The William R Gruver Foundation
The William R Gruver Foundation is a private foundation based in Sanibel, Florida. In 2025, it made 21 grants totaling $294,512 to charitable organizations, including organizations working in health, human services, education, and academic discourse.
The William R Gruver Foundation at a glance
In short: The William R Gruver Foundation gave $295K across 21 grants in 2025 (avg $14K), mostly in Florida. 33% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $294,512
- +12.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 21
- -4.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $14,024
- +17.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $4,999,734
- +9.2% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 33% first-time grantees (7 of 21, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Florida (60% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The William R Gruver 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: 1605 Middle Gulf Drive Unit 306, Sanibel, FL 33957
Phone: (239) 240-6754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The William R Gruver Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Lee Health Foundation ($101K). Together the top 10 received $246K.
Grant Size Distribution
97 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 91 grants of 97 (94%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, Florida organizations received 60% of grant dollars, followed by recipients in New York (17%), Pennsylvania (8%), New Hampshire (7%), and New Jersey (4%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 21 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The William R Gruver Foundation open to new grantees?
33%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 7 of 21 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. With only 21 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $9K; repeat grants $17K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 62% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 31% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 93% 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 (2021–2025). 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 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $201K (2021) to $295K (2025). In 2025 it made 21 grants totaling $295K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Health Foundation Fort Myers, FL | To Aid in Program Services | $100,704 |
| Community Cooperative Fort Myers, FL | To Aid in Program Services | $35,156 |
| Dartmouth College Hanover, NH | To Aid in Program Services | $20,030 |
| Cornell University Ithaca, NY | To Aid in Program Services | $20,000 |
| Gulf Coast Community Foundation Venive, FL | To Aid in Program Services | $20,000 |
| Lymphoma Research New York, NY | To Aid in Program Services | $10,084 |
| Rutgers University Football New Brunswick, NJ | To Aid in Program Services | $10,015 |
| Mount Sinai Health New York, NY | To Aid in Program Services | $10,015 |
| Berea College Berea, KY | To Aid in Program Services | $10,000 |
| MSK Cancer Center New York, NY | To Aid in Program Services | $10,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The William R Gruver Foundation?
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 | $4,999,734 | $731,307 | $332,214 | $294,512 | 21 | $297,727 | $458,528 | $319,879 |
| 2024 | $4,578,557 | $756,405 | $283,867 | $261,856 | 22 | $266,026 | $476,412 | $298,434 |
| 2023 | $4,215,538 | $320,158 | $313,643 | $282,804 | 21 | $285,304 | $163,244 | $264,121 |
| 2022 | $4,126,381 | $800,991 | $241,919 | $224,337 | 20 | $224,337 | $473,740 | $283,196 |
| 2021 | $3,723,382 | $482,753 | $225,011 | $201,082 | 13 | — | $162,207 | $224,241 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The William R Gruver Foundation reported a distributable amount of $320K 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
A mission statement for the foundation is not provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Community Cooperative describes its work as providing meals, groceries, social services, and education to address hunger and homelessness in Southwest Florida. Berea College says it serves students of high promise and low means, while the Open Discourse Coalition describes its work as supporting a variety of intellectual viewpoints in academia. Other 2025 recipients included health organizations, a community foundation, an education nonprofit, and a disaster-response organization.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 21 grants totaling $294,512. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $100,704, with a median of $10,000. Its largest reported grants included $100,704 to Lee Health Foundation, $35,156 to Community Cooperative, $20,030 to Dartmouth College, and $20,000 each to Cornell University and Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The stated purpose for these grants was “to aid in program services.”
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists William R Gruver, Joan L Gruver, Barbara Jill Gruver Puleo, John Gruver Jr, and Brooke Garafalo as trustees.
The William R Gruver Foundation's 2025 filing lists 5 officers; none of the 5 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Barbara Jill Gruver Puleo
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Brooke Garafalo
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Joan L. Gruver
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
John Gruver Jr.
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William R. Gruver
Trustee
On filings since 2021
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2021–2025. "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 William R Gruver Foundation
How much does The William R Gruver Foundation give each year?
The William R Gruver Foundation gave $295K across 21 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $262K across 22 grants.
What is The William R Gruver Foundation's typical grant size?
The William R Gruver Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $14,024, across 21 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The William R Gruver Foundation that year got $9K on average.
Where does The William R Gruver Foundation give grants?
The William R Gruver Foundation gives mostly in Florida: 60% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were New York (17%) and Pennsylvania (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were New York, NY (3 grants) and Fort Myers, FL (2 grants).
Does The William R Gruver Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 21 grants with a stated purpose on The William R Gruver Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "To Aid in Program Services" (21 grants).
Who are The William R Gruver Foundation's largest grantees?
The William R Gruver Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Lee Health Foundation ($100,704), Community Cooperative ($35,156) and Dartmouth College ($20,030), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 53% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The William R Gruver Foundation?
The William R Gruver Foundation reported $5.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $298K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $320K (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 William R Gruver Foundation fund?
A mission statement for the foundation is not provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of organizations. For example, Community Cooperative describes its work as providing meals, groceries, social services, and education to address hunger and homelessness in Southwest Florida. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The William R Gruver 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 William R Gruver Foundation's EIN?
The William R Gruver Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 13-3531965. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2021–2025.
Does The William R Gruver 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 2021–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The William R Gruver Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-william-r-gruver-foundation-morg_e94bf7fb52a6485882ace7dfa60889a6
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_133531965_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The William R Gruver Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-william-r-gruver-foundation-morg_e94bf7fb52a6485882ace7dfa60889a6},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. 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 William R Gruver 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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