Tickle Family Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Birmingham, AL EIN: 20-8075658

The Tickle Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Birmingham, Alabama. In its 2024 filing, it reported giving $151,056 through 13 grants to charitable organizations; listed grant purposes included education, religious activities, community development, and youth development.

Key facts about Tickle Family Foundation

In short: Tickle Family Foundation gave $151K across 13 grants in 2024 (avg $12K), top state North Carolina. 23% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
20-8075658
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2024
Annual giving (2024)
$151,056
Grants made (2024)
13
Average grant
$11,620
Median grant
$5,000
New grantees (estimate)
23% first-time grantees (3 of 13, 2024)
Total assets
$7,569,233
Primary geography
North Carolina (45% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Accepts unsolicited proposals
No
How to apply
The foundation makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Full details ↓

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology). Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$7.6M

+4.9% YoY

Annual Giving

$151K

-63.3% YoY

Grant Count

13

+30.0% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$12K

-71.7% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Tickle Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $386K for 2024 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

Is Tickle Family Foundation open to new grantees?

23%

first-time grantees, 2024

In 2024, 3 of 13 grantees (23%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $12K. How we count

Medians: $5K first-time, $8K repeat.

  • 62% of 2024 grantees were also funded in 2023. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2021 to 2024 (−9%). Method
  • In 2024 it paid out 39% 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 (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

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

Mission & Focus Areas

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations whose own stated missions encompass education, religious work, community aid, and youth services. For example, the Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau says it works to help young people reach their potential, while Big Oak Ranch says it provides a Christian home for abused, neglected, and abandoned children. Samaritan’s Purse describes its work as providing spiritual and physical aid to people affected by crises and hardship.

Grantmaking

In 2024, the foundation reported 13 grants totaling $151,056. Grant amounts ranged from $56 to $30,000, with a median of $5,000. Notable grants included $30,000 to Summit Charter School Foundation for education, $27,500 to Church of the Good Shepherd for religious purposes, and $25,000 each to Asbury United Methodist Church for religious purposes and United States Israel Education Association for education. Other grants included $10,000 to Special Operations Fund for community development and $5,000 each to Fellowship of Christian Athletes for religious purposes, Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau for youth development, and Samaritan’s Purse for community development.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The 2024 grant dollars went to recipients in North Carolina (45%), Alabama (40%), Missouri (7%), Virginia (7%), and New York (2%).

Grant Distribution by State

5states

Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.

Cities

BirminghamCashiersArlingtonGadsdenKansas CityStaten IslandAshevilleBoonePelham

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$200K$400K$600K10 grants2020 13 grants2021 8 grants2022 10 grants2023 13 grants2024

From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $151K (2024) to $411K (2023). In 2024 it made 13 grants totaling $151K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

Summit Charter School Foundation: $30KSummit Charter SchoolFoundation$30KChurch of the Good Shepherd: $28KChurch of the Good Shepherd$28KAsbury United Methodist Church: $25KAsbury United Methodist Church$25KUnited States Israel Education Association: $25KUnited States Israel EducationAssociation$25KFellowship of Christian Athletes: $10KFellowship of ChristianAthletes$10KSpecial Operations Fund: $10KSpecial Operations Fund$10KBig Oak Ranch Inc: $5KBig Oak Ranch Inc$5KBoys & Girls Club of the Plateau: $5KBoys & Girls Club of thePlateau$5KUAB Athletics Foundation: $5KUAB Athletics Foundation$5KSamaritan's Purse: $5KSamaritan's Purse$5K

The largest 2024 recipient was Summit Charter School Foundation ($30K). Together the top 10 received $148K.

Grant Size Distribution

54 grants across all recorded years

49<$50K1$50–100K4$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 49 grants of 54 (91%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Summit Charter School Foundation Cashiers, NCEducation$30,000
Church of the Good Shepherd Cashiers, NCReligious$27,500
Asbury United Methodist Church Birmingham, ALReligious$25,000
United States Israel Education Association Birmingham, ALEducation$25,000
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Kansas City, MOReligious$10,000
Special Operations Fund Arlington, VACommunity Development$10,000
Big Oak Ranch Inc Gadsden, ALReligious$5,000
Boys & Girls Club of the Plateau Cashiers, NCYouth Development$5,000
UAB Athletics Foundation Birmingham, ALEducation$5,000
Samaritan's Purse Boone, NCCommunity Development$5,000

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants
2024 $7,569,233 $628,055 $274,435 $151,056 (13)
2023 $7,216,594 $287,212 $522,095 $411,062 (10)
2022 $7,451,546 $194,334 $334,034 $177,524 (8)
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$2M$4M$6M2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Metric202420232022
Total Assets$7,569,233$7,216,594$7,451,546
Revenue$628,055$287,212$194,334
Expenses$274,435$522,095$334,034
Qualifying Distributions$151,056$411,062$177,524
Net Investment Income$494,854$192,749$160,148
Distributable Amount$386,185$365,416$372,127

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2024 filing lists Barbara M. Tickle as president; T. Charles Tickle, Jeremy D. Tickle, and M. Jason Tickle as vice presidents, with Jeremy D. Tickle also serving as secretary; and Ameri’ca Lynn Tickle and Andrea Elizabeth Tickle as board members.

Tickle Family Foundation is led by Barbara M. Tickle, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 6 officers listed in 2024 report compensation.

Officers on the 2024 filing

  • Barbara M. Tickle

    President

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Ameri'ca Lynn Tickle

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • Andrea Elizabeth Tickle

    Board Member

    On filings since 2020

    3 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jeremy D. Tickle

    Vice President & Secretary

    On filings since 2020

    10 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • M. Jason Tickle

    Vice President

    On filings since 2020

    1 hr/week

    No compensation reported

  • T. Charles Tickle

    Vice President

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Contact

Mailing address: 5246 Greystone Way, Birmingham, AL 35242
Phone: (205) 623-7488

Frequently asked questions about Tickle Family Foundation

How much does Tickle Family Foundation give each year?

Tickle Family Foundation gave $151K across 13 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2023 it gave $411K across 10 grants.

What is Tickle Family Foundation's typical grant size?

Tickle Family Foundation's median grant in 2024 was $5,000, and its average grant was $11,620, across 13 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Tickle Family Foundation that year got $10K on average.

Where does Tickle Family Foundation give grants?

Tickle Family Foundation's top state is North Carolina, with 45% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Alabama (40%) and Missouri (7%). The most frequent recipient cities were Birmingham, AL (4 grants) and Cashiers, NC (3 grants).

Does Tickle Family Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2024: none of the 13 grants with a stated purpose on Tickle Family Foundation's 2024 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Religious" (5 grants) and "Education" (3 grants).

Who are Tickle Family Foundation's largest grantees?

Tickle Family Foundation's largest 2024 grantees include Summit Charter School Foundation ($30,000), Church of the Good Shepherd ($27,500) and Asbury United Methodist Church ($25,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 55% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.

How large is Tickle Family Foundation?

Tickle Family Foundation reported $7.6M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $151K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $386K (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 Tickle Family Foundation fund?

No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2024 grants included support for organizations whose own stated missions encompass education, religious work, community aid, and youth services. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Tickle Family Foundation?

The foundation 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 Tickle Family Foundation's EIN?

Tickle Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 20-8075658. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.

Does Tickle Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?

No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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