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The West Foundation Inc

Private foundation · Grantmaker Pine Bluff, AR EIN: 71-0743078 Website

The West Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Its 2025 filing reports two grants totaling $77,879, both to organizations in Arkansas.

Key facts about The West Foundation Inc

In short: The West Foundation Inc gave $78K across 2 grants in 2025 (avg $39K), mostly in Arkansas. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
71-0743078
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$77,879
Grants made (2025)
2
Average grant
$38,940
Median grant
$38,940
Total assets
$535,914
Primary geography
Arkansas (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. 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

$536K

-13.0% YoY

Annual Giving

$78K

-99.4% YoY

Grant Count

2

+100.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$39K

-99.7% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The West Foundation Inc reported a distributable amount of $29K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

How The West Foundation Inc gives

  • Giving fell 71% from 2022 to 2025. Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 272% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation’s mission is described as furthering progress in nations in the Global South and helping eliminate poverty through grassroots community development. Its stated areas of interest include education, livelihoods, community-based healthcare, and environmental management, particularly potable water supply. It prioritizes beneficiary-driven change and community leadership, and gives special consideration to expanding proven programs, efforts that could serve as models, and programs that may have difficulty attracting public support.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation reported two grants totaling $77,879. The grants ranged from $16,600 to $61,279, with a median of $38,940.

The largest grant was $61,279 to Jefferson County Boys Girls Club in Pine Bluff for renovations. The other was $16,600 to CASA Womens Shelter in Pine Bluff for an HVAC unit.

How to Apply

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Arkansas. The foundation’s described focus also includes community development in the Global South.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 2 itemized grants.

Cities

Pine BluffLexingtonLittle RockFort SmithMontross

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$5M$10M$15M5 grants2019 5 grants2020 8 grants2021 10 grants2022 11 grants2023 1 grant2024 2 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $3K (2019) to $12.3M (2024). In 2025 it made 2 grants totaling $78K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 2 recipients in 2025

Jefferson County Boys Girls Club: $61KJefferson County Boys GirlsClub$61KCASA Womens Shelter: $17KCASA Womens Shelter$17K

The largest 2025 recipient was Jefferson County Boys Girls Club ($61K). Together the top 2 received $78K.

Grant Size Distribution

32 grants across all recorded years

25<$50K3$50–100K2$100–250K$250–500K1$500K–1M$1–5M1$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 25 grants of 32 (78%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Jefferson County Boys Girls Club Pine Bluff, ARRenovations$61,279
CASA Womens Shelter Pine Bluff, ARHvac Unit$16,600

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2025 $535,914 $774 $80,531 $77,879 (2 grants)
2024 $615,671 $103,735 $12,285,599 $12,263,293 (1 grant)
2023 $11,937,420 $507,962 $799,684 $698,095 (11 grants)
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$5M$10M$15M2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$535,914$615,671$11,937,420
Revenue$774$103,735$507,962
Expenses$80,531$12,285,599$799,684
Qualifying Distributions$77,879$12,263,293$698,095
Net Investment Income—$84,257$410,308
Distributable Amount$28,657$200,473$608,819

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 6, 2025)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 3, 2026)
  3. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 14, 2020)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 14, 2021)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 12, 2022)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 22, 2023)
  7. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 21, 2024)

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Dabney Pelton as president, Ted Drake as secretary, Billy Stone as treasurer, and Hailey Easley and Ethel Dunklin as directors.

The West Foundation Inc is led by Dabney Pelton, President since 2021 (on filings since 2019); none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Dabney Pelton

    President

    Director → President, 2021

    On filings since 2019

    No compensation reported

  • Ethel Dunklin

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    No compensation reported

  • Hailey Easley

    Director

    On filings since 2024

    No compensation reported

  • Billy Stone

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2019

    No compensation reported

  • Ted Drake

    Secretary

    On filings since 2023

    No compensation reported

Former officers (3)
  • Former: Tere H. Smart (2019–2023) — Director
  • Former: Edgar J. Tyler (2019–2022) — Secretary
  • Former: Joe Edwards (2019–2022) — 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.

Contact

Mailing address: P O Box 7445, Pine Bluff, AR 71611

Frequently asked questions about The West Foundation Inc

How much does The West Foundation Inc give each year?

The West Foundation Inc gave $78K across 2 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $12.3M across 1 grant.

How large is The West Foundation Inc?

The West Foundation Inc reported $536K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $78K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $29K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The West Foundation Inc fund?

The foundation’s mission is described as furthering progress in nations in the Global South and helping eliminate poverty through grassroots community development. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The West Foundation Inc?

The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

Where does The West Foundation Inc make grants?

All grant dollars reported for 2025 went to recipients in Arkansas. The foundation’s described focus also includes community development in the Global South.

What is The West Foundation Inc's EIN?

The West Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 71-0743078. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Does The West Foundation Inc 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 October 2026.

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