Whitaker Fund

Private foundation · Grantmaker San Diego, CA EIN: 23-7289515

Whitaker Fund is a private foundation based in San Diego, California. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, with the listed recipients located in Virginia and New York.

Whitaker Fund at a glance

In short: Whitaker Fund gave $61K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), mostly in Virginia. 8% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Annual giving (2025)
$61,000
-2.4% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
13
-7.1% vs 2024
Average grant
$4,692
+5.1% vs 2024
Median grant
$2,500
Total assets
$1,205,260
+26.6% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
8% first-time grantees (1 of 13, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Virginia (87% 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 Whitaker Fund

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: 2266 Willow St, San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: (619) 322-5741

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Whitaker Fund funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

United Way of Roanoke Valley: $12KUnited Way of Roanoke Valley$12KVa Fnd for Independent Colleges: $10KVa Fnd for IndependentColleges$10KLeukemia Sociaty of VA: $8KLeukemia Sociaty of VA$8KFerrum College: $7KFerrum College$7KVa Western Comm College: $6KVa Western Comm College$6KAmerican Cancer Society: $3KAmerican Cancer Society$3KBoys and Girls Club of Roanoke Valley: $3KBoys and Girls Club of RoanokeValley$3KBradley Free Clinic: $3KBradley Free Clinic$3KRescue Mission: $3KRescue Mission$3KHabitat for Humanity Roanoke: $3KHabitat for Humanity Roanoke$3K

The largest 2025 recipient was United Way of Roanoke Valley ($12K). Together the top 10 received $56K.

Grant Size Distribution

69 grants across all recorded years

69<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 69 grants of 69 (100%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

In 2025, 87% of grant dollars went to recipients in Virginia and 13% to recipients in New York. Listed Virginia recipients included organizations in Roanoke, Ferrum, and Salem.

Grant Distribution by State

2states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.

Cities

RoanokeRichmondRye BrookSalemFerrum

Is Whitaker Fund open to new grantees?

8%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 1 of 13 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $7K; repeat grants $5K. How we count

Medians: $7K first-time, $3K repeat.

  • 92% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 129% 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

$0$20K$40K$60K$80K14 grants2020 14 grants2021 14 grants2022 14 grants2023 14 grants2024 13 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $61K (2025) to $63K (2024). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $61K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
United Way of Roanoke Valley Roanoke, VAGeneral$12,000
Va Fnd for Independent Colleges Roanoke, VAGeneral$10,000
Leukemia Sociaty of VA Rye Brook, NYGeneral$8,000
Ferrum College Ferrum, VAGeneral$6,500
Va Western Comm College Roanoke, VAGeneral$6,000
American Cancer Society Roanoke, VAGeneral$3,000
Boys and Girls Club of Roanoke Valley Roanoke, VAGeneral$2,500
Bradley Free Clinic Roanoke, VAGeneral$2,500
Rescue Mission Roanoke, VAGeneral$2,500
Habitat for Humanity Roanoke Roanoke, VAGeneral$2,500
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsQualifying DistributionsNet Investment IncomeDistributable Amount
2025$1,205,260$119,811$83,638$61,00013$71,596$109,087$55,429
2024$952,370$72,600$75,456$62,50014$68,977$66,066$50,703
2023$955,226$51,241$70,649$62,50014$66,573$47,129$48,093
2022$974,634$73,651$71,392$62,50014$65,936$70,161$50,012
2021$972,375$79,977$69,166$62,50014$68,856$69,461$52,882
2020$960,578$57,093$69,257$62,50014—$57,093$52,315

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Whitaker Fund reported a distributable amount of $55K 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 fund is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for colleges, food distribution, health-related organizations, and community service organizations. For example, Ferrum College describes its mission as fostering students’ personal growth, academic excellence, career-ready skills, and compassion for service. Feeding Southwest Virginia says it provides food and related products to member agencies for distribution to people in need, as well as distributing food directly. These are the grantees’ descriptions, not stated missions of the fund.

Grantmaking

In 2025, the fund gave $61,000 through 13 grants. Grants ranged from $1,500 to $12,000, with a median grant of $2,500. Larger grants included $12,000 to United Way of Roanoke Valley, $10,000 to Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, $8,000 to Leukemia Society of VA, $6,500 to Ferrum College, and $6,000 to Virginia Western Community College. The listed purposes were “GENERAL.”

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Fred C Whitaker Jr as President and Jonathan K Wright as Secretary/Treas.

Whitaker Fund is led by Fred C. Whitaker Jr., President since 2022 (on filings since 2020); 1 of 2 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Fred C. Whitaker Jr.

    President

    President & Director → President, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Jonathan K. Wright

    Secretary & Treasurer

    Sectreary & Treasurer → Secretary & Treasurer, 2022

    On filings since 2020

    2 hrs/week

    $5K (2020) → $5K (2025)

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.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Jonathan K Wright — Secretary/Treas: $5KJonathan K WrightSecretary/Treas$5K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $5K, to Jonathan K Wright (Secretary/Treas).

Frequently asked questions about Whitaker Fund

How much does Whitaker Fund give each year?

Whitaker Fund gave $61K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $63K across 14 grants.

What is Whitaker Fund's typical grant size?

Whitaker Fund's median grant in 2025 was $2,500, and its average grant was $4,692, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Whitaker Fund that year got $7K on average.

Where does Whitaker Fund give grants?

Whitaker Fund gives mostly in Virginia: 87% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The next largest state was New York (13%). The most frequent recipient cities were Roanoke, VA (10 grants).

Does Whitaker Fund give general operating support?

Yes: 100% of Whitaker Fund's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (13 of 13) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Who are Whitaker Fund's largest grantees?

Whitaker Fund's largest 2025 grantees include United Way of Roanoke Valley ($12,000), Va Fnd for Independent Colleges ($10,000) and Leukemia Sociaty of VA ($8,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 49% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Whitaker Fund?

Whitaker Fund reported $1.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $72K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $55K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does Whitaker Fund fund?

No mission statement for the fund is provided. Its 2025 grants included support for colleges, food distribution, health-related organizations, and community service organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Whitaker Fund?

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 Whitaker Fund's EIN?

Whitaker Fund's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 23-7289515. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Does Whitaker Fund 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

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 13, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 23, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 30, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS April 30, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 22, 2025)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 18, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Whitaker Fund funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/whitaker-fund-morg_fc933d944fc64bba935786a9f5e97313

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_237289515_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Whitaker Fund funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/whitaker-fund-morg_fc933d944fc64bba935786a9f5e97313},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16. 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 Whitaker Fund'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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