The James R Thorpe Foundation
The James R. Thorpe Foundation is a private foundation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Established in 1974, it supports youth-serving organizations and, in recent years, has also prioritized organizations serving vulnerable seniors in the Minneapolis area.
The James R Thorpe Foundation at a glance
In short: The James R Thorpe Foundation gave $342K across 32 grants in 2025 (avg $11K), mostly in Minnesota. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $342,000
- +4.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 32
- +3100.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $10,688
- -96.7% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $6,567,995
- -0.5% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to The James R Thorpe Foundation
- Contact
Application contact: Family Philanthropy Advisory
Mailing address: 1818 Oliver Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55405
Phone: (612) 250-9304
Website: https://www.jamesthorpefoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The James R Thorpe Foundation
Who The James R Thorpe Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Community Emergency Service Inc ($25K). Together the top 10 received $165K.
Grant Size Distribution
36 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 32 grants of 36 (89%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s grant programs focus on the Minneapolis area. All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Minnesota.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 32 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How The James R Thorpe Foundation gives
- Giving grew 23% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 106% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $278K (2022) to $342K (2025). In 2025 it made 32 grants totaling $342K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Community Emergency Service Inc Minneapolis, MN | Senior Programming | $25,000 |
| Alive & Kickin Minneapolis, MN | General Operating | $17,500 |
| Rebuilding Together Twin Cities Shoreview, MN | Senior Programming | $16,500 |
| Southeast Seniors Minneapolis, MN | General Operating | $16,000 |
| Children's Law Center of Minnesota St. Paul, MN | Youth Programming | $15,000 |
| Creatempls Minneapolis, MN | Youth Programming | $15,000 |
| Hospitality House Youth Development Minneapolis, MN | Youth Programming | $15,000 |
| Minnesota Elder Justice Center Shoreview, MN | General Operating | $15,000 |
| Nokomis Healthy Seniors Minneapolis, MN | General Operating | $15,000 |
| Senior Community Services Minneapolis, MN | General Operating | $15,000 |
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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 | $6,567,995 | $450,935 | $482,168 | $342,000 | 32 | $438,960 | $411,899 | $414,631 |
| 2024 | $6,599,228 | $399,887 | $469,317 | $328,000 | 1 | $428,633 | $364,877 | $396,993 |
| 2023 | $6,668,658 | $454,846 | $422,605 | $293,500 | 1 | $383,255 | $422,594 | $364,175 |
| 2022 | $6,636,417 | $478,740 | $414,991 | $278,000 | 1 | $377,567 | $445,882 | $379,642 |
| 2021 | $6,572,668 | $412,699 | $454,245 | $329,500 | 1 | — | $378,835 | $398,451 |
| 2020 | $6,614,214 | $327,617 | $378,028 | $295,500 | 1 | — | $299,850 | $349,823 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The James R Thorpe Foundation reported a distributable amount of $415K 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 stated priorities include youth ages 12–18 and vulnerable seniors age 55 and older. Its youth grant program emphasizes self-awareness, academic skills, and artistic engagement. The foundation says it focuses on smaller organizations with operating budgets of $3 million or less.
Grantees’ missions illustrate the range of organizations supported. Community Emergency Service describes its work as turning hunger into hope through food-market, Meals on Wheels, and pet-food programs. Senior Community Services says its mission is “empowering people as they age,” while the Minnesota Elder Justice Center works to prevent and alleviate abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of elders and vulnerable adults. Among youth-serving grantees, Hospitality House Youth Development focuses on Christian outreach and the development of inner-city youth and their families; Children’s Law Center of Minnesota promotes children’s and youths’ legal rights and well-being; and CreateMPLS prepares students in underserved communities for the future of work through technology learning programs.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation awarded 32 grants totaling $342,000. Awards ranged from $1,000 to $25,000, with a median of $10,000. Its largest listed grants included $25,000 to Community Emergency Service for senior programming; $17,500 to Alive & Kickin for general operating support; and $16,500 to Rebuilding Together Twin Cities for senior programming. Other listed awards included $16,000 to Southeast Seniors for general operating support and $15,000 each to Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, CreateMPLS, and Hospitality House Youth Development for youth programming.
The foundation’s filing states that it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations. It lists Family Philanthropy Advisory as the contact for applying and refers applicants to Attachment 2 for application materials, deadlines, and award restrictions.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Tim D. Thorpe as president and Robert C. Cote as treasurer. Trustees listed are Ruggles Cote, Margaret Thorpe Richards, Thomas Thorpe, Samuel A. Cote, Barbara Harmon, and Dan Thorpe.
The James R Thorpe Foundation is led by Tim D. Thorpe, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 8 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Tim D. Thorpe
President
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Barbara Harmon
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Margaret Thorpe Richards
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Samuel A. Cote
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Thomas Thorpe
Trustee
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Dan Thorpe
Trustee
Trustee → Turstee, 2024
Turstee → Trustee, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ruggles Cote
Trustee
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert C. Cote
Treasurer
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (3)
- Former: S. Ruggles Cote (2020–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Carolyn Jones (2020–2023) — Turstee
- Former: Richard Thorpe (2020–2021) — Trustee
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 James R Thorpe Foundation
How much does The James R Thorpe Foundation give each year?
The James R Thorpe Foundation gave $342K across 32 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $328K across 1 grant.
What is The James R Thorpe Foundation's typical grant size?
The James R Thorpe Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $10,688, across 32 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The James R Thorpe Foundation give grants?
The James R Thorpe Foundation gives mostly in Minnesota: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Minneapolis, MN (18 grants), Shoreview, MN (3 grants), St. Paul, MN (3 grants) and Brooklyn Center, MN (2 grants).
Does The James R Thorpe Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 47% of The James R Thorpe Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (15 of 32) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Recurring purposes include "Youth Programming" (8 grants), "Presentation Honorarium" (4 grants) and "Senior Programming" (4 grants).
Who are The James R Thorpe Foundation's largest grantees?
The James R Thorpe Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Community Emergency Service Inc ($25,000), Alive & Kickin ($17,500) and Rebuilding Together Twin Cities ($16,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 17% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The James R Thorpe Foundation?
The James R Thorpe Foundation reported $6.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $439K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $415K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The James R Thorpe Foundation fund?
The foundation’s stated priorities include youth ages 12–18 and vulnerable seniors age 55 and older. Its youth grant program emphasizes self-awareness, academic skills, and artistic engagement. The foundation says it focuses on smaller organizations with operating budgets of $3 million or less. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The James R Thorpe Foundation?
The James R Thorpe Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check jamesthorpefoundation.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The James R Thorpe Foundation's EIN?
The James R Thorpe Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 41-6175293. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated September 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 February 22, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 24, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 26, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS January 22, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 23, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 24, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The James R Thorpe Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The James R Thorpe Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-james-r-thorpe-foundation-morg_6bf6d5bf962e4f3eafee8b4bce56cb52
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_416175293_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The James R Thorpe Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-james-r-thorpe-foundation-morg_6bf6d5bf962e4f3eafee8b4bce56cb52},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-09. 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 James R Thorpe 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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