The Richard Frank Foundation concentrates its giving on higher education and performing arts, delivering large unrestricted gifts to a small set of recipient institutions. Most dollars fund broad
Highly concentrated: a very small number of large grants (multiple grants to the same two organizations) focused on general/unrestricted support rather than many diverse or project-specific awards.
Richard Frank Foundation’s recent giving is anchored by a single, very large campus gift: $987,281 to the University of Illinois Foundation in 2023, followed by another $250,000 award in 2024. That pattern points to a funder that favors concentrated, high-dollar support rather than a long tail of small awards. The foundation also sustains regional arts institutions, including multiple grants to the Napa Valley Festival Association across 2023 and 2024. Beyond those core commitments, its recent recipient list includes a small number of community-serving organizations in California and elsewhere, such as Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga, OLE Health Foundation, St Helena Hospital Foundation, and the American Film Institute. The overall profile is one of institutional support: large unrestricted gifts, repeated support to select grantees, and a mix of higher education and performing arts alongside a few community and cultural organizations. Recent awards are overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with the grant list showing one country of recipient location.
Higher education is a central theme in the Richard Frank Foundation’s recent grants. The largest award on file was $987,281 to the University of Illinois Foundation for general support, and the foundation followed that with a $250,000 grant to the same intermediary in 2024. In the arts, it supported the Napa Valley Festival Association with $200,000 in 2024 and $148,100 in 2023, both listed as general support. The foundation also made smaller cultural grants, including $30,000 to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles for general support. Community-oriented funding appears in its support for Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga, which received $33,100 in 2024 and $2,500 in 2023, showing repeat funding across years.
The foundation’s typical grant size is relatively high, with a p25 of $7,575, a median of $20,000, and a p75 of $31,550. Recent giving also includes much larger outliers, which is consistent with a concentrated strategy rather than evenly sized awards. Several recipients appear more than once across 2023 and 2024, including the University of Illinois Foundation, Napa Valley Festival Association, OLE Health Foundation, St Helena Hospital Foundation, and Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga. The foundation is a regular funder and does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$2.2M
$2.1M
$2.1M
$2.3M
Most grants fall between $8K and $32K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$8K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$32K
About 4% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Notable grantees: University of Illinois Foundation, Napa Valley Festival Association, Other large higher-education and performing-arts institutions (represented indirectly through the foundation's concentrated, general-purpose grants)
Grant recipients are concentrated in the United States, with 100% of the recent grants landing there. Illinois appears most often in the recipient mix, while California accounts for many of the named recipient cities and regions, including Urbana, Walnut Creek, Napa, St Helena, Los Angeles, Pebble Beach, Salinas, and Saint Helena. New York appears in the recent list through a grant to Kering Foundation In The Americas Inc in New York, NY. Despite the foundation’s Albany headquarters, only 4% of grants go to recipients in New York.
Recent grants cluster around higher education and performing arts. The largest awards went to the University of Illinois Foundation for general support, and to the Napa Valley Festival Association for general support. The list also includes a smaller set of community and cultural organizations, such as the American Film Institute, Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga, and OLE Health Foundation.
Yes. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including the University of Illinois Foundation, Napa Valley Festival Association, OLE Health Foundation, St Helena Hospital Foundation, and Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga. That pattern suggests ongoing support for a small group of institutions rather than one-time-only giving.
The foundation’s grant-size distribution centers at a p25 of $7,575, a median of $20,000, and a p75 of $31,550. Recent awards also include much larger gifts, such as $987,281 to the University of Illinois Foundation and $200,000 to the Napa Valley Festival Association.
Recipients are overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with 23 grants in the United States. Illinois is the top state by grant count, and California shows up frequently through recipient cities such as Urbana, Napa, Walnut Creek, St Helena, Los Angeles, and Salinas.
It is a regular funder that gives to a small set of recipients with relatively large awards. The grant list shows repeated general-support gifts, and the foundation does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEE ATTACHED LIST | ALBANY, NY | $2,233,500 | 2026 | General |
| University of Illinois Foundation | Urbana, IL | $2,500,000 | 2025 | General |
| Napa Valley Festival Association | Walnut Creek, CA | $250,000 | 2025 | General |
| American Film Institute | Los Angeles, CA | $200,000 | 2025 | General |
| Womens Guild Cedars Sinai Medicial Center | Beverly Hills, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | General |
| Cameo Cinema Foundation | Helena, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | General |
| Temple Beth Hillel | RICHMOND, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | General |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga | St Helena, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | General |
| University of Illinois Foundation | Urbana, IL | $250,000 | 2024 | General |
| Napa Valley Festival Association | Walnut Creek, CA | $200,000 | 2024 | General |
| Napa Valley Festival Association | Walnut Creek, CA | $110,384 | 2024 | General |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga | St Helena, CA | $33,100 | 2024 | General |
| American Film Institute | Los Angeles, CA | $30,000 | 2024 | General |
| American Film Institute | Los Angeles, CA | $30,000 | 2024 | General |
| OLE Health Foundation | Napa, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | General |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | General |
| Three Square | Las Vegas, NV | $10,000 | 2024 | General |
| Kering Foundation In The Americas Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2024 | General |
| Collective Napa Valley | Saint Helena, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | General |
| Monterey County Sheriffs Advisory Council | Salinas, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | General |
| University of Illinois Foundation | Urbana, IL | $987,281 | 2023 | general |
| Napa Valley Festival Association | Napa, CA | $148,100 | 2023 | general |
| OLE Health Foundation | Napa, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | general |
| SNIP (Mobile Spay and Neuter) | Pebble Beach, CA | $20,000 | 2023 | general |
| St Helena Hospital Foundation | St Helena, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | general |
| Temple Beth Hillel | Valley Village, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | general |
| Napa Communities Firewise Foundation | St Helena, CA | $5,150 | 2023 | general |
| Cope Family Center | Napa, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | general |
| Boys and Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga | St Helena, CA | $2,500 | 2023 | general |
| Napa Youth Soccer League Inc | Napa, CA | $1,030 | 2023 | general |
| Children's Hospital Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $1,000 | 2023 | general |
SEE ATTACHED LIST
$2,233,500General
University of Illinois Foundation
$2,500,000General
Cameo Cinema Foundation
General
Temple Beth Hillel
$10,000General
Collective Napa Valley
$10,000General
Monterey County Sheriffs Advisory Council
$5,000General
University of Illinois Foundation
$987,281general
SNIP (Mobile Spay and Neuter)
$20,000general
Temple Beth Hillel
$10,000general
Napa Youth Soccer League Inc
$1,030general