The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. It makes grants to charitable organizations; its 2024 filing lists 27 grants totaling $284,000.
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation at a glance
In short: The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation gave $284K across 27 grants in 2024 (avg $11K), top state Connecticut. 33% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $284,000
- +7.6% vs 2023
- Grants made (2024)
- 27
- -34.1% vs 2023
- Average grant
- $10,519
- +63.4% vs 2023
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $3,319,079
- +1.2% vs 2023
- New grantees (estimate)
- 33% first-time grantees (9 of 27, 2024)
- Primary geography
- Connecticut (42% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2024 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Sylvan C Coleman 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: 595 Market Ste 2350, San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 781-9900
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Womens Cancer Resource Center ($30K). Together the top 10 received $175K.
Grant Size Distribution
192 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 192 grants of 192 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2024, 42% of grant dollars went to recipients in Connecticut and 36% to recipients in California. Vermont received 9%, New York 7%, and the District of Columbia 6%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 27 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation open to new grantees?
33%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 9 of 27 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $11K; repeat grants $10K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 52% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
- Giving grew 26% from 2021 to 2024. Method
- In 2024 it paid out 83% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2024). 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 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $198K (2020) to $284K (2024). In 2024 it made 27 grants totaling $284K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Womens Cancer Resource Center Berkeley, CA | General Operating Purposes | $30,000 |
| Middlebury College Middlebury, VT | Support of Interships for Students in the Arts. | $25,000 |
| Hartford Hospital Foundation Hartford, CT | To improve the health and healing of all | $20,000 |
| George Mark Children's House San Leandro, CA | Donation Funds to be used for reprieve care. | $20,000 |
| Commonwealth Bolinas, CA | General Operating Purposes | $15,000 |
| Connecticut Childrens Medical Cente Hartford, CT | General Operating Purposes | $15,000 |
| Planned Parenthood San Jose, CA | General Operating Purposes | $15,000 |
| Connecticut Foodshare Wallingford, CT | Support of Youth Food Programs. | $15,000 |
| Center for Reproductive Rights New York, NY | General Operating Purposes | $10,000 |
| Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Oakland, CA | General Operating Purposes | $10,000 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $3,319,079 | $375,840 | $327,398 | $284,000 | 27 | $284,000 | $332,442 | $344,142 |
| 2023 | $3,279,415 | $374,312 | $298,592 | $264,000 | 41 | $264,000 | $339,720 | $272,697 |
| 2022 | $3,203,695 | $313,304 | $268,679 | $224,500 | 41 | $224,500 | $269,125 | $255,368 |
| 2021 | $3,159,070 | $446,891 | $252,827 | $226,000 | 41 | — | $420,064 | $210,776 |
| 2020 | $2,965,006 | $248,154 | $228,399 | $197,500 | 42 | — | $217,255 | $217,172 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation reported a distributable amount of $344K for 2024 — 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 2024 grants went to organizations working in areas including cancer care, health, food assistance, education, and community services. The grantees describe their work in their own words: the Women’s Cancer Resource Center says it improves equitable access to cancer information, support, and care; Connecticut Foodshare says it responds to hunger through community partners and volunteers; and Hands On Hartford says it strengthens its community by responding to people in need.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation reported 27 grants totaling $284,000. Grant amounts ranged from $2,000 to $30,000, with a median of $10,000. Among the largest grants were $30,000 to the Women’s Cancer Resource Center for general operating purposes; $25,000 to Middlebury College for internships for students in the arts; $20,000 to Hartford Hospital Foundation; and $20,000 to George Mark Children’s House for respite care. Other grants included $15,000 to Connecticut Foodshare for youth food programs and $10,000 each to Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, Hands On Hartford, and Gifts of Love for general operating purposes. Gifts of Love describes its work as helping individuals and families in the Greater Hartford area experiencing short-term financial crises.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Elinor Coleman and Allison Coleman Frey as trustees.
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's 2024 filing lists 2 officers; none of the 2 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Allison Coleman Frey
Trustee
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Elinor Coleman
Trustee
On filings since 2020
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: Joan F Coleman (2020–2022) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "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 Sylvan C Coleman Foundation
How much does The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation give each year?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation gave $284K across 27 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $264K across 41 grants.
What is The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's typical grant size?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $10,000, and its average grant was $10,519, across 27 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation that year got $11K on average.
Where does The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation give grants?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's top state is Connecticut, with 42% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were California (36%) and Vermont (9%). The most frequent recipient cities were Hartford, CT (7 grants), Oakland, CA (3 grants), Washington, DC (3 grants) and New York, NY (2 grants).
Does The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 52% of The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (14 of 27) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's largest grantees?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Womens Cancer Resource Center ($30,000), Middlebury College ($25,000) and Hartford Hospital Foundation ($20,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 26% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation reported $3.3M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $284K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $344K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants went to organizations working in areas including cancer care, health, food assistance, education, and community services. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Sylvan C Coleman 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 Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's EIN?
The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-6091160. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Does The Sylvan C Coleman 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
(1)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-sylvan-c-coleman-foundation-morg_048eb2a8169343c192d288e5f7733607
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_136091160_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Sylvan C Coleman Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-sylvan-c-coleman-foundation-morg_048eb2a8169343c192d288e5f7733607},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Sylvan C Coleman 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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