The Thomas S Kenan Iii Foundation
The Thomas S Kenan III Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1993 and based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The foundation focuses its philanthropic efforts on higher education, cultural and environmental institutes, and education foundations.
Financial Overview
From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$2.2M
-6.8% YoY
Annual Giving
$251K
+15.1% YoY
Grant Count
43
+53.6% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$6K
-25.0% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation's giving priorities include:
- Higher education
- Cultural institutes
- Environmental institutes
- Education foundations
The foundation also supports work in Education, Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking, and Human Services, with a geographic emphasis on North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.
Grantmaking
The foundation files IRS Form 990-PF annually. Recent 990 filings are available for 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation primarily funds organizations in:
- North Carolina
- District of Columbia
- Virginia
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
- Total Assets: $2,155,314
- Annual Giving: $250,600
- EIN: 56-1816652
- IRS Ruling Year: 1993
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $2,155,314 | $2,312,718 | $2,476,615 |
| Revenue | $144,835 | $106,125 | $199,341 |
| Expenses | $301,370 | $266,985 | $269,041 |
| Qualifying Distributions | $277,263 | $226,950 | $230,930 |
| Net Investment Income | $120,714 | $95,905 | $161,622 |
| Distributable Amount | $275,271 | $248,289 | $228,043 |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
Grant Size Distribution
172 grants across all recorded years
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Thomas S. Kenan III is the principal figure associated with the foundation. He is a Chapel Hill resident with a B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Beyond his foundation work, Kenan serves as vice chairman and director of Flagler System, Inc., and was formerly chairman of the board of Kenan Transport Company (a petroleum transport business sold in 2001). He also serves as a trustee or officer for multiple related Kenan family philanthropic entities.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
From 2025 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| THOMAS S KENAN III | DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT | — | — |
| STEVEN R ARMSTRONG | DIRECTOR/SEC/TREASURER | — | — |
| PHYLLIS P SNOW | ASSISTANT SECRETARY | — | — |
| CHRISTOPHER A SHUPING | DIRECTOR | — | — |
Contact Information
Address: 100 Europa Drive, Suite 525 Chapel Hill, NC 27517-2389
Telephone: 919-967-0618
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Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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