The Michael F Tweedle and Christine A Poon Foundation concentrates its giving on cultural institutions—particularly classical music ensembles—and historic preservation, while occasionally funding ideological and religious organizations. Grants are commonly unrestricted and sizable, suggesting trust-based support for established institutions rather than project-specific funding. The foundation makes a small number of grants each year and shows repeat support for a handful of familiar organizations.
Concentrated portfolio with a few relatively large, unrestricted grants; repeat funding to select cultural institutions and heritage organizations rather than many small or new grantees.
A $50,500 unrestricted grant to the Gettysburg Foundation is the clearest signal in the Michael F Tweedle and Christine a Poon Foundation’s recent giving: it backs established institutions with flexible support rather than tightly scoped project funding. The foundation’s recent grants also show repeated support for major classical music organizations, including the Philharmonic-symphony Society of New York Inc and The Philharmonic Symphony Society of NY Inc, both funded on an unrestricted basis. Alongside cultural institutions, the foundation has supported preservation-oriented organizations such as the Gettysburg Foundation and Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands, indicating interest in historic places and heritage work. The grant list also includes ideological and religious recipients, such as Ayn Rand Institute, Cato Institute, and Heritage Baptist Church. These awards are not isolated one-offs: several organizations appear more than once across recent years, which suggests an ongoing relationship with familiar grantees. The foundation’s pattern is compact but varied, with a small set of recurring recipients receiving most of the attention and nearly all awards marked unrestricted.
Classical music is one of the foundation’s most visible areas of support. In 2025, it gave $25,000 to Philharmonic-symphony Society of New York Inc for unrestricted support, and it had already given $20,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2024 to the same organization under closely related naming. That pattern points to sustained backing for a large orchestral institution. Historic and heritage preservation is another clear theme. The foundation awarded $25,000 to Gettysburg Foundation in 2025 after a $50,500 grant in 2024, both unrestricted. It also gave $500 to Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands in 2025 and $500 to Frank Lloyd Wright Trust in 2024 and again in 2025. Its portfolio also includes policy and ideas organizations, with $21,000 to Ayn Rand Institute in 2025 and $10,000 to Cato Institute in 2025. Outside those categories, it made a $20,000 unrestricted grant to Heritage Baptist Church in Canal Winchester, Ohio.
Typical grant size is modest relative to the largest awards: the p25 is $875, the median is $2,000, and the p75 is $12,500. The distribution is wide, with a few large unrestricted grants and many smaller awards. Repeat giving is common in this sample: Gettysburg Foundation, the Philharmonic-symphony Society of New York Inc, Ayn Rand Institute, Pelotonia, Knox College, The Wilds, Bexley Community Foundation, Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, and Frank Lloyd Wright Trust all appear more than once across 2023-2025. The foundation is a private foundation with national giving and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$118K
$6.1M
$1.2M
$163K
Most grants fall between $875 and $13K, with a median of $2K.
25th Percentile
$875
Median
$2K
75th Percentile
$13K
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Notable grantees: Gettysburg Foundation, Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York (The Philharmonic/Symphony Society of NY), Ayn Rand Institute, Heritage Baptist Church
Grant recipients are all in the United States, with Ohio accounting for 36% of grants and standing as the top recipient state by count. Recent awards reached organizations in Columbus, Bexley, Canal Winchester, and Cumberland, showing a strong in-state cluster alongside national support. Outside Ohio, the foundation gave to recipients in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Texas. The recipient geography is spread across major cities such as New York, Gettysburg, Santa Ana, and Chicago, but Ohio remains the most frequent destination.
Recent grants go to cultural institutions, historic preservation groups, policy organizations, and a local church. Examples in the data include major classical music organizations, Gettysburg Foundation, Ayn Rand Institute, Cato Institute, and Heritage Baptist Church. The awards are consistently unrestricted, which suggests flexible support for established organizations.
Yes. Several organizations appear in multiple years, including Gettysburg Foundation, Philharmonic-symphony Society of New York Inc, Ayn Rand Institute, Pelotonia, Knox College, The Wilds, Bexley Community Foundation, Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, and Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. That pattern points to ongoing relationships rather than only one-time awards.
The grant size distribution shows a p25 of $875, a median of $2,000, and a p75 of $12,500. That means many grants are relatively small, but the foundation also makes larger unrestricted awards, including several at $20,000 or more.
Ohio is the top state by grant count, with 36% of grants going to recipients in the state. The recipient list also includes organizations in New York, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Texas.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHILHARMONIC-SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION | GETTYSBURG, PA | $25,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| AYN RAND INSTITUTE | SANTA ANA, CA | $21,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH | CANAL WINCHESTER, OH | $20,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| PELOTONIA | COLUMBUS, OH | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| CATO INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| KNOX COLLEGE | GALESBURG, IL | $5,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| THE WILDS | CUMBERLAND, OH | $1,000 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST | CHICAGO, IL | $500 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| FRIENDS OF PRINCETON NURSERY LANDS | KINGSTON, NJ | $500 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| NATIONWIDE CHILDRENS FOUNDATION | COLUMBUS, OH | $100 | 2025 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| GETTYSBURG FOUNDATION | GETTYSBURG, PA | $50,500 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| THE PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NY INC | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| JOLIET TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL BAND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | JOLIET, IL | $2,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| BEXLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | BEXLEY, OH | $1,500 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| KNOX COLLEGE | GALESBURG, IL | $1,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARY FOUNDATION | COLUMBUS, OH | $1,000 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TRUST | CHICAGO, IL | $500 | 2024 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| PHILHARMONIC-SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| AYN RAND INSTITUTE | SANTA ANA, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| PELOTONIA | COLUMBUS, OH | $6,120 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| KNOX COLLEGE | GALESBURG, IL | $6,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| BEXLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | BEXLEY, OH | $2,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| CATO INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON, DC | $2,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| THE WILDS | CUMBERLAND, OH | $1,000 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARY FOUNDATION | COLUMBUS, OH | $250 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| CROSBY BAND PARENTS | CROSBY, TX | $100 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
| LEUKEMIA LYMPHOMA SOCIETY | WASHINGTON, DC | $100 | 2023 | UNRESTRICTED GRANT |
HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH
$20,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
UNRESTRICTED GRANT
KNOX COLLEGE
$5,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
FRIENDS OF PRINCETON NURSERY LANDS
$500UNRESTRICTED GRANT
NATIONWIDE CHILDRENS FOUNDATION
$100UNRESTRICTED GRANT
JOLIET TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL BAND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
$2,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
KNOX COLLEGE
$1,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
KNOX COLLEGE
$6,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
BEXLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
$2,000UNRESTRICTED GRANT
CROSBY BAND PARENTS
$100UNRESTRICTED GRANT
LEUKEMIA LYMPHOMA SOCIETY
$100UNRESTRICTED GRANT