What areas does Aircast Foundation Inc support most often?

The foundation’s recent grant record is centered on orthopaedic research. Named programs and collaborations include resident research, youth sport injury prevention, soft tissue repair and regeneration, trauma research, return-to-play studies, and AAOS research endowment support.

How large are typical grants?

Typical awards are modest relative to the largest grants: the p25, median, and p75 are $10,000, $10,000, and $80,000. The record also includes larger research awards, such as $500,000 and $402,500.

Does Aircast Foundation Inc fund the same organizations repeatedly?

Yes. OREF, AOSSM, and the Orthopedic Trauma Association each appear multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surg also appears in more than one year. The pattern suggests recurring institutional partnerships.

How does the foundation make grants?

It uses both direct and collaborative grantmaking. Programs include Aircast Foundation Research Grants, OREF collaboration grants, OTA collaborative grants, AOSSM collaborative research, and AAOS research endowment support. Some programs accept unsolicited applications, including the general research grants and several collaborative tracks.

Where do most grants go?

The top state by grant count is Illinois. Recent recipient cities include Rosemont and Chicago, with additional grants to Durham, Ft Wright, and Naples.

Aircast Foundation

Name: Aircast Foundation — grants, 990 financials & funding data
Creator: Kindora

ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals

NAPLES, FLWebsite

About Aircast Foundation

AirCast Foundation Inc concentrates its philanthropy almost exclusively on orthopedic research and professional support for the orthopedic surgery community. Its grants are large and targeted, funding national specialty societies and research-focused organizations that advance surgical techniques, trauma care, and musculoskeletal research. The foundation’s giving is highly focused rather than broadly distributed, privileging established professional organizations and research programs in orthopedics.

Focus Areas

Orthopedic research funding (clinical and translational)Support for professional orthopedic associations and specialty societiesOrthopedic trauma care and surgical technique advancement

Who They Fund

clinical and academic researchers in orthopaedicspatients with musculoskeletal conditionshealthcare providers/clinicians in orthopaedics

Giving Approach

Highly concentrated giving: a small number of very large grants, often repeated to the same national orthopedic organizations; focused, mission-aligned investments rather than many small or geographically diverse awards.

About Aircast Foundation

Aircast Foundation Inc centers its philanthropy on orthopaedic research, with a visible preference for peer-reviewed, specialty-driven work that serves surgeons, investigators, and professional societies. In the recent grant record, the largest awards went to OREF and AOSSM, including a $500,000 grant to OREF in 2025 and a $402,500 grant to AOSSM in 2024, both for orthopaedic research. Those awards sit alongside additional support for the Orthopedic Trauma Association, Duke Health, and other orthopaedic institutions, showing a pattern of funding established organizations rather than broad public programs. The foundation’s named collaboration programs reinforce that emphasis. Through OREF-administered grants, Aircast supports resident research and research agenda programs, while its partnerships with AAOS, OTA, and AOSSM point to a long-running role in specialty-society research infrastructure. Its grantmaking also reaches individual support in a limited way, including a scholarship at Duke Health.

What Aircast Foundation Funds

A core theme is orthopaedic research infrastructure. Aircast Foundation Inc gave $500,000 to OREF in 2025 and $291,000 to OREF in 2024, both tagged for orthopaedic research. It also supported the American Academy of Orthopedic Surg with $15,000 in 2025 and $10,000 in 2024, again for orthopaedic research. Another area is trauma and post-injury care. The foundation gave $100,000 to the Orthopedic Trauma Association in 2023 and $80,000 in 2024 for orthopaedic research, with the OTA collaboration focused on treatment and prevention of post-traumatic arthritis after articular fractures. Sports medicine is also present. Aossm received $402,500 in 2024 and $195,000 in 2025 for orthopaedic research, reflecting the foundation’s backing of return-to-play and outcomes-oriented studies. Smaller grants also reached Duke Health and Rush University Medical Center for orthopaedic research.

