The Whelan Foundation Inc
The Whelan Foundation Inc is a private foundation based in Huntington, New York. It supports higher-education goals through grants to organizations and through scholarship and student-loan-debt-reduction programs for eligible individuals.
The Whelan Foundation Inc at a glance
In short: The Whelan Foundation Inc gave $142K across 16 grants in 2024 (avg $9K), top state New York. 46% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2024)
- $141,634
- Grants made (2024)
- 16
- Average grant
- $8,852
- Median grant
- $6,425
- Total assets
- $2,048,477
- New grantees (estimate)
- 46% first-time grantees (6 of 13, 2024; small sample)
- Primary geography
- New York (36% 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 Whelan Foundation Inc
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation’s 2023 IRS filing says it does not accept unsolicited requests for charitable contributions and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Its program descriptions list individual eligibility requirements, but do not provide application steps or required materials.
- Contact
Mailing address: 25 Woodland Drive, Huntington, NY 11743
Phone: (516) 248-9100
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The Whelan Foundation Inc
Who The Whelan Foundation Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Dept of Ed Monela ($25K). Together the top 10 received $93K.
Organizations only. It also paid 4 grants to individuals ($47,850), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
131 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 131 grants of 131 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation is based in Huntington, New York. In 2024, grant dollars went to recipients in New York (36%), Missouri (18%), Pennsylvania (14%), Wisconsin (14%), and California (7%). The listed 2024 recipients also included organizations in Nebraska and New Jersey. The foundation’s program descriptions specifically refer to educational opportunities for recipients on Long Island.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Whelan Foundation Inc open to new grantees?
46%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 6 of 13 grantees (46%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $11K; repeat grants $6K. How we count
Medians: $11K first-time, $5K repeat.
- Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (+8%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2024). 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 2019 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $128K (2019) to $146K (2022). In 2024 it made 16 grants totaling $142K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Dept of Ed Monela St. Louis, MO | Student Loan Debt Reduction | $25,000 |
| 4 grants to individuals Recipients not named | — | $47,850 |
| University of Scranton Scranton, PA | Scholarships | $20,000 |
| University of Wisconsin Madison, WI | Scholarships | $20,000 |
| Camp Northstar Islip, NY | Various Childrens Activities | $10,000 |
| Adelphi University Garden City, NY | Scholarships | $5,000 |
| College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ | Scholarships | $5,000 |
| Long Island All-Star Field Hockey Holtsville, NY | Activities | $2,534 |
| Long Island Cares Hauppauge, NY | Assistance to Needy | $2,500 |
| Strength for Life Kings Park, NY | Assistance to Needy | $1,500 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2,048,477 | $211,454 | $186,912 | $141,634 | 16 | $42,632 |
| 2022 | $2,153,955 | $200,881 | $212,996 | $146,175 | 24 | $144,884 |
| 2021 | $2,155,620 | $101,852 | $179,966 | $131,109 | 29 | $109,227 |
| 2020 | $2,159,236 | $71,267 | $160,817 | $135,074 | 34 | $81,035 |
| 2019 | $2,566,670 | $197,578 | $188,033 | $127,930 | 28 | $58,770 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation states that its mission is to support recipients’ higher-education goals and to help equalize educational opportunities on Long Island that may be limited by cost. Its listed programs provide academic scholarships and student-loan debt reduction to eligible individuals, subject to program requirements.
Its 2024 grants included scholarships and student-loan debt reduction, as well as support for children’s activities, assistance to people in need, and other activities. Among the grantees described in their own statements, the University of Scranton says it is a Catholic and Jesuit university offering degree programs at several levels; Long Island Cares says it works to address hunger and food insecurity on Long Island; and Book Fairies says it redistributes books to under-resourced communities.
Grantmaking
In 2024, the foundation gave 16 grants totaling $141,634. Grant amounts ranged from $250 to $25,000, with a median of $6,425. The largest listed awards included $25,000 to the Department of Education Monela for student-loan debt reduction, and $20,000 each to an individual recipient, the University of Scranton, and the University of Wisconsin for scholarships. Other listed awards included $10,000 each to Camp Northstar for children’s activities, two individual recipients for student-loan debt reduction, and $7,850 to The New Interdisciplinary for a scholarship. Long Island Cares received $2,500 for assistance to people in need; Strength for Life received $1,500; and the Port Washington Library Foundation and Book Fairies each received $1,000.
The foundation’s program descriptions list an academic scholarship of up to $80,000 over four years and student-loan debt reduction of up to $20,000 over four years. The academic scholarship is described for eligible Long Island students pursuing higher education, with financial-need, academic, citizenship or residency, enrollment, and volunteer-service requirements. The debt-reduction program is described for eligible graduates working with children with special needs, with financial-need, citizenship or residency, and employment requirements. These program awards are for individuals, distinct from the foundation’s grants to organizations.
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
The Whelan Foundation Inc is led by Deborah Whelan, President on every filing since 2019; none of the 3 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Deborah Whelan
President
On filings since 2019
10 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Louis F. Demars
Director
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Matthew Whelan
Director
On filings since 2019
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2024. "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 Whelan Foundation Inc
How much does The Whelan Foundation Inc give each year?
The Whelan Foundation Inc gave $142K across 16 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.
What is The Whelan Foundation Inc's typical grant size?
The Whelan Foundation Inc's median grant in 2024 was $6,425, and its average grant was $8,852, across 16 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Whelan Foundation Inc that year got $11K on average.
Where does The Whelan Foundation Inc give grants?
The Whelan Foundation Inc's top state is New York, with 36% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Missouri (18%) and Pennsylvania (14%).
Does The Whelan Foundation Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2024: none of the 16 grants with a stated purpose on The Whelan Foundation Inc's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Scholarships" (5 grants) and "Assistance to Needy" (3 grants).
Who are The Whelan Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
The Whelan Foundation Inc's largest 2024 grantees include Dept of Ed Monela ($25,000), University of Scranton ($20,000) and University of Wisconsin ($20,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 4 grants to individuals ($47,850), which are not listed by name. Together they received 46% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is The Whelan Foundation Inc?
The Whelan Foundation Inc reported $2.0M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $211K.
What does The Whelan Foundation Inc fund?
The foundation states that its mission is to support recipients’ higher-education goals and to help equalize educational opportunities on Long Island that may be limited by cost. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Whelan Foundation Inc?
The foundation’s 2023 IRS filing says it does not accept unsolicited requests for charitable contributions and makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Whelan Foundation Inc's EIN?
The Whelan Foundation Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-1595574. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2024.
Does The Whelan 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 September 2026.
Data update history
(6)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 20, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS March 23, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 9, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 13, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work The Whelan Foundation Inc funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Whelan Foundation Inc's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Whelan Foundation Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-whelan-foundation-inc-morg_0018968209724b28bd098e1fec831300
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_261595574_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Whelan Foundation Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-whelan-foundation-inc-morg_0018968209724b28bd098e1fec831300},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17. 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 Whelan Foundation Inc'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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