The Andrew Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on free‑market and classical‑liberty policy organizations, primarily funding think tanks and legal groups that promote economic freedom, limited government, and constitutional rights. Grants are large and targeted, often labeled as "educational," and directed to national organizations that produce research, advocacy, and legal advocacy rather than direct social services.
Highly concentrated giving: a few large grants to repeat national grantees focused on policy, research, education, and legal advocacy rather than broad, small‑scale philanthropic diversification.
Andrew Foundation C/o Travis May’s recent giving is anchored by a pair of large support grants to the Reason Foundation: $232,300 in 2025 and $220,000 in 2024. That pattern points to a funder that returns to the same policy institutions with substantial, recurring awards rather than spreading money widely across many fields. The foundation’s grants are labeled mostly as educational, but the recipients show a clear policy orientation. Alongside Reason Foundation, it funded the Institute for Justice, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center, Fee Foundation, and Atlas Network. These organizations sit in the free-market and classical-liberal ecosystem, with work that includes research, outreach, and legal advocacy around economic freedom, limited government, and constitutional rights. The scale is meaningful for an asset base of $12,477,376 and annual grants of $1,052,100. The grant set also shows that the foundation is comfortable backing both national-policy groups and organizations that operate through education, litigation, and policy dissemination.
The foundation’s strongest pattern is support for free-market policy research and advocacy. It gave $232,300 in 2025 and $220,000 in 2024 to Reason Foundation, both marked educational. Litigation and legal defense are another recurring theme: Institute for Justice received $140,000 in 2025 and $120,000 in 2024, also labeled educational. Classical-liberal education and outreach appear in grants to Cato Institute, which received $39,800 in 2025 and $33,000 in 2024. The foundation also backed Fee Foundation twice, with $110,000 in 2024 and $110,000 in 2025, and made a smaller 2025 grant of $10,000 to Atlas Network. Across these awards, the emphasis is on organizations that produce research, advocacy, and policy education rather than direct service delivery.
Andrew Foundation C/o Travis May gives in a relatively concentrated way: the typical grant sits at a median of $110,000, with the 25th percentile at $33,000 and the 75th percentile at $120,000. Several recipients appear in consecutive years, including Reason Foundation, Institute for Justice, Fee Foundation, Cato Institute, and Mackinac Center, which suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation is not a program-related investor and does not fund individuals. The grant list also shows a mostly educational framing, with one grant described as philanthropic.
$552K
$12.5M
$4.9M
$571K
Most grants fall between $33K and $120K, with a median of $110K.
25th Percentile
$33K
Median
$110K
75th Percentile
$120K
About 18% of grants go to recipients in VA.
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Notable grantees: Reason Foundation, Institute for Justice, Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)
The foundation gives nationally, and all recent grants in the sample went to U.S. recipients. Virginia appears most often by recipient count, driven by Arlington-based Institute for Justice and Atlas Network. California is also important, with 20% of grants going to recipients in the state, including Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation. Other recipient cities in the record include Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Midland, Michigan.
It funds free-market policy and classical-liberal organizations, especially think tanks and legal groups. Recent grantees include Reason Foundation, Institute for Justice, Cato Institute, Mackinac Center, Fee Foundation, and Atlas Network. The grant purposes are mostly labeled educational.
The middle of the distribution is $110,000, with the 25th percentile at $33,000 and the 75th percentile at $120,000. That places most awards in a fairly tight band, though the largest recent grants are much higher.
Yes. Several recipients appear in back-to-back years: Reason Foundation, Institute for Justice, Fee Foundation, Cato Institute, and Mackinac Center all received grants in both 2024 and 2025. That points to recurring support rather than isolated one-time gifts.
The foundation gives nationally, with all recent grants going to U.S. recipients. Virginia is the top state by grant count, while California accounts for 20% of grants to recipients in the foundation’s recent record.
The listed grants are mostly tagged educational. The recent record also includes one grant labeled philanthropic, but the dominant pattern is educational funding for policy research, outreach, and legal advocacy organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REASON FOUNDATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $232,300 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE | ARLINGTON, VA | $140,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| FEE FOUNDATION | ATLANTA, GA | $110,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| CATO INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON, DC | $39,800 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| MACKINAC CENTER | MIDLAND, MI | $20,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL |
| ATLAS NETWORK | ARLINGTON, VA | $10,000 | 2025 | PHILANTHROPIC |
| REASON FOUNDATION | LOS ANGELES, CA | $220,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE | ARLINGTON, VA | $120,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| FEE FOUNDATION | ATLANTA, GA | $110,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| CATO INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON, DC | $33,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
| MACKINAC CENTER | MIDLAND, MI | $17,000 | 2024 | EDUCATIONAL |
REASON FOUNDATION
$232,300EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE
$140,000EDUCATIONAL
FEE FOUNDATION
$110,000EDUCATIONAL
CATO INSTITUTE
$39,800EDUCATIONAL
MACKINAC CENTER
$20,000EDUCATIONAL
ATLAS NETWORK
$10,000PHILANTHROPIC
REASON FOUNDATION
EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE
$120,000EDUCATIONAL
FEE FOUNDATION
$110,000EDUCATIONAL
CATO INSTITUTE
$33,000EDUCATIONAL
MACKINAC CENTER
$17,000EDUCATIONAL