The Butler Family Fund
Preselected recipients only
The Butler Family Fund is a private foundation in Washington, District of Columbia. In tax year 2025 it gave $990,450 in 34 grants; the typical grant was $37,500 and the largest $100,000. It only gives to organizations it selects itself and does not accept unsolicited applications.
From its IRS Form 990-PF for tax year 2025.
- Grants paid, 2025$990,450
- Number of grants34
- Typical grant$37,500
- Largest grant$100,000
- Assets$10.9 million
- New grantees88%
Giving in 2025 was up from $809,000 the year before.
88% of its 2025 grantees had not received a grant from it the year before, a sign it is open to new organizations.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants paid | Number of grants | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $954,250 | 51 | $10.9 million |
| 2024 | $809,000 | 32 | $10.8 million |
| 2025 | $990,450 | 34 | $10.9 million |
How to apply
The Butler Family Fund says in its IRS filing that it only makes contributions to preselected organizations, so unsolicited applications are unlikely to be considered. Organizations it funds are usually invited.
Foundation website IRS filings on ProPublica
What The Butler Family Fund funds
Where it gives
Its US grants went to recipients in 11 states, the most to District of Columbia. It also paid $16,200 in 4 grants to recipients outside the US.
| State | Grants | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 7 | $276,250 |
| California | 8 | $257,000 |
| Minnesota | 2 | $125,000 |
| New York | 3 | $102,500 |
| Texas | 3 | $56,000 |
| Florida | 1 | $50,000 |
| Illinois | 1 | $50,000 |
| North Carolina | 1 | $50,000 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | $4,000 |
| New Jersey | 1 | $2,500 |
Grants paid in 2025
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| HouseUS | HouseUs supports tenant organizing and tenant power as a pathway towards achieving safe, affordable, sustainable housing for all. | $100,000 |
| Just Futures Inititiative - Community Transforming Policing Fund | Just Futures is a donor collaborative housed at Borealis Philanthropy that supports groups working to build power, increase police accountability and create transformative community-based safety. | $75,000 |
| Act 4 Sa | ACT 4SA is a grassroots organization striving to center the well-being of their community without a reliance on police or prisons. | $50,000 |
| Bozeman Tenants Education Fund | BTU is a city-wide tenant union dedicated to building a world in which safe, dignified housing is available to all, regardless of race, income, or any other identity. | $50,000 |
| CAAAV- Organizing Asian Communities | CAAAV organizes Asian immigrants in New York City to ensure that working class people make decisions over their own homes and neighborhoods. | $50,000 |
| CHISPA OC Education Fund | CHISPA OC is a Latinx organizing ecosystem in Orange County dedicated to harnessing the power of young people through organizing, policy advocacy, and electoral power. | $50,000 |
| Equity and Transformation | EAT is a community-led organization seeking to build social and economic equity for Black workers engaged in the informal economy. | $50,000 |
| For the Many | For the Many is a grassroots, multiracial, intergenerational, and bi-lingual movement in rural upstate New York centering the needs of working-class people in multi-issue campaigns. | $50,000 |
| Free DC | Free DC is a grassroots organizing campaign to fight for noninterference in home rule for DC. | $50,000 |
| Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco | HRCSF is a multiracial, multilingual tenant rights organization working to stop the displacement of working-class communities of color in San Francisco. | $50,000 |
| Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia | IX organizes Minneapolis low-income, BIPOC, and immigrant tenants to strategize, advocate and mobilize for safe and affordable housing. | $50,000 |
| Miami Workers Center | Miami Workers Center organizes and mobilizes working-class families, predominately Black and brown immigrant women-headed households in Miami Dade to build the power and capacity of renter communities. | $50,000 |
| National Homelessness Law Center | For the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign | $50,000 |
| North Carolina Tenants Union | North Carolina Tenants Union is a statewide union of local tenant unions aiming to democratize housing in NC and build a housing system that prioritizes people over profit. | $50,000 |
| SOS Fund | Directed to the Emergent Fund and the Immigrant Frontlines Fund within the Four Freedons Fund | $50,000 |
| Tenant Union Federation | TUF is a union of unions dedicated to establishing tenants as a powerful political class to preserve affordable housing, win tenant protections, and develop alternative housing models. | $50,000 |
| Vocal-Ny | Restricted to VOCAL-KY which builds power among low-income people affected by the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness to create healthy and just communities. | $50,000 |
| Global Impact | The Alabama Solution Impact Campaign seeks to amplify the documentary The Alabama Solution and its expose of the deadliest state prison system in the country. | $25,000 |
| Crisis | for general support | $5,400 |
| MamaSuze | for general operating support | $5,400 |
| Alma Backyard Farms | for general operating support | $5,000 |
| Communities Foundation of Texas | For the Foundation for Brain Health Advances | $5,000 |
| Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation | for general operating support | $3,000 |
| Fresh Start Edinburgh | for general operating support | $2,700 |
| Smart Works Scotland | for general operating support | $2,700 |
| First Friends of New Jersey and New York | for general operating support | $2,500 |
| Make the Road by Walking | For Make the Road NJ | $2,500 |
| Congregation Shearith Israel | For the Ladder Project | $1,000 |
| Institute to End Mass Incarceraton | for general operating support | $1,000 |
| Smart Justice California | for general operating support | $1,000 |
| The Last Mile | for general operating support | $1,000 |
| The Trace | for general operating support | $1,000 |
| World Central Kitchen | for general operating support | $1,000 |
| Misc charitable donation | for general operating support | $250 |
Officers and trustees
- Molly Schultz
- Eve Wildrick
- Joanne Snider
- Jennifer Gavin
- Rebecca Morrison
- Oliver Phineas Hirsch
- Lisa Siegel
- Colette Hirsch
- Eleanor Leyden Dunbar
Questions people ask
Does The Butler Family Fund accept grant applications?
No. Its IRS filing says it only makes contributions to preselected organizations.
How much does The Butler Family Fund give?
$990,450 in tax year 2025, across 34 grants, with a typical grant of $37,500.
Who runs The Butler Family Fund?
Its 2025 filing lists Molly Schultz (Executive Director), Eve Wildrick (President), Joanne Snider (Treasurer) and Jennifer Gavin (Trustee) among 9 officers and trustees.
What does The Butler Family Fund fund?
Based on its grants, mainly housing and homelessness, human services and community development.