The Charles L Suhr Charitable Trust is a small, locally focused funder that directs most of its dollars to organizations serving the Oil Region/Venango County area of western Pennsylvania. Its largest payments are to a local Lutheran congregation and a few community institutions — civic center, regional tourism/economic alliance, and a residential social service provider — indicating a mix of faith-based support, community infrastructure, and local economic/quality-of-life projects. Grants are few but sizable relative to the portfolio, and the Trust appears to favor repeat and multi-payment relationships with neighborhood institutions.
The Charles L Suhr Charitable Trust shows a steady pattern of giving to a small set of Oil City, Pennsylvania institutions, with Good Hope Lutheran Church appearing in multiple years and at the top of the recent grant list. The trust’s recent payments point to a local portfolio centered on faith-based support, civic facilities, regional development work, and residential social services in Venango County. Grants in the file are clustered around a narrow group of neighborhood organizations rather than a broad regional mix, which suggests close, recurring relationships with recipients. Among the most visible grants, the trust gave $19,378 to Good Hope Lutheran Church in 2023 and repeated that same amount to the Oil Region Alliance of Business Industry & Tourism in the same year. In 2024, it continued support for Good Hope Lutheran Church and added Oil City Civic Center Inc at the same grant level. By 2025, giving remained concentrated in the same local network, including Emmaus Haven of Venango Inc for general support. The overall pattern is one of modest but repeated support for organizations serving Oil City and the surrounding area.
Faith-based support is a consistent thread in the trust’s recent grantmaking. Good Hope Lutheran Church received $19,378 in 2023, $16,921 in 2024, and $16,379 in 2025, all marked general support. Community infrastructure is another clear area. Oil City Civic Center Inc received $16,921 in 2024 for general support, indicating backing for a local civic venue or service hub. The trust also supports regional development activity. In 2023, it awarded $19,378 to the Oil Region Alliance of Business Industry & Tourism for ORA projects, tying the funder to local economic and tourism-related work. Residential social services appear in the 2025 record through Emmaus Haven of Venango Inc, which received $16,379 for general support.
The trust’s recent gifts cluster tightly around a narrow band: the middle 50% of grants runs from $16,514 at the 25th percentile to $18,764 at the 75th percentile, with a median of $16,921. That points to a fairly consistent grant size rather than highly varied checkwriting. The portfolio also shows repetition across years, with the same local organizations appearing more than once in the recent grants list. The trust is a charitable trust, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments. Grants appear to be made directly rather than through an open application process, since no application method is shown in the data.
$39K
$839K
$51K
$55K
Most grants fall between $17K and $19K, with a median of $17K.
25th Percentile
$17K
Median
$17K
75th Percentile
$19K
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Concentrated, place-based giving: a small number of moderately large grants focused on a tight geographic area, including repeat payments to existing grantees rather than many one-off awards.
Notable grantees: Good Hope Lutheran Church, Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism, Oil City Civic Center, Inc., Emmaus Haven of Venango, Inc.
All recent grants in the file went to recipients in Pennsylvania, and 100% of grants were made to organizations in the foundation’s HQ state. The distribution is especially concentrated in Oil City, where multiple grantees are located. That includes Oil City Civic Center Inc, Oil Region Alliance of Business Industry & Tourism, and several grants to Good Hope Lutheran Church. Emmaus Haven of Venango Inc is also listed in Oil City, reinforcing the local Venango County focus.
Its recent grants go to a faith-based organization, a civic center, a regional business-and-tourism alliance, and a residential social service provider. That mix points to support for religious programming, local civic infrastructure, economic development work, and community services in Oil City and Venango County.
The typical grant size is tightly clustered. The 25th percentile is $16,514, the median is $16,921, and the 75th percentile is $18,764.
Yes. In the recent grants data, 100% of grants went to recipients in Pennsylvania, and the top state by grant count is PA.
Yes. Good Hope Lutheran Church appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and the Oil Region Alliance of Business Industry & Tourism appears in 2023. That pattern suggests recurring support for a small group of local organizations.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VENANGO TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC | SENECA, PA | $19,721 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GOOD HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH | OIL CITY, PA | $19,721 | 2026 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH | OIL CITY, PA | $16,379 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| Emmaus Haven of Venango Inc | Oil City, PA | $16,379 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH | OIL CITY, PA | $16,921 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| OIL CITY CIVIC CENTER INC | OIL CITY, PA | $16,921 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH | OIL CITY, PA | $19,378 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| OIL REGION ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS INDUSTRY & TOURISM | OIL CITY, PA | $19,378 | 2023 | ORA PROJECTS |
VENANGO TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT CENTER INC
$19,721GENERAL SUPPORT
GOOD HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH
$19,721GENERAL SUPPORT
GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH
$16,379GENERAL SUPPORT
Emmaus Haven of Venango Inc
$16,379GENERAL SUPPORT
GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH
$16,921GENERAL SUPPORT
OIL CITY CIVIC CENTER INC
$16,921GENERAL SUPPORT
GOOD HOPE LUTHERN CHURCH
$19,378GENERAL SUPPORT