The Robertson Powell Foundation
The Robertson Powell Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilmington, Delaware. Its 2025 filing reports 18 grants totaling $170,900 to charitable organizations.
The Robertson Powell Foundation at a glance
In short: The Robertson Powell Foundation gave $171K across 18 grants in 2025 (avg $9K), mostly in Georgia. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $170,900
- +209.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 18
- +38.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $9,494
- +123.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $2,500
- Total assets
- $2,337,004
- -0.1% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Georgia (53% 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 Robertson Powell 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.
- Contact
Mailing address: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE 19809-1377
Phone: (800) 839-1754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Robertson Powell Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Hypersomnia Foundation ($90K). Together the top 10 received $165K.
Grant Size Distribution
43 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 38 grants of 43 (88%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grants went to recipients in Georgia (53% of grant dollars), California (37%), Washington, D.C. (6%), Connecticut (3%), and Maryland (1%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 18 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How The Robertson Powell Foundation gives
- 33% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 57% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 140% 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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $5K (2020) to $195K (2021). In 2025 it made 18 grants totaling $171K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Hypersomnia Foundation Atlanta, GA | General & Unrestricted | $90,450 |
| J David Gladstone Institutes San Francisco, CA | General & Unrestricted | $15,000 |
| The Commonwealth Club - World Affairs of Cal San Francisco, CA | Gala Fund | $15,000 |
| ACLU Foundation of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Vital Voices Global Partnership Inc Washington, DC | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Womens Fund of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Climate Change for All Educators Inc New Canaan, CT | Subject to Change | $5,000 |
| The Commonwealth Club - World Affairs of Californi San Francisco, CA | General & Unrestricted | $5,000 |
| Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara, CA | General & Unrestricted | $2,500 |
| Santa Barbara Cnty Immigrant Legal Defense Center Santa Barbara, CA | General & Unrestricted | $2,500 |
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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 | $2,337,004 | $215,891 | $217,343 | $170,900 | 18 | $187,404 | $209,433 | $133,933 |
| 2024 | $2,338,456 | $344,919 | $91,665 | $55,250 | 13 | $69,599 | $276,320 | $119,998 |
| 2023 | $2,085,202 | $116,950 | $199,616 | $161,000 | 4 | $179,613 | $126,678 | $111,106 |
| 2022 | $2,167,868 | $152,589 | $158,775 | $109,000 | 4 | $134,748 | $50,815 | $119,474 |
| 2021 | $2,174,054 | $313,168 | $232,445 | $195,000 | 4 | $211,384 | $340,783 | $122,373 |
| 2020 | $2,093,331 | $367,873 | $33,305 | $5,000 | 2 | — | $64,873 | $94,812 |
| 2019 | $1,758,763 | $171,796 | $74,362 | $32,500 | 7 | — | $74,053 | $87,161 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Robertson Powell Foundation reported a distributable amount of $134K 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
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included organizations working in areas such as sleep health, women’s leadership and community grantmaking, food security, education, the arts, and botanical garden conservation. These descriptions reflect the grantees’ own missions, not a stated foundation mission.
For example, the Hypersomnia Foundation says it works to improve the lives of people with idiopathic hypersomnia and related sleep disorders. Vital Voices Global Partnership says it identifies and supports women leaders around the world. The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara describes itself as a volunteer-led collective donor organization making grants to address needs of women, children, and families in South Santa Barbara County. The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County says it works to end hunger and improve community health through food distribution and education.
Other 2025 grantees include the Kasigau Student Education Fund, which says it supports education and other community needs in Kenya’s Kasigau region; Ganna Walska Lotusland, which says it preserves and enhances its botanical gardens and estate; Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, which says it creates community through accessible classic theatre and educational programming; and Project Sleep, which says it educates the public about sleep health and sleep disorders.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 18 grants totaling $170,900. Grants ranged from $250 to $90,450, with a median grant of $2,500.
The largest reported grants included $90,450 to the Hypersomnia Foundation; $15,000 each to J David Gladstone Institutes and The Commonwealth Club – World Affairs of California; and $10,000 each to the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Vital Voices Global Partnership, and the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. Other listed grants included $5,000 to Climate Change for All Educators and $2,500 each to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and the Santa Barbara County Immigrant Legal Defense Center.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Andrew KW Powell as director and treasurer; Diane V Powell as president, director, and secretary; and Evan WA Powell as director and vice president.
The Robertson Powell Foundation is led by Diane V Powell, President, Director & Secretary on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Diane V Powell
President, Director & Secretary
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andrew KW Powell
Director & Treasurer
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Evan WA Powell
Director & Vice President
On filings since 2019
1 hr/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 Robertson Powell Foundation
How much does The Robertson Powell Foundation give each year?
The Robertson Powell Foundation gave $171K across 18 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $55K across 13 grants.
What is The Robertson Powell Foundation's typical grant size?
The Robertson Powell Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $9,494, across 18 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The Robertson Powell Foundation give grants?
The Robertson Powell Foundation gives mostly in Georgia: 53% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were California (37%) and District of Columbia (6%). The most frequent recipient cities were Santa Barbara, CA (4 grants), San Francisco, CA (3 grants), Washington, DC (3 grants) and Los Angeles, CA (2 grants).
Does The Robertson Powell Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 89% of The Robertson Powell Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (16 of 18) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Robertson Powell Foundation's largest grantees?
The Robertson Powell Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Hypersomnia Foundation ($90,450), J David Gladstone Institutes ($15,000) and The Commonwealth Club - World Affairs of Cal ($15,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 70% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Robertson Powell Foundation?
The Robertson Powell Foundation reported $2.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $187K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $134K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Robertson Powell Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants included organizations working in areas such as sleep health, women’s leadership and community grantmaking, food security, education, the arts, and botanical garden conservation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Robertson Powell Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Robertson Powell Foundation's EIN?
The Robertson Powell Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 47-3667392. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does The Robertson Powell 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
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS April 30, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 2, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 3, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 2, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 2, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 5, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 6, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Live grants for the work The Robertson Powell Foundation funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Robertson Powell Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-robertson-powell-foundation-morg_75761c133daa4cb2818b0fa51d4c029b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_473667392_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Robertson Powell Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-robertson-powell-foundation-morg_75761c133daa4cb2818b0fa51d4c029b},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-05. 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 Robertson Powell 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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