The Pokagon Fund Inc
The Pokagon Fund Inc is a private foundation based in New Buffalo, Michigan. It began grantmaking in 2007 and is supported by revenue from Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, owned and operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.
Key facts about The Pokagon Fund Inc
In short: The Pokagon Fund Inc gave $1.4M across 101 grants in 2025 (avg $14K), mostly in Michigan. 47% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- EIN
- 30-0130499
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,388,564
- Grants made (2025)
- 101
- Average grant
- $13,748
- Median grant
- $3,500
- New grantees (estimate)
- 47% first-time grantees (21 of 45, 2025)
- Total assets
- $8,548,812
- Primary geography
- Michigan (93% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- How to apply
- The Fund’s website directs applicants to submit applications through its grantee portal. Full details ↓
- Deadline
- The website lists March 1, July 1, and November 1 deadlines for Discretionary Project and Band Grant applications,…
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). 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
$8.5M
-10.0% YoY
Annual Giving
$1.4M
+25.7% YoY
Grant Count
101
-27.3% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$14K
+73.0% YoY
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Pokagon Fund Inc reported a distributable amount of $396K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Is The Pokagon Fund Inc open to new grantees?
47%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 21 of 45 grantees (47%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $4K; repeat grants $48K. How we count
Medians: $2K first-time, $7K repeat.
- 36% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−9%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 423% 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.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Fund’s 2024 filing describes its vision as communities where residents can access the resources they need to care for themselves and their families and have the freedom to shape their future. Its filing says distributions, after operating costs and reasonable reserves, are allocated to projects benefiting the areas of arts, education, environment, recreation, health, and human services.
The Fund’s 2025 grants illustrate support for municipal parks and trails, nonprofit operations, school projects, food assistance, senior nutrition, violence prevention, and school transportation. Among the organizations it supported, Neighbor by Neighbor describes its mission as providing financial assistance for basic needs and life-skills programming. The School of American Music describes its mission as providing music and related-arts education, performance, and audience opportunities in Southwest Michigan. Thomas M. Cooley Law School describes its mission as providing practical legal education that prepares students to become lifelong learners and agents for positive change.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the Fund reported 101 grants totaling $1,388,564. Grant amounts ranged from $72 to $300,000, with a median grant of $3,500.
Review Cycle
The website lists March 1, July 1, and November 1 deadlines for Discretionary Project and Band Grant applications, with a weekend or holiday deadline extended to the next business day. Municipal applications are reviewed as submitted. The 2024 filing separately lists grant deadlines of January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15, and a scholarship deadline of March 15; those dates are from that filing and are past cycles.
Open Grants
3 open opportunities from The Pokagon Fund Inc
Pokagon Band Grants
The Pokagon Fund Inc
Amount
Up to US $7,500
Deadline
Rolling / Open
Pokagon Fund - Municipal Grants
The Pokagon Fund Inc
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Rolling / Open
Pokagon Fund Discretionary Grants
The Pokagon Fund Inc
Amount
Up to US $10,000
Deadline
Rolling / Open
Ready to take the next step with The Pokagon Fund Inc?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Fund’s website identifies its primary Michigan communities as the City of New Buffalo; the townships of New Buffalo, Three Oaks, and Chikaming; and the villages of Three Oaks, Grand Beach, and Michiana. It also identifies River Valley School District and New Buffalo Area Schools among the communities and residents benefiting from its distributions. The website says the remaining distribution area includes Hartford and Dowagiac, Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana. In filing year 2025, 93% of grant dollars went to Michigan recipients, 4% to Indiana, and 1% each to Illinois and Florida; the filing also reports 0% to Georgia.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of all 101 itemized 2025 grant dollars.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $743K (2021) to $1.5M (2022). In 2025 it made 101 grants totaling $1.4M.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was New Buffalo Township ($624K across 4 grants). Together the top 10 received $1.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
569 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 547 grants of 569 (96%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New Buffalo Township New Buffalo, MI | New Buffalo TWP Marquette Greenway- Discretionary Funds | $300,000 |
| New Buffalo Township New Buffalo, MI | Red Arrow Linear Park- Municipal Funds | $213,333 |
| City of New Buffalo New Buffalo, MI | Marquette Greenway -City Portion | $150,000 |
| Neighbor by Neighbor Bridgman, MI | Operations 2025-2027 | $150,000 |
| New Buffalo Township New Buffalo, MI | Red Arrow Linear Park- Discretionary Funds | $106,667 |
| City of New Buffalo New Buffalo, MI | Marquette Greenway Trailhead | $37,500 |
| River Valley School District Three Oaks, MI | Playground Enhancement Project | $22,605 |
| Harding's Market Three Oaks, MI | Mobile Food Pantries Protein Supplement Grant | $18,483 |
| Senior Nutrition Servicesmeals on Wheel SW MI Benton Harbor, MI | Beyond Five Meals per Week for Seniors | $18,000 |
| Caring Connection Benton Harbor, MI | Violence Prevention Outreach | $15,000 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants | Grant count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $8,548,812 | $2,045,923 | $1,850,610 | $1,388,564 | 101 |
| 2024 | $9,502,517 | $1,594,789 | $1,501,773 | $1,104,485 | 139 |
| 2023 | $9,059,039 | $1,439,646 | $1,385,498 | $1,038,529 | 111 |
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $8,548,812 | $9,502,517 | $9,059,039 |
| Revenue | $2,045,923 | $1,594,789 | $1,439,646 |
| Expenses | $1,850,610 | $1,501,773 | $1,385,498 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $1,673,949 | $1,377,895 | $1,284,378 |
| Net Investment Income | $677,583 | $249,310 | $47,553 |
| Distributable Amount | $395,510 | $441,586 | $448,817 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Kevin Harrington as chair, Deborah Schmidt as treasurer, Sandra Sporleder as secretary, and Rich Knoll, Patty Iazzetto, Rhonda Keene, and Mark Parrish as directors. It lists Dan Petersen as executive director and Brian Flanagan as director.
