Towle Family Foundation
The Towle Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations in several states, including schools, camps, children’s services, and organizations working in agriculture.
Towle Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Towle Family Foundation gave $2.6M across 16 grants in 2025 (avg $164K), mostly in Missouri. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $2,620,000
- +67.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 16
- +0.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $163,750
- +67.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $100,000
- Total assets
- $94,992,221
- +4.8% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Missouri (59% 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 Towle Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: 4950 S Yosemite St F2-327, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: (314) 809-7554
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Towle Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Principia School ($1.0M). Together the top 10 received $2.4M.
Grant Size Distribution
58 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was in the $100–250K range: 28 grants of 58 (48%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, the largest shares of grant dollars went to recipients in Missouri (59%), Colorado (13%), California (13%), Maine (6%), and Pennsylvania (5%). The listed grants also included recipients in Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 16 itemized grants.
Cities
How Towle Family Foundation gives
- 88% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 948% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 68% 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 (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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $250K (2022) to $2.6M (2025). In 2025 it made 16 grants totaling $2.6M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Principia School Saint Louis, MO | Strategy study & operations | $1,000,000 |
| Washington Universtiy Saint Louis, MO | Endowed Scholarship Fund | $250,000 |
| Universal Gifted Savings Inc Rolling Hills Estate, CA | General fund | $250,000 |
| Mad Agriculture Boulder, CO | Highest operating needs | $200,000 |
| Adventure Unlimited Greenwood Village, CO | General Operations and staff housing project | $150,000 |
| Cedars Camp Ballwin, MO | General Operations | $150,000 |
| Camp Newfound Owatonna Harrison, ME | General operations | $150,000 |
| Ellwood House Dekalb, IL | Highest Priorities | $100,000 |
| Rodale Institute Kutztown, PA | New education building | $100,000 |
| University City Children's Center Saint Louis, MO | General Operations | $60,000 |
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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 | $94,992,221 | $10,048,335 | $2,944,097 | $2,620,000 | 16 | $2,916,223 | $9,489,573 | $4,284,627 |
| 2024 | $90,601,740 | $46,640,796 | $1,639,049 | $1,561,000 | 16 | $1,618,004 | $1,619,207 | $2,924,913 |
| 2023 | $41,691,565 | $1,831,508 | $2,733,504 | $2,125,000 | 13 | $2,125,000 | $238,753 | $2,355,932 |
| 2022 | $42,593,561 | $8,041,177 | $271,094 | $250,000 | 1 | $250,000 | $13,771,851 | $1,893,256 |
| 2021 | $34,823,478 | $15,082,419 | $1,102,313 | $1,100,000 | 12 | — | $794,424 | $1,269,470 |
| 2019 | $21,510,371 | $2,138,745 | $1,256,370 | $1,204,235 | 13 | — | $1,715,966 | $989,970 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Towle Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $4.3M for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for education, camps and recreation, children’s care and education, and regenerative agriculture. For example, Mad Agriculture describes its mission as creating “a regenerative revolution in agriculture,” while Rodale Institute says it advances regenerative organic agriculture through research, farmer training, and education. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not the foundation’s.
Other grantees describe work in areas including spiritual growth and recreation (Adventure Unlimited and Camp Newfound Owatonna), children’s development and education (University City Children’s Center and City Academy), and charitable support for education, research, community leadership, and sustainable technologies (Cape Eleuthera Foundation).
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 16 grants totaling $2,620,000. Grants ranged from $25,000 to $1,000,000, with a median grant of $100,000. The 2024 filing reported 16 grants totaling $1,561,000; the 2023 filing reported 13 grants totaling $2,125,000.
Notable 2025 grants included $1,000,000 to Principia School for a strategy study and operations; $250,000 to Washington University for an endowed scholarship fund; $250,000 to Universal Gifted Savings Inc for its general fund; $200,000 to Mad Agriculture for its highest operating needs; and $150,000 each to Adventure Unlimited, Cedars Camp, and Camp Newfound Owatonna for general operations or related needs.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Christopher D Towle as president, Perry E Towle as secretary, and Laura H Towle as treasurer.
Towle Family Foundation is led by Christopher D Towle, President since 2022 (on filings since 2019); none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Christopher D Towle
President
Secy-Treas → Treasurer, 2021
Treasurer → President, 2022
On filings since 2019
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Perry E Towle
Secretary
On filings since 2021
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Laura H Towle
Treasurer
On filings since 2022
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: J. Ellwood Towle (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.
Frequently asked questions about Towle Family Foundation
How much does Towle Family Foundation give each year?
Towle Family Foundation gave $2.6M across 16 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $1.6M across 16 grants.
What is Towle Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Towle Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $100,000, and its average grant was $163,750, across 16 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Where does Towle Family Foundation give grants?
Towle Family Foundation gives mostly in Missouri: 59% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were Colorado (13%) and California (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were Saint Louis, MO (5 grants).
Does Towle Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 63% of Towle Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (10 of 16) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Towle Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Towle Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Principia School ($1,000,000), Washington Universtiy ($250,000) and Universal Gifted Savings Inc ($250,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 57% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Towle Family Foundation?
Towle Family Foundation reported $95.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $2.9M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $4.3M (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 Towle Family Foundation fund?
No foundation mission statement is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for education, camps and recreation, children’s care and education, and regenerative agriculture. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Towle Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it contributes 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 Towle Family Foundation's EIN?
Towle Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 43-1800405. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Does Towle Family 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 October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 27, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS January 6, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS February 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 13, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 11, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Live grants for the work Towle Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Towle Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Towle Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/towle-family-foundation-morg_67eec719ad014f1281c0803377b5a455
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_431800405_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Towle Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/towle-family-foundation-morg_67eec719ad014f1281c0803377b5a455},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. 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 Towle Family 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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