How Aircast Foundation Gives

Recent awards cluster around a median grant size of $10,000, with a p25 of $10,000 and a p75 of $80,000. At the top end, the record includes several six-figure research grants, including $500,000 and $402,500 awards. The pattern is repeated over multiple years and through recurring institutional partners, especially OREF, AOSSM, the Orthopedic Trauma Association, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surg. The foundation uses both direct grantmaking and collaborative, peer-reviewed channels, including OREF-administered awards and named society partnerships. It also accepts unsolicited applications in some programs, including the general research grants and several collaborative tracks. Aircast Foundation Inc is an operating foundation by behavior, funding project-specific research rather than operating support across a broad set of nonprofits.

Financial Snapshot

Annual Giving

$822K

Total Assets

$8.4M

Total Revenue

$351K

Total Expenses

$1M

Typical Grant Size

Most grants fall between $10K and $80K, with a median of $10K.

25th Percentile

$10K

Median

$10K

75th Percentile

$80K

Geographic Reach

National5 states funded

About 9% of grants go to recipients in IL.

Funding intensity

Low

High

Headquarters

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Recipient	Location	Amount	Year	Purpose
OREF	ROSEMONT, IL	$500,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
AOSSM	ROSEMONT, IL	$195,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
ORTHOPEDIC TRAUMA ASSOCIATION	ROSEMONT, IL	$50,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
THE FORUM	FT WRIGHT, KY	$20,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPEDIC SURG	ROSEMONT, IL	$15,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
DUKE HEALTH	DURHAM, NC	$15,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	CHICAGO, IL	$15,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
RICHARD KYLE MD	LONG LAKE, MN	$10,000	2025	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
GARDEN OF HOPE	NAPLES, FL	$1,600	2025	CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
AOSSM	ROSEMONT, IL	$402,500	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
OREF	ROSEMONT, IL	$291,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
ORTHOPEDIC TRAUMA ASSOCIATION	ROSEMONT, IL	$80,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
DUKE HEALTH	DURHAM, NC	$30,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPEDIC SURG	ROSEMONT, IL	$10,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
THE FORUM	FT WRIGHT, KY	$10,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
OLC EDUCATION	ROSEMONT, IL	$10,000	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
IAN S MICHELSON	CHICAGO, IL	$7,500	2024	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
GARDEN OF HOPE	NAPLES, FL	$1,600	2024	CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
ORTHOPEDIC TRAUMA ASSOCIATION	ROSEMONT, IL	$100,000	2023	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPEDIC SURG	ROSEMONT, IL	$10,000	2023	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
RUSH UNIVERSITY	CHICAGO, IL	$10,000	2023	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH
IAN S MICHELSON	ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL	$5,000	2023	ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH

Aircast Foundation

About Aircast Foundation

Focus Areas

Who They Fund

Giving Approach

About Aircast Foundation

What Aircast Foundation Funds

How Aircast Foundation Gives

Financial Snapshot

Typical Grant Size

Geographic Reach

Deep Analysis

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Funding Style

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Where Aircast Foundation Makes Grants

Frequently Asked Questions About Aircast Foundation

What areas does Aircast Foundation Inc support most often?

How large are typical grants?

Does Aircast Foundation Inc fund the same organizations repeatedly?

How does the foundation make grants?

Where do most grants go?

Recent Grants

Open Grant Opportunities

OREF-administered Grants Funded by The Aircast Foundation (including OREF Resident Research Grants and named TAF/OREF programs)

Aircast Foundation

About Aircast Foundation

Focus Areas

Who They Fund

Giving Approach

About Aircast Foundation

What Aircast Foundation Funds

How Aircast Foundation Gives

Financial Snapshot

Typical Grant Size

Geographic Reach

Unlock Deep Analysis

See Similar Funders

Explore related grant guides

Want a Personalized Pitch for Aircast Foundation?

The Grant Brief

Funding Style

Topics

Where Aircast Foundation Makes Grants

Frequently Asked Questions About Aircast Foundation

What areas does Aircast Foundation Inc support most often?

How large are typical grants?

Does Aircast Foundation Inc fund the same organizations repeatedly?

How does the foundation make grants?

Where do most grants go?

Recent Grants

Open Grant Opportunities

OREF-administered Grants Funded by The Aircast Foundation (including OREF Resident Research Grants and named TAF/OREF programs)