Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
Charlotte, NCWebsite
About Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation
The Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation focuses on place-based investments in youth enrichment across Charlotte—particularly arts education, hands-on STEM learning, community fitness/education through the YMCA, and vocational training. Grants are sizable and targeted, often made repeatedly to the same local organizations to support program delivery and operational needs. The foundation shows a special interest in using sports and arts as vehicles for serving underserved youth.
Focus Areas
Arts education programs for K–12 students in Charlotte (e.g., Arts Plus)Hands-on STEM and museum outreach for children (e.g., Discovery Place)Community fitness and youth development through YMCA branchesYouth baseball access and development in underserved communities (Knothole Foundation)Vocational and cosmetology training institutions providing operational support
Who They Fund
underserved and under-resourced youth (Charlotte-area focus)students with learning disabilities and autism
About Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation
Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation’s recent grantmaking shows a clear pattern of repeat support for Charlotte-area organizations that serve youth through active lifestyles, arts, and education. The largest grant in the recent record is $330,000 to YMCA of Greater Charlotte for health, fitness, and education programs, followed by $270,000 grants to Arts Plus in both 2024 and 2025 for arts education. That combination points to a funder that backs ongoing program delivery rather than one-time projects. The foundation also supports youth baseball access, hands-on museum outreach, and school-engagement work, with several awards returning year after year to the same organizations. Its funding reaches beyond a single program type: operational support appears alongside program support, and the grants range from smaller $25,000 awards to six-figure commitments. Recent recipients also include organizations serving children with learning disabilities and autism, as well as groups focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities. Across the record, the foundation centers local nonprofits that help underserved youth participate in sports, arts, learning, and community-based enrichment.
What Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation Funds
In youth development and healthy-lifestyle work, the foundation gave $100,000 in 2025 to Knothole Foundation to promote baseball in underserved communities, and it also supported Charlotte Knights Charities with $30,000 in 2025 for health, fitness, and education programs. Arts education is another recurring theme: Arts Plus received $270,000 in 2025 for arts education organization work, building on a similar $270,000 grant in 2024. The foundation also funds educational enrichment and school engagement. Right Moves for Youth Inc. received $40,000 in 2023 and $30,000 in 2024 and 2025 to improve attendance, behavior, and engagement in education. For museum-based learning, Discovery Place received $150,000 in 2023 for hands-on museum educational outreach.
How Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation Gives
Grant sizes cluster around the foundation’s stated typical range: p25 at $15,000, median at $20,000, and p75 at $30,000. Recent awards also include larger commitments, such as six-figure grants for core local partners, alongside smaller operational-support grants. The record shows repeated funding to the same organizations across multiple years, especially in Charlotte. That repeat pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than isolated one-off gifts. The foundation is a regular funder and funds individuals, while the recent grants themselves are made to nonprofits. Unsolicited applications are not accepted in the listed grant programs.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.1M
Total Assets
$22.1M
Total Revenue
$3.4M
Total Expenses
$1.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $15K and $30K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$15K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$30K
Geographic Reach
Local5 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Bill and Sharon Allen Family Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 89 | $3.2M | 97.8% |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
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