Wheless Foundation
Wheless Foundation is a private foundation based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Its 2025 filing reports grants to organizations in Louisiana and other states, including religious, charitable, educational, and medical recipients.
Wheless Foundation at a glance
In short: Wheless Foundation gave $689K across 47 grants in 2025 (avg $15K), mostly in Louisiana. 23% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $688,500
- +12.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 47
- +17.5% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $14,649
- -4.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $10,811,865
- +1.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 23% first-time grantees (11 of 47, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Louisiana (58% 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 Wheless Foundation
- How to Apply
-
The foundation’s 2024 filing lists Mr Jim Devan as the contact and says there is no specific form, no deadline, and no restriction or limitation on awards.
- Contact
Application contact: Mr Jim Devan
Mailing address: PO Box 29129, Shreveport, LA 71149
Phone: (318) 429-2118
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Wheless Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral ($45K). Together the top 10 received $325K.
Grant Size Distribution
195 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 193 grants of 195 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, Louisiana received 58% of grant dollars, North Carolina 15%, Georgia 12%, New Mexico 7%, and Massachusetts 3%. These figures describe the reported distribution of grants, not a stated geographic restriction.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 47 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Wheless Foundation open to new grantees?
23%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 11 of 47 grantees (23%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $16K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $10K repeat.
- 74% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 101% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). 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 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $504K (2021) to $689K (2025). In 2025 it made 47 grants totaling $689K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral Shreveport, LA | Religious | $45,000 |
| Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana Shreveport, LA | Charitable | $35,000 |
| Gleason Initiative Foundation New Orleans, LA | Charitable | $35,000 |
| Chastain Park Therapeutic Riding Atlanta, GA | Charitable | $30,000 |
| Church of the Holy Cross Shreveport, LA | Charitable | $30,000 |
| Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse of NW LA Shreveport, LA | Charitable | $30,000 |
| Durham Academy Inc Durham, NC | Educational | $30,000 |
| Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke Durham, NC | Medical | $30,000 |
| UNC Health Foundation Chapel Hill, NC | Medical | $30,000 |
| YMCA Shreveport, LA | Charitable | $30,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Wheless 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 | $10,811,865 | $902,714 | $806,109 | $688,500 | 47 | $689,134 | $805,671 | $682,277 |
| 2024 | $10,709,251 | $1,037,332 | $713,353 | $613,500 | 40 | $614,114 | $941,150 | $633,629 |
| 2023 | $10,376,371 | $535,917 | $698,442 | $605,000 | 37 | $605,034 | $450,174 | $571,324 |
| 2021 | $10,470,450 | $905,881 | $600,431 | $503,500 | 36 | — | $809,903 | $628,698 |
| 2020 | $10,155,173 | $416,434 | $650,866 | $539,000 | 35 | — | $335,167 | $539,779 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Wheless Foundation reported a distributable amount of $682K 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
The available filing information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations working in areas such as health, education, social services, animal welfare, and religious activity. For example, Assistance Dogs of the West describes its work as providing trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities, while Robinsons Rescue says it works to reduce dog and cat overpopulation and euthanasia in the greater Shreveport area. Durham Academy describes its purpose as educating students to live moral, happy, and productive lives.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 47 grants totaling $688,500. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $45,000, with a median of $10,000.
Notable 2025 grants included $45,000 to St Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral; $35,000 each to Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana and Gleason Initiative Foundation; and $30,000 each to Chastain Park Therapeutic Riding, Church of the Holy Cross, Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse of NW LA, Durham Academy, Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, UNC Health Foundation, and YMCA. Other reported awards included $20,000 to Assistance Dogs of the West and Greater New Orleans Foundation. Robinsons Rescue, Chimp Haven, and Caddo Council on Aging each received $15,000; Oakwood Home for Women and Mayo Clinic each received $10,000.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Elise W Schmidt, James E Devan, Tracey E Hogan, and W Hobson Hogan as “BOARD OF CON.”
Wheless Foundation's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Elise W. Schmidt
Board of Controller
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
James E. Devan
Board of Controller
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tracey E. Hogan
Board of Controller
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
W. Hobson Hogan
Board of Controller
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "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 Wheless Foundation
How much does Wheless Foundation give each year?
Wheless Foundation gave $689K across 47 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $614K across 40 grants.
What is Wheless Foundation's typical grant size?
Wheless Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $14,649, across 47 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Wheless Foundation that year got $10K on average.
Where does Wheless Foundation give grants?
Wheless Foundation gives mostly in Louisiana: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest states were North Carolina (15%) and Georgia (12%). The most frequent recipient cities were Shreveport, LA (20 grants), New Orleans, LA (4 grants), Santa Fe, NM (4 grants) and Atlanta, GA (3 grants).
Does Wheless Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 47 grants with a stated purpose on Wheless Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Charitable" (32 grants), "Educational" (8 grants) and "Medical" (6 grants).
Who are Wheless Foundation's largest grantees?
Wheless Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral ($45,000), Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana ($35,000) and Gleason Initiative Foundation ($35,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 17% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Wheless Foundation?
Wheless Foundation reported $10.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $689K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $682K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Wheless Foundation fund?
The available filing information does not state a mission for the foundation. Its 2025 grants show support for organizations working in areas such as health, education, social services, animal welfare, and religious activity. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Wheless Foundation?
The foundation’s 2024 filing lists Mr Jim Devan as the contact and says there is no specific form, no deadline, and no restriction or limitation on awards. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Wheless Foundation's EIN?
Wheless Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 72-6017724. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
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 2020–2025
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Wheless Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Wheless Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/wheless-foundation-morg_9e03c931ef324bc4bb21c700819bfdec
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_726017724_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Wheless Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/wheless-foundation-morg_9e03c931ef324bc4bb21c700819bfdec},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. 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 Wheless 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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