Conference USA primarily funds member public universities and their general operating or annual distribution funds, channeling large institutional grants to support higher education within the Conference USA footprint. Giving is regionally focused on Southern and Sun Belt states and emphasizes recurring support to conference member campuses rather than project-specific philanthropy. The foundation’s grants read like institutional allocations to university athletics/academic endowments and central campus funds. It is distinctive for concentrating most dollars in a small set of university recipients with multi-year or repeated payments.
Highly concentrated: the top five university recipients receive the bulk of the dollars. Grants are typically repeat/annual distributions to institutional recipients rather than many small, diverse grantees; amounts are large and directed at campus-level funds or endowments.
Conference USA’s recent giving is defined by repeated annual distributions to member universities, with the largest payments going to Middle Tennessee State University and Western Kentucky University. The pattern is institutional rather than project-based: grants are labeled ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION and flow to public and private universities across the conference footprint. That makes the funder easy to distinguish from foundations that back discrete programs or short-term initiatives. The size of the grants underscores that this is a major institutional payer. In 2023, Conference USA sent seven-figure awards to Middle Tennessee State University, Western Kentucky University, Florida International University, University of Texas at El Paso, and Louisiana Tech University, while also supporting a broader set of member schools with smaller annual allocations. The recipient list includes campuses in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and more. Because the same institutions appear more than once in the recent-grants record, the funding reads as a recurring distribution relationship rather than isolated grantmaking. Conference USA functions as a Pure DAF Provider and a Public Charity, with grants concentrated on member universities and their general operating or annual distribution funds.
Conference USA’s grantmaking is centered on annual institutional support for member universities. Middle Tennessee State University received $10,162,004 and $8,317,221 in 2023, both listed as ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION, showing how the funder channels repeated payments to the same campus. Higher-education support also reaches Western Kentucky University, which received $6,105,223 and $4,953,227, and Florida International University, which received $5,318,273 and $4,249,077. Those grants point to sustained support for member institutions rather than one-time project funding. The same pattern appears at University of Texas at El Paso and Louisiana Tech University, each with multiple annual distributions in the recent-grants record. Conference USA also supports other member campuses, including University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of North Texas, Florida Atlantic University, and University of North Carolina Charlotte.
Conference USA’s recent grants cluster around a wide spread of large institutional awards, with a typical grant size of $637,179 at the 25th percentile, a median of $915,095, and $4,953,227 at the 75th percentile. The record shows repeated payments to the same universities in the same year, which indicates recurring annual distributions rather than one-off awards. Grants are tied to the organization’s conference-member structure and are labeled ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION, suggesting regular institutional payouts rather than an open application process.
$68.9M
$21.1M
$50.1M
$53.9M
Most grants fall between $637K and $5M, with a median of $915K.
25th Percentile
$637K
Median
$915K
75th Percentile
$5M
About 32% of grants go to recipients in KY.
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Notable grantees: Middle Tennessee State University, Western Kentucky University, University of Texas at El Paso, Florida International University, Louisiana Tech University
Grant recipients are entirely U.S.-based, with 25 grants and 100% going to recipients in the United States. The strongest state concentration is Kentucky by grant count, while Texas also appears prominently through campuses in El Paso, Denton, Houston, and San Antonio. Florida recipients include Miami and Boca Raton, and other visible recipient cities include Murfreesboro, Bowling Green, Ruston, Huntington, Birmingham, Norfolk, Charlotte, and Hattiesburg.
Conference USA funds member universities and their general operating or annual distribution funds. The recent grants list is made up of institutional payments to campuses such as Middle Tennessee State University, Western Kentucky University, Florida International University, and University of Texas at El Paso.
The typical recent grant is large: the 25th percentile is $637,179, the median is $915,095, and the 75th percentile is $4,953,227. Several awards in the recent record are in the multi-million-dollar range.
Yes. The same universities appear multiple times in the recent-grants record, including Middle Tennessee State University, Western Kentucky University, Florida International University, Louisiana Tech University, and University of Texas at El Paso. The grants are labeled ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION, which points to repeated institutional funding.
The grant record is entirely domestic: 25 grants, all to U.S. recipients. By count, Kentucky is the top state, and Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and West Virginia also appear in the recipient list.
2023
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2023.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY | MURFREESBORO, TN | $10,162,004 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY | MURFREESBORO, TN | $8,317,221 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY | BOWLING GREEN, KY | $6,105,223 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY | MIAMI, FL | $5,318,273 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO | EL PASO, TX | $5,269,026 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY | RUSTON, LA | $5,171,911 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY | BOWLING GREEN, KY | $4,953,227 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO | EL PASO, TX | $4,559,922 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY | MIAMI, FL | $4,249,077 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY | RUSTON, LA | $4,042,185 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| MARSHALL UNIVERSITY | HUNTINGTON, WV | $1,311,454 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM | BIRMINGHAM, AL | $1,220,586 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM | BIRMINGHAM, AL | $915,095 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS | DENTON, TX | $896,399 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY | NORFOLK, VA | $830,243 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| RICE UNIVERSITY | HOUSTON, TX | $788,989 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $767,939 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO | SAN ANTONIO, TX | $740,311 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS | DENTON, TX | $637,179 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY | BOCA RATON, FL | $526,614 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY | BOCA RATON, FL | $482,476 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $470,032 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI | HATTIESBURG, MS | $422,482 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $418,930 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
| RICE UNIVERSITY | HOUSTON, TX | $332,878 | 2023 | ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION |
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
$10,162,004ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
$8,317,221ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
$6,105,223ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
$5,318,273ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
$5,269,026ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY
$5,171,911ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
$4,953,227ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
$4,559,922ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
$4,249,077ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY
$4,042,185ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
MARSHALL UNIVERSITY
$1,311,454ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
$1,220,586ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
$915,095ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
$896,399ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
$830,243ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
RICE UNIVERSITY
$788,989ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO
$767,939ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO
$740,311ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
$637,179ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
$526,614ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
$482,476ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE
$470,032ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
$422,482ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE
$418,930ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION
RICE UNIVERSITY
$332,878ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION