The Henry Sears Foundation Inc
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.
The Henry Sears Foundation Inc at a glance
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.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $78,000
- -41.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- -53.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $6,500
- +26.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $1,000
- Total assets
- $1,092,321
- -4.4% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Maryland (89% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to The Henry Sears Foundation Inc
- 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.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 447, Chestertown, MD 21620
Phone: (617) 547-2411
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Henry Sears Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was National Music Festival ($50K). Together the top 10 received $77K.
Grant Size Distribution
47 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 41 grants of 47 (87%).
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
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
States
Cities
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.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $50K (2020) to $134K (2024). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $78K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| National Music Festival Chestertown, MD | Arts - Operations | $50,000 |
| Radcliffe Creek School Chestertown, MD | Educational | $10,000 |
| North Haven Conservation Partners North Haven, ME | Conservation | $5,000 |
| Good Neighbor Fund Chestertown, MD | Charitable | $5,000 |
| Sultana Education Foundation Chestertown, MD | Educational | $1,500 |
| Weta Washington, DC | Educational | $1,000 |
| Chesapeake Bay Foundation Baltimore, MD | Educational | $1,000 |
| North Haven Library North Haven, ME | Educational | $1,000 |
| Animal Care Shelter for Kent County Chestertown, MD | Charitable | $1,000 |
| Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkin Hagerstown, MD | Research Health | $1,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,092,321 | $40,119 | $91,282 | $78,000 | 12 | $78,000 | $40,372 | $61,652 |
| 2024 | $1,142,888 | $33,002 | $135,628 | $133,500 | 26 | $123,500 | $38,511 | $58,655 |
| 2023 | $1,245,514 | $11,327 | $72,786 | $60,000 | 2 | $60,000 | $29,060 | $56,665 |
| 2022 | $1,306,973 | $23,451 | $105,946 | $89,060 | 5 | $89,060 | $23,879 | $66,964 |
| 2021 | $1,403,888 | $553,332 | $110,922 | $100,000 | 2 | $100,000 | $546,110 | $62,649 |
| 2020 | $961,478 | $36,340 | $59,027 | $50,000 | 1 | — | $31,264 | $61,108 |
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.
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.
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.
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 October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 16, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 1, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 12, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS March 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 6, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work The Henry Sears Foundation Inc funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Henry Sears Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-henry-sears-foundation-inc-morg_24f2037be05141bf8817db93a1796680
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_521933579_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Henry Sears Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-henry-sears-foundation-inc-morg_24f2037be05141bf8817db93a1796680},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Henry Sears Foundation Inc'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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