The Geismar Family Foundation concentrates its giving in the Charlottesville/Central Virginia area, supporting local institutions through sizable, targeted grants. Its philanthropic priorities emphasize community infrastructure (via the local community foundation and a regional futures fund), higher-education/health projects at UVA, and youth-focused programs including athletics and Boys & Girls Clubs. Grants are typically large gifts aimed at capital campaigns or general/operations support rather than many small awards.
A defining feature of Geismar Family Foundation’s giving is its repeated support for Charlottesville institutions through large, targeted awards. The foundation’s recent grants show a mix of community infrastructure, education, health, and youth development, with multiple gifts to the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Central VA, and the Virginia Athletic Foundation. It also backs university-linked health and campus work through the UVA Health Foundation, including the Ivy Mountain Project, and supports school-based programming at Saint Anne's Belfield School. The pattern is not broad, small-dollar grantmaking; instead, the foundation makes substantial commitments that often relate to operations, capital campaigns, or specific institutional projects. Recent awards include a $300,000 grant to Cacf for the ECFN Committee and a $150,000 grant to Saint Anne's Belfield School for educational support, showing both community-wide and institution-specific priorities. Its overall portfolio suggests a funder that favors established local organizations and long-horizon projects tied to Charlottesville-area civic life and student-serving programs.
Community infrastructure appears to be a core theme. Geismar Family Foundation gave $300,000 to Cacf for the ECFN Committee and later added a $50,000 five-year pledge to the same organization, indicating sustained support for local grantmaking infrastructure. In youth development, the foundation awarded $70,000 to Boys and Girls Club of Central VA for a capital campaign and followed with a $60,000 grant for the same purpose, pointing to facility-focused support. Education is another clear area: Saint Anne's Belfield School received $150,000 for educational support in 2025, while an earlier $50,000 gift supported general operations. The foundation also funds health-related work through UVA Health Foundation, including the Ivy Mountain Project and related school of medicine assessment and midlife health work.
Typical grant size is sizable: the 25th percentile is $24,000, the median is $70,000, and the 75th percentile is $91,980. The recent record includes both one-time awards and repeat support to the same organizations across multiple years, including Cacf, Virginia Athletic Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Central VA, Cav Futures Foundation, and United Way. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than isolated gifts. The foundation appears to operate as a family foundation, and its recent grants lean toward operating support, capital campaigns, and named projects rather than open-ended public solicitation. Grants are concentrated in relatively few recipients and are often large relative to the foundation’s annual giving total.
$489K
$2M
$337K
$493K
Most grants fall between $24K and $92K, with a median of $70K.
25th Percentile
$24K
Median
$70K
75th Percentile
$92K
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Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a small number of local organizations — mix of capital/campaign gifts and unrestricted operating support; regional focus rather than broad geographic diversification.
Notable grantees: Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF), CAV Futures Foundation, Virginia Athletic Foundation, UVA Health Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia
Grantmaking is heavily centered in Charlottesville, Virginia: 78% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s headquarters state. Charlottesville recipients include Cacf, Saint Anne's Belfield School, Virginia Athletic Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Central VA, Cav Futures Foundation, United Way, UVA Health, and Releaf Cville. The recipient map also includes Iowa through UVA Health Foundation in Boone, IA, which appears in the recent grants list alongside Charlottesville-based awards. Overall, the distribution is regional rather than national, with all recent grants going to U.S. recipients.
The foundation supports community foundations, schools, health-related organizations, youth development groups, and athletics-related nonprofits. Recent recipients include Cacf, Saint Anne's Belfield School, Boys and Girls Club of Central VA, Virginia Athletic Foundation, and UVA Health Foundation.
Its grants are relatively large. The 25th percentile is $24,000, the median is $70,000, and the 75th percentile is $91,980, which indicates a pattern of substantial awards rather than small-scale grants.
Yes. Recent records show repeat grants to Cacf in 2024 and 2025, Virginia Athletic Foundation in 2024 and 2025, Boys and Girls Club of Central VA in 2024 and 2025, Cav Futures Foundation in 2024 and 2025, and United Way in 2023 and 2025.
Its giving is concentrated in Virginia, with 78% of grants going to recipients in the headquarters state. Charlottesville organizations account for most of the recent activity, including multiple awards to local schools, nonprofits, and university-affiliated entities.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAINT ANNE'S BELFIELD SCHOOL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $150,000 | 2026 | EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT |
| VIRGINIA ATHLETIC FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $93,480 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATINGSUPPORT |
| UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION | BOONE, IA | $81,500 | 2026 | IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECTSCHOOL OF MEDICINE ASSESSMENTPINKERTON MIDLIFE HEALTH |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL VA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $60,000 | 2026 | CAPITAL CAMPAIGNJEREMIAH MILLBANK SOCIETY |
| CACF | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2026 | 5-YEAR PLEDGE |
| CHRIS LONG FOUNDATION | CLAYTON, MO | $32,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| CAV FUTURES FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| UVA HEALTH | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2026 | CHILDRENS HEALTH |
| UNITED WAY-TJA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| RELEAF CVILLE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $2,500 | 2026 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| SAINT ANNE'S BELFIELD SCHOOL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $150,000 | 2025 | EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT |
| VIRGINIA ATHLETIC FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $118,480 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATINGSUPPORT |
| CAV FUTURES FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $107,500 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION | BOONE, IA | $81,500 | 2025 | IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECTSCHOOL OF MEDICINE ASSESSMENTPINKERTON MIDLIFE HEALTH |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL VA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $60,000 | 2025 | CAPITAL CAMPAIGNJEREMIAH MILLBANK SOCIETY |
| CACF | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2025 | ECFN COMMITTEE |
| UNITED WAY-TJA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| CACF | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $300,000 | 2024 | ECFN COMMITTEE |
| CAV FUTURES FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| VIRGINIA ATHLETIC FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $91,980 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATINGSUPPORT AND BASEBALL |
| UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION | BOONE, IA | $81,500 | 2024 | IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECT |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL VA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $70,000 | 2024 | CAPITAL CAMPAIGN |
| CAV FUTURES FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| VIRGINIA ATHLETIC FOUNDATION | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATINGSUPPORT AND BASEBALL |
| BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF CENTRAL VA | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2023 | CAPITAL CAMPAIGN |
| ST ANNE'S BELFIELD SCHOOL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATIONS |
| UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION | BOONE, IA | $31,500 | 2023 | IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECT |
| CHRIS LONG FOUNDATION | CLAYTON, MO | $24,000 | 2023 | ED ZONE CHARLOTTESVILLE |
| CACF | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $11,700 | 2023 | ECFN COMMITTEE |
| UNITED WAY | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2023 | EARLY EDUCATIONPROGRAM |
| UNITED WAY | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2023 | EARLY EDUCATIONPROGRAM |
| CACF | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $1,000 | 2023 | ECFN COMMITTEE |
UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$81,500IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECTSCHOOL OF MEDICINE ASSESSMENTPINKERTON MIDLIFE HEALTH
CAPITAL CAMPAIGNJEREMIAH MILLBANK SOCIETY
5-YEAR PLEDGE
CHRIS LONG FOUNDATION
$32,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
UVA HEALTH
$5,000CHILDRENS HEALTH
UNITED WAY-TJA
$5,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
RELEAF CVILLE
$2,500GENERAL OPERATIONS
UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$81,500IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECTSCHOOL OF MEDICINE ASSESSMENTPINKERTON MIDLIFE HEALTH
CAPITAL CAMPAIGNJEREMIAH MILLBANK SOCIETY
UNITED WAY-TJA
$10,000GENERAL OPERATIONS
UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$81,500IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECT
UVA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$31,500IVY MOUNTAIN PROJECT
CHRIS LONG FOUNDATION
$24,000ED ZONE CHARLOTTESVILLE