500, across 14 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Hartwell Foundation Corporation that year got $683K on average.
Where does The Hartwell Foundation Corporation give grants?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation gives mostly in Virginia: 72% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Pennsylvania (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Philadelphia, PA (2 grants).
Does The Hartwell Foundation Corporation give general operating support?
Occasionally: 7% of The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 14) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Fellowship Award" (10 grants).
Who are The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's largest grantees?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's largest 2025 grantees include Mercy Chefs ($1,000,000), The Salvation Army ($1,000,000) and Tragedy Assistance Program ($900,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 72% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Hartwell Foundation Corporation?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation reported $71.9M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $11.7M.
What does The Hartwell Foundation Corporation fund?
The Foundation’s primary mission is to award funding for innovative, cutting-edge biomedical applied research that could benefit children. It aims to support early-stage projects that have not yet qualified for funding from traditional sources. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Hartwell Foundation Corporation?
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's EIN?
The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 06-1468749. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does The Hartwell Foundation Corporation 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
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 7, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work The Hartwell Foundation Corporation funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Hartwell Foundation Corporation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Hartwell Foundation Corporation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-hartwell-foundation-corporation-morg_93fb6e00f6c04449bbd28df4d9ecc666
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_061468749_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Hartwell Foundation Corporation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-hartwell-foundation-corporation-morg_93fb6e00f6c04449bbd28df4d9ecc666},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-24. 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 Hartwell Foundation Corporation'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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