The Pokagon Fund Inc is led by Dan Petersen, Executive Director since 2021 (on filings since 2020); all 9 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Dan Petersen
Executive Director
Executive Director - → Executive Director, 2021
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$58K (2020) → $155K (2025)
Kevin Harrington
Chair
Secretary → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
$2K (2023) → $2K (2025)
Brian Flanagan
Director
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
$400 (2021) → $400 (2025)
Mark Parrish
Director
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
Vice Chair → Director, 2025
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
$700 (2021) → $1K (2025)
Rhonda Keene
Director
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
$1K (2023) → $900 (2025)
Patty Iazzetto
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
$1K (2025)
Rich Knoll
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
$800 (2025)
Deborah Schmidt
Treasurer
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
$2K (2019) → $2K (2025)
Sandra Sporleder
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
$500 (2023) → $2K (2025)
Former officers (10)
- Former: Judy Zabicki (2019–2024) — Chair
- Former: Deborah Hall-Kayler (2019–2023) — Previous Board Vice Chair
- Former: Robert Gow (2019–2023) — Previous Director
- Former: Anita Morales (2022–2023) — Previous Director
- Former: Kelly Curran (2019–2022) — Previous Director
- Former: Andy Jackson (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Elizabeth Ennis (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: John Krsul (2019–2020) — Interim Executive Director
- Former: Janet Cocciarelli (2019) — Executive Director -
- Former: Roger Rader (2019) — Director
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 $155K, to Dan Petersen (Executive Director). 9 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Application contact: Dan Petersen
Mailing address: 821 E Buffalo Street, New Buffalo, MI 49117
Phone: (269) 469-9322
Email: dpetersen@pokagonfund.org
Website: https://pokagonfund.org
Frequently asked questions about The Pokagon Fund Inc
How much does The Pokagon Fund Inc give each year?
The Pokagon Fund Inc gave $1.4M across 101 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.1M across 139 grants.
What is The Pokagon Fund Inc's typical grant size?
The Pokagon Fund Inc's median grant in 2025 was $3,500, and its average grant was $13,748, across 101 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Pokagon Fund Inc that year got $4K on average.
Where does The Pokagon Fund Inc give grants?
The Pokagon Fund Inc gives mostly in Michigan: 93% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were New Buffalo, MI (14 grants), Ann Arbor, MI (14 grants), Three Oaks, MI (7 grants) and South Bend, IN (7 grants).
Does The Pokagon Fund Inc give general operating support?
Occasionally: 1% of The Pokagon Fund Inc's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (1 of 101) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Pokagon Fund Inc's largest grantees?
The Pokagon Fund Inc's largest 2025 grantees include New Buffalo Township ($624,423 across 4 grants), City of New Buffalo ($187,500 across 2 grants) and Neighbor by Neighbor ($150,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 69% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Pokagon Fund Inc?
The Pokagon Fund Inc reported $8.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $1.7M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $396K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Pokagon Fund Inc fund?
The Fund’s 2024 filing describes its vision as communities where residents can access the resources they need to care for themselves and their families and have the freedom to shape their future. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Pokagon Fund Inc?
The Fund’s website directs applicants to submit applications through its grantee portal. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Pokagon Fund Inc's EIN?
The Pokagon Fund Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 30-0130499. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
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