The Henry Sears Foundation Inc

Private foundation · Grantmaker Chestertown, MD EIN: 52-1933579

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Chestertown, Maryland. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, including recipients in Maryland and Maine, for arts, education, conservation, charitable, health research, and religious purposes.

Key facts about The Henry Sears Foundation Inc

In short: The Henry Sears Foundation Inc gave $78K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $7K), mostly in Maryland. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
52-1933579
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$78,000
Grants made (2025)
12
Average grant
$6,500
Median grant
$1,000
Total assets
$1,092,321
Primary geography
Maryland (89% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$1.1M

-4.4% YoY

Annual Giving

$78K

-41.6% YoY

Grant Count

12

-53.8% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$7K

+26.6% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Henry Sears Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $62K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

How The Henry Sears Foundation Inc gives

  • 92% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−12%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 127% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

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

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation’s filings do not state a mission. Its 2025 grants included support for arts operations, education, conservation, charitable purposes, health research, and religious purposes.

Among the recipients, Radcliffe Creek School describes its mission as providing an academic program tailored to children with diagnosed learning disabilities or other learning concerns. North Haven Conservation Partners says it works to protect important land, wildlife habitat, natural resources, and historic and cultural features on North Haven and surrounding islands. Sultana Education Foundation describes its work as providing educational experiences about Chesapeake Bay history and solutions for a more sustainable ecosystem. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation states its mission is to save the Bay.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the foundation gave $78,000 across 12 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $500 to $50,000, with a median grant of $1,000. The largest grants were $50,000 to National Music Festival for arts operations and $10,000 to Radcliffe Creek School for educational purposes. Other notable awards were $5,000 to North Haven Conservation Partners for conservation and $5,000 to Good Neighbor Fund for charitable purposes.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 89% of grant dollars went to recipients in Maryland, 8% to Maine, 1% to the District of Columbia, and 1% to Illinois.

Grant Distribution by State

10states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.

Cities

ChestertownNorth HavenWashingtonBaltimoreChicagoHagerstownAshevilleBostonCharlestonNantucketNew YorkRock HallSimsburySouthboroughSygar Gukk

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$50K$100K$150K1 grant2020 2 grants2021 5 grants2022 2 grants2023 26 grants2024 12 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $50K (2020) to $134K (2024). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $78K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

National Music Festival: $50KNational Music Festival$50KRadcliffe Creek School: $10KRadcliffe Creek School$10KNorth Haven Conservation Partners: $5KNorth Haven ConservationPartners$5KGood Neighbor Fund: $5KGood Neighbor Fund$5KSultana Education Foundation: $2KSultana Education Foundation$2KWeta: $1KWeta$1KChesapeake Bay Foundation: $1KChesapeake Bay Foundation$1KNorth Haven Library: $1KNorth Haven Library$1KAnimal Care Shelter for Kent County: $1KAnimal Care Shelter for KentCounty$1KMichael J Fox Foundation for Parkin: $1KMichael J Fox Foundation forParkin$1K

The largest 2025 recipient was National Music Festival ($50K). Together the top 10 received $77K.

Grant Size Distribution

47 grants across all recorded years

41<$50K6$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 41 grants of 47 (87%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
National Music Festival Chestertown, MDArts - Operations$50,000
Radcliffe Creek School Chestertown, MDEducational$10,000
North Haven Conservation Partners North Haven, MEConservation$5,000
Good Neighbor Fund Chestertown, MDCharitable$5,000
Sultana Education Foundation Chestertown, MDEducational$1,500
Weta Washington, DCEducational$1,000
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Baltimore, MDEducational$1,000
North Haven Library North Haven, MEEducational$1,000
Animal Care Shelter for Kent County Chestertown, MDCharitable$1,000
Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkin Hagerstown, MDResearch Health$1,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2025 $1,092,321 $40,119 $91,282 $78,000 (12 grants)
2024 $1,142,888 $33,002 $135,628 $133,500 (26 grants)
2023 $1,245,514 $11,327 $72,786 $60,000 (2 grants)
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$200K$400K$600K$800K2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$1,092,321$1,142,888$1,245,514
Revenue$40,119$33,002$11,327
Expenses$91,282$135,628$72,786
Qualifying Distributions$78,000$123,500$60,000
Net Investment Income$40,372$38,511$29,060
Distributable Amount$61,652$58,655$56,665

Data update history

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 March 16, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 1, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 12, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 28, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 6, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Dr. Henry F. Sears as president and James A. Judge, Turner B. Smith, and Sandra Sears as directors.

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc is led by Henry F. Sears, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Henry F. Sears

    President

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • James A. Judge

    Director

    Board Member → Director, 2021

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Turner B. Smith

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Sandra Sears

    Director

    On filings since 2024

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (9)
  • Former: John L. Seidel (2020–2022) — Director
  • Former: Philip W. Hoon (2020–2022) — Officer
  • Former: Christopher Sears (2020) — Vice President
  • Former: Douglas Gill (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Evan Miles (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Greg Cole (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Henry Davis (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: James Gruber (2020) — Board Member
  • Former: Sharon Bushnell Sears (2020) — Director

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.

Contact

Mailing address: PO Box 447, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (617) 547-2411

Frequently asked questions about The Henry Sears Foundation Inc

How much does The Henry Sears Foundation Inc give each year?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc gave $78K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $134K across 26 grants.

What is The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's typical grant size?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's median grant in 2025 was $1,000, and its average grant was $6,500, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does The Henry Sears Foundation Inc give grants?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc gives mostly in Maryland: 89% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was Maine (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Chestertown, MD (5 grants) and North Haven, ME (3 grants).

Does The Henry Sears Foundation Inc give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 12 grants with a stated purpose on The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Educational" (5 grants).

Who are The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's largest grantees?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's largest 2025 grantees include National Music Festival ($50,000), Radcliffe Creek School ($10,000) and North Haven Conservation Partners ($5,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 83% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Henry Sears Foundation Inc?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc reported $1.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $78K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $62K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Henry Sears Foundation Inc fund?

The foundation’s filings do not state a mission. Its 2025 grants included support for arts operations, education, conservation, charitable purposes, health research, and religious purposes. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Henry Sears Foundation Inc?

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

What is The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's EIN?

The Henry Sears Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 52-1933579. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does The Henry Sears Foundation Inc accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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