The Higgins Family Foundation
The Higgins Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Mercer Island, Washington. It reported 20 grants totaling $446,000 in 2025 and states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations.
The Higgins Family Foundation at a glance
In short: The Higgins Family Foundation gave $446K across 20 grants in 2025 (avg $22K), top state Washington. 5% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $446,000
- +29.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 20
- +5.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,300
- +23.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $22,500
- Total assets
- $1,996,945
- -2.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 5% first-time grantees (1 of 20, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Washington (47% 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 Higgins Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 264, Mercer Island, WA 98040-0264
Phone: (206) 332-1230
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Higgins Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ($100K). Together the top 10 received $360K.
Grant Size Distribution
97 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 81 grants of 97 (84%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 47% of grant dollars went to recipients in Washington, 29% to New York, 7% each to California and Oregon, and 6% to Iowa.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 20 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Higgins Family Foundation open to new grantees?
5%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 20 grantees (5%) were first-time recipients. With only 20 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $100K; repeat grants $18K. How we count
Medians: $100K first-time, $20K repeat.
- 90% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+1%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 233% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
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 $266K (2019) to $516K (2023). In 2025 it made 20 grants totaling $446K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY | General Operating Support | $100,000 |
| Seattle Children's Hospital Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $50,000 |
| Uw Medicine Development Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $30,000 |
| Wild Salmon Center Portland, OR | General Operating Support | $30,000 |
| American Red Cross Boone, IA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
| Children's Hospital Circle of Care Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
| College Is Real Danville, CA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
| Forterra NW Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
| Swedish Hospital Foundation Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
| The Seattle Aquarium Society Seattle, WA | General Operating Support | $25,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Higgins Family Foundation?
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 | $1,996,945 | $441,694 | $478,544 | $446,000 | 20 | $446,745 | $427,361 | $192,007 |
| 2024 | $2,054,951 | $947,312 | $364,222 | $343,500 | 19 | $346,007 | $931,202 | $175,523 |
| 2023 | $1,520,145 | $172,521 | $536,040 | $516,000 | 22 | $517,410 | $156,570 | $167,373 |
| 2022 | $1,883,651 | $191,731 | $466,284 | $440,000 | 15 | $441,055 | $171,229 | $179,084 |
| 2021 | $2,158,030 | $253,002 | $496,786 | $470,000 | 21 | $471,500 | $227,716 | $210,149 |
| 2020 | $2,402,030 | $52,625 | $344,884 | $320,500 | 13 | — | $30,379 | $173,010 |
| 2019 | $2,684,553 | $158,385 | $290,234 | $265,500 | 17 | — | $135,712 | $177,042 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Higgins Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $192K 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 own filing does not state a mission. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans health care, education, civil liberties, and environmental conservation. For example, Wild Salmon Center says its mission is to conserve and sustainably use wild salmon ecosystems across the Pacific Rim; College is Real says it works to increase college attendance and graduation among students in Richmond high schools; and the Seattle Aquarium Society says its mission is to inspire conservation of the marine environment.
Other 2025 grantees describe work to preserve natural systems and address environmental problems (Environmental Defense Fund), restore wild salmon and steelhead and support sustainable fishing in the Pacific Northwest (Long Live the Kings), and help Washington landowners restore and preserve natural landscapes (Stewardship Partners). These are the grantees’ stated missions, not a mission statement from the foundation.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 20 grants totaling $446,000. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $100,000, with a median of $22,500. All listed purposes for the largest grants were general operating support. Notable awards included $100,000 to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, $50,000 to Seattle Children’s Hospital, $30,000 each to UW Medicine Development and Wild Salmon Center, and $25,000 each to the American Red Cross, Children’s Hospital Circle of Care, College is Real, Forterra NW, Swedish Hospital Foundation, and The Seattle Aquarium Society. Other reported grants included $20,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and $10,000 to Environmental Defense Fund.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Frank M Higgins II and Leslie Magid as trustees.
The Higgins Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Frank M. Higgins II
Trustee
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Leslie Magid
Trustee
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
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.
Frequently asked questions about The Higgins Family Foundation
How much does The Higgins Family Foundation give each year?
The Higgins Family Foundation gave $446K across 20 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $344K across 19 grants.
What is The Higgins Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Higgins Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $22,500, and its average grant was $22,300, across 20 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Higgins Family Foundation that year got $100K on average.
Where does The Higgins Family Foundation give grants?
The Higgins Family Foundation's top state is Washington, with 47% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (29%) and California (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Seattle, WA (11 grants) and New York, NY (3 grants).
Does The Higgins Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of The Higgins Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (20 of 20) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Higgins Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Higgins Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ($100,000), Seattle Children's Hospital ($50,000) and Uw Medicine Development ($30,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 40% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Higgins Family Foundation?
The Higgins Family Foundation reported $2.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $447K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $192K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Higgins Family Foundation fund?
The foundation’s own filing does not state a mission. Its 2025 grantees include organizations whose stated work spans health care, education, civil liberties, and environmental conservation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Higgins Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Higgins Family Foundation's EIN?
The Higgins Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 91-6531936. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does The Higgins Family Foundation 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 14, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 11, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Higgins Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Higgins Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-higgins-family-foundation-morg_22c7f367bba24d748869dfe0e2f822ac
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_916531936_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Higgins Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-higgins-family-foundation-morg_22c7f367bba24d748869dfe0e2f822ac},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Higgins Family Foundation'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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