The Willowmere Foundation
The Willowmere Foundation is a private foundation based in Wilmington, Delaware. In its 2025 filing, it reported giving $325,000 through 32 grants to charitable organizations, including organizations working on community services, food access, Native American communities, animal welfare, and conservation.
The Willowmere Foundation at a glance
In short: The Willowmere Foundation gave $325K across 32 grants in 2025 (avg $10K), top state Virginia. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $325,000
- +22.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 32
- +33.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $10,156
- -8.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $6,667
- Total assets
- $6,602,230
- +42.3% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Virginia (17% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to The Willowmere 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: Foundation Source 501 Silverside Rd, Wilmington, DE 19809-1377
Phone: (800) 839-1754
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Willowmere Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Partnership with Native Americans ($50K). Together the top 10 received $215K.
Grant Size Distribution
80 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 73 grants of 80 (91%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in multiple states. The largest reported shares were Virginia (17%), Texas (15%), Massachusetts (15%), South Carolina (12%), and California (8%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 32 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How The Willowmere Foundation gives
- 38% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 2608% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 110% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (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 2022 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $12K (2022) to $325K (2025). In 2025 it made 32 grants totaling $325K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Partnership with Native Americans Addison, TX | General & Unrestricted | $50,000 |
| Survival Centers Inc North Amherst, MA | General & Unrestricted | $50,000 |
| Seedmoney Scarborough, ME | General & Unrestricted | $25,000 |
| Sudan Relief Fund Inc Washington, DC | General & Unrestricted | $25,000 |
| American Friends of the Ocean Cleanup Foundation Pasadena, CA | General & Unrestricted | $15,000 |
| Center for Biological Diversity Inc Tucson, AZ | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Performing Animal Welfare Society Galt, CA | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| Rainforest Trust Warrenton, VA | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| The Dee Norton Lowcountry Childrens Center Inc Charleston, SC | General & Unrestricted | $10,000 |
| The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee Hohenwald, TN | General & Unrestricted | $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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $6,602,230 | $2,395,397 | $432,450 | $325,000 | 32 | $371,136 | $2,224,756 | $338,935 |
| 2024 | $4,639,283 | $165,166 | $338,598 | $265,000 | 24 | $313,344 | $166,136 | $272,015 |
| 2023 | $4,812,715 | $104,415 | $333,164 | $265,000 | 21 | $306,134 | $116,270 | $249,443 |
| 2022 | $5,041,464 | $5,119,968 | $78,504 | $12,000 | 3 | $24,729 | $3,562,322 | $69,581 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Willowmere Foundation reported a distributable amount of $339K 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
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Survival Centers Inc. describes its work as connecting residents of Hampshire and Franklin counties to food, clothing, healthcare, wellness, and community. Partnership With Native Americans says it addresses nutrition, health, education, emergency services, holiday support, and animal welfare in Native American communities. SeedMoney describes its work as helping underserved communities grow healthy food through community-led public gardens.
Conservation and animal-welfare grantees include the Center for Biological Diversity, which says it works to protect species and the lands, waters, and climate they need to survive; Rainforest Trust, which says it creates rainforest reserves to protect wildlife; and The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which provides lifetime care for elephants and supports elephant welfare, conservation, and education. Performing Animal Welfare Society says it provides shelter and permanent homes for abused, abandoned, and retired exotic animals.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $325,000 through 32 grants. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $50,000, with a median grant of $6,667.
The largest reported grants included $50,000 each to Partnership With Native Americans and Survival Centers Inc.; $25,000 each to SeedMoney and Sudan Relief Fund Inc.; and $15,000 to American Friends of the Ocean Cleanup Foundation. Other notable grants included $10,000 each to the Center for Biological Diversity, Performing Animal Welfare Society, Rainforest Trust, The Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, and The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. My Sister’s House Inc. and Urban Community Agri-Nomics each received $8,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Barbara Hapgood as secretary, Gay Hapgood as director and president, and Matthew Hapgood as director and treasurer.
The Willowmere Foundation is led by Gay Hapgood, Director & President on every filing since 2022; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Gay Hapgood
Director & President
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matthew Hapgood
Director & Treasurer
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Barbara Hapgood
Secretary
On filings since 2022
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2022–2025. "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 Willowmere Foundation
How much does The Willowmere Foundation give each year?
The Willowmere Foundation gave $325K across 32 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $265K across 24 grants.
What is The Willowmere Foundation's typical grant size?
The Willowmere Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $6,667, and its average grant was $10,156, across 32 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does The Willowmere Foundation give grants?
The Willowmere Foundation's top state is Virginia, with 17% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Texas (15%) and Massachusetts (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were Richmond, VA (5 grants), N Charleston, SC (2 grants) and Mt Pleasant, SC (2 grants).
Does The Willowmere Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of The Willowmere Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (32 of 32) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are The Willowmere Foundation's largest grantees?
The Willowmere Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Partnership with Native Americans ($50,000), Survival Centers Inc ($50,000) and Seedmoney ($25,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 38% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Willowmere Foundation?
The Willowmere Foundation reported $6.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $371K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $339K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Willowmere Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants include support for organizations with varied missions. For example, Survival Centers Inc. describes its work as connecting residents of Hampshire and Franklin counties to food, clothing, healthcare, wellness, and community. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Willowmere 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 Willowmere Foundation's EIN?
The Willowmere Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 88-2199582. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2022–2025.
Does The Willowmere 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 25, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2022–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Willowmere Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Willowmere Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-willowmere-foundation-morg_28d9d20a34744a5dbb24c9f07efecc1a
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_882199582_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Willowmere Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-willowmere-foundation-morg_28d9d20a34744a5dbb24c9f07efecc1a},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-15. 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 Willowmere 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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