The Sarah Ketterer Family Foundation concentrates its giving on elite higher-education institutions and organizations that promote free expression, individual liberty, and innovation in learning. Grants are large and targeted—often repeat gifts—to a small set of national partners that advance research, executive/business education, and public‑policy or free‑speech initiatives. The foundation favors transformational investments (multi‑hundred‑thousand to multi‑million dollar levels) over many small grants.
Highly concentrated, relatively small portfolio of large grants; frequent repeat funding to a few flagship institutions and programs rather than broad, distributed grantmaking.
The Sarah Ketterer Family Foundation’s most visible pattern is its sustained support for Stanford University, including a $2,000,000 general operating grant in 2025 and a $900,000 grant in 2024. That recurring relationship sits alongside other large commitments to higher education and public-policy organizations, showing a funder that prefers concentrated, high-dollar support rather than a broad spread of small awards. Across the recent grants list, the foundation backs university programs, research centers, and organizations tied to free expression and individual liberty. Stanford appears in several forms, including the university itself, the Transforming Learning Accelerator, and the Hoover Institute. The foundation also funded the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in both 2024 and 2025, reinforcing a clear interest in civil-liberties advocacy. Other recipients point to a narrower but consistent set of priorities: executive and business education through the Tuck School, market-oriented policy work through groups such as Americans for Prosperity and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and learning-focused initiatives such as Girls Who Invest and Food Forward. The grant records show general operating support as the dominant structure, with awards often sized for institutional support rather than project-only pilots.
In higher education, the foundation gave $2,000,000 to Stanford University in 2025 for general operating support, and it also funded Stanford University’s Hoover Institute with $200,000 in 2023. A separate $275,000 grant went to the Trustees of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School, again for general operating support, showing a steady interest in university-based research and executive education. For free-expression and civil-liberties work, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression received $500,000 in 2024 and another $500,000 in 2025. That repeated support places constitutional advocacy among the foundation’s more durable commitments. The foundation also supported education innovation through a $750,000 grant to Stanford University’s Transforming Learning Accelerator in 2023. Beyond that, it backed market-oriented policy and network organizations, including $750,000 to Stand Together Trust in 2023 and $250,000 to Americans for Prosperity in 2024.
$3.2M
$55.2M
$4.2M
$3.4M
Most grants fall between $25K and $250K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$250K
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeFree Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeSign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Notable grantees: Stanford University (including Transforming Learning Accelerator), Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Stand Together Trust, Trustees of Dartmouth College - Tuck School
Recent grant sizes cluster around larger institutional awards, with a p25 of $25,000, a median of $50,000, and a p75 of $250,000. The foundation also makes several much larger grants, including seven-figure support for Stanford University. The pattern is repeat funding rather than one-off gifts: Stanford, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Stand Together Trust, Americans for Prosperity, Girls Who Invest, St Mark’s School of Texas, Cape Eleuthera Foundation, Dartmouth’s Tuck School, and others appear more than once across the recent list. Grants are recorded as general operating support throughout the recent sample, suggesting flexible institutional funding.
Giving is national, and every recent grant in the sample went to a U.S. recipient. California is a major destination, with 32% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state, but Virginia is the top state by grant count. Recent awards also landed in Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Recipient cities that appear repeatedly include Stanford, Arlington, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington.
The recent grants show a strong tilt toward universities, research centers, and policy or civil-liberties organizations. Stanford University, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Stand Together Trust, Americans for Prosperity, and Dartmouth’s Tuck School all appear in the list, mostly as general operating support.
Yes. Several recipients appear across multiple years, including Stanford University, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Stand Together Trust, Americans for Prosperity, Girls Who Invest, St Mark’s School of Texas, Cape Eleuthera Foundation, and Dartmouth’s Tuck School.
The grant-size distribution is $25,000 at the 25th percentile, $50,000 at the median, and $250,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent list also includes much larger awards, including a $2,000,000 grant to Stanford University.
Virginia is the top state by grant count. The recent grants also show a large share going to recipients in California, which accounts for 32% of grants given to recipients in the HQ state.
The recent grants point to higher education and research, free expression and civil liberties, education innovation, and market-oriented policy networks. Examples include Stanford University’s Transforming Learning Accelerator, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $2,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $500,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY | ARLINGTON, VA | $200,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $75,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON, DC | $75,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS | DALLAS, TX | $55,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION | AUSTIN, TX | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF AMERICA | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FOOD FORWARD | NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| CAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $35,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL | HANOVER, NH | $30,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| THE CRYSTAL CHARITY BALL | DALLAS, TX | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FRIENDS OF THE KATY TRAIL INC | DALLAS, TX | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL | PASADENA, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TOP HONORS INCORPORATED | NEW YORK CITY, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY- DE | STANFORD, CA | $900,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $500,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | STANFORD, CA | $500,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STAND TOGETHER TRUST | ARLINGTON, VA | $250,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY | ARLINGTON, VA | $250,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| GIRLS WHO INVEST | NEW YORK, NY | $75,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER | DALLAS, TX | $75,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS | DALLAS, TX | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF AMERICA | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| MIT SLOAN | CAMBRIDGE, MA | $40,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| CAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $30,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL | HANOVER, NH | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD MAR MONTE | SAN JOSE, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FOOD FORWARD | NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TRUSTEES OF LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL | LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TAHOE RIM TRAIL ASSOCIATION | STATELINE, NV | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS | OAKLAND, CA | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY- TRANSFORMING LEARNING ACCELERATOR | STANFORD, CA | $750,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STAND TOGETHER TRUST | ARLINGTON, VA | $750,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL | HANOVER, NH | $275,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY | ARLINGTON, VA | $250,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY- HOOVER INSTITUTE | STANFORD, CA | $200,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| GIRLS WHO INVEST | NEW YORK, NY | $50,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS | DALLAS, TX | $45,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| CAPE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $30,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| FOOD FORWARD | NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| CRYSTAL CHARITIES | DALLAS, TX | $15,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
| POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL | PASADENA, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT |
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$2,000,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
$200,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF AMERICA
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL
$30,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY- DE
$900,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
$500,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
$75,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF AMERICA
$50,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
MIT SLOAN
$40,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL
$25,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
TAHOE RIM TRAIL ASSOCIATION
$5,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
$5,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY- TRANSFORMING LEARNING ACCELERATOR
$750,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE- TUCK SCHOOL
$275,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY- HOOVER INSTITUTE
$200,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
ST MARK'S SCHOOL OF TEXAS
$45,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
CRYSTAL CHARITIES
$15,000GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT