Steps Ahead Charitable Family Foundation concentrates its giving in public policy/advocacy and faith-based communications and legal work. The foundation makes a small number of large grants to national conservative-leaning organizations, with repeated multi-grant relationships rather than broad, small-dollar distributions. Its support appears focused on advancing conservative public policy research, religious-liberty litigation, and pro-life Christian media.
Highly concentrated: a handful of large grants to a few repeat national grantees, focused on advocacy and faith-based initiatives rather than broad community philanthropy.
Steps Ahead Charitable Family Foundation c/o John C Bartley gave $1.15 million to American Policy Roundtable in 2025, making policy advocacy a defining part of its grantmaking. The foundation’s recent records show a pattern of large general-support awards to conservative public policy and legal organizations, alongside support for Christian media and faith-based nonprofits. Repeated grants to First Liberty and Choose Life Radio Network suggest multi-year relationships rather than one-time gifts. The foundation’s largest awards are substantial enough to anchor recipient budgets, with six-figure grants appearing across several years. General support is the dominant purpose in the recent-grants list, indicating flexible funding rather than project-specific awards. American Policy Roundtable received support in 2023, 2024, and 2025, while First Liberty and Choose Life Radio Network also appear more than once, reinforcing a pattern of ongoing institutional backing. Its portfolio also includes smaller grants to Ohio-based organizations such as TOPUCU Foundation, Christian Children’s Home of Ohio, and Compass North Church, showing that the family foundation’s giving reaches beyond its largest national recipients while remaining closely tied to Ohio nonprofits.
In conservative public policy and advocacy, the foundation gave $1.15 million in 2025 to American Policy Roundtable for general support, following a $500,000 grant in 2024 and a $30,000 grant in 2023. That multi-year sequence points to sustained backing for policy research and advocacy work. Religious-liberty litigation is another clear area of support. First Liberty received $450,000 in 2025, $250,000 in 2024, and $100,000 in 2023, all for general support. The repeated awards show a continuing relationship with a legal-defense organization. The foundation also supports pro-life Christian media. Choose Life Radio Network received $175,000 in 2024, $105,000 in 2023, and $75,000 in 2025. Beyond that, the grants list includes Ohio faith-based and community organizations such as Christian Children’s Home of Ohio and Compass North Church.
Typical awards are sizable: the 25th percentile is $13,039, the median grant is $25,000, and the 75th percentile is $122,500. The recent-grants list is weighted toward a few very large general-support awards, with multiple six-figure gifts alongside a smaller set of mid- and low-five-figure grants. The pattern also shows repeat relationships. American Policy Roundtable, First Liberty, Choose Life Radio Network, and TOPUCU Foundation each appear more than once across 2023–2025, suggesting recurring support rather than isolated one-time grants. The foundation is a family foundation, and the grants are made as general support rather than through an application-driven program in the data provided.
$2.9M
$8.4M
$7.3M
$2.9M
Most grants fall between $13K and $123K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$13K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$123K
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Notable grantees: American Policy Roundtable, First Liberty, Choose Life Radio Network
Grantmaking is regional, but the money is concentrated in Ohio. Seventeen of 17 recent grants went to U.S. recipients, and 67% of grants were awarded in the foundation’s home state of Ohio. Strongsville, Canton, Akron, Avon Lake, Grafton, Wooster, and other Ohio cities appear repeatedly in the recipient list. Outside Ohio, the foundation also funded organizations in Plano, Texas; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; and Columbia, South Carolina. The recipient map therefore looks centered on Ohio with a smaller set of out-of-state awards to national or multi-state organizations.
Recent grants point to conservative public policy and advocacy, religious-liberty legal defense, and pro-life Christian media. The list also includes Ohio faith-based and community organizations, with all 17 recent grants going to U.S. recipients.
Yes. American Policy Roundtable appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; First Liberty appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Choose Life Radio Network appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025. TOPUCU Foundation also received multiple grants.
The distribution is uneven: the 25th percentile is $13,039, the median is $25,000, and the 75th percentile is $122,500. That means many grants are in the five-figure range, with several much larger awards.
Ohio is the top giving state, accounting for 67% of grants. Recent Ohio recipients include organizations in Strongsville, Canton, Akron, Avon Lake, Grafton, and Wooster.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Policy Roundtable | Strongsville, OH | $1,650,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| First Liberty | Plano, TX | $500,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Maxwell Leadership Foundation | Duluth, GA | $250,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Choose Life Radio Network | Canton, OH | $107,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Highlands College | Birmingham, AL | $100,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Compass North Church | Akron, OH | $100,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| TOPUCU Foundation | Avon Lake, OH | $50,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| United in Purpose | Colorado Springs, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Harvest Christian Fellowship | Riverside, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| General Council - Assemblies of God | Springfield, MO | $12,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| Charity Water | Franklin, TN | $10,000 | 2026 | General Support |
| American Policy Roundtable | Strongsville, OH | $1,150,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| First Liberty | Plano, TX | $450,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Choose Life Radio Network | Canton, OH | $75,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| TOPUCU Foundation | Avon Lake, OH | $50,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| Halo Foundation | Akron, OH | $10,000 | 2025 | General Support |
| American Policy Roundtable | Strongsville, OH | $500,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| First Liberty | Plano, TX | $250,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| Choose Life Radio Network | Canton, OH | $175,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| Christian Children's Home of Ohio | Wooster, OH | $20,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| TOPUCU Foundation | Grafton, OH | $20,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| Halo Foundation | Chestnut Hill, MA | $15,000 | 2024 | General Support |
| Choose Life Radio Network | Canton, OH | $105,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| First Liberty | Plano, TX | $100,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| American Policy Roundtable | Strongsville, OH | $30,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Right Direction | Columbia, SC | $7,157 | 2023 | General Support |
| Compass North Church | Akron, OH | $5,400 | 2023 | General Support |
| TOPUCU Foundation | Grafton, OH | $5,000 | 2023 | General Support |
Choose Life Radio Network
$107,000General Support
Highlands College
$100,000General Support
Compass North Church
General Support
TOPUCU Foundation
$50,000General Support
United in Purpose
$50,000General Support
Harvest Christian Fellowship
$50,000General Support
General Council - Assemblies of God
$12,000General Support
Choose Life Radio Network
$75,000General Support
TOPUCU Foundation
$50,000General Support
Halo Foundation
$10,000General Support
Choose Life Radio Network
$175,000General Support
TOPUCU Foundation
$20,000General Support
Halo Foundation
$15,000General Support
Choose Life Radio Network
$105,000General Support
Right Direction
$7,157General Support
Compass North Church
$5,400General Support
TOPUCU Foundation
$5,000General Support