About Ave Maria Foundation
The Ave Maria Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on Catholic education and institutional support tied to the Ave Maria network and broader Catholic leadership formation. Most grants fund higher- and secondary-education institutions and faith-based leadership groups, with repeated support for Ave Maria University and affiliated organizations. The foundation favors mission-aligned schools and membership/formation organizations that serve Catholic laity and clergy.
Focus Areas
Catholic higher education tied to the Ave Maria network (Ave Maria University)Catholic professional and leadership formation (Legatus — business leaders' formation)Catholic legal education (Ave Maria School of Law)Catholic secondary education in Michigan (Fr Gabriel Richard High School)
Who They Fund
unspecified
Giving Approach
Concentrated, relatively small portfolio of mid-sized grants focused on a few repeat grantees; priority given to mission-aligned Catholic educational institutions and faith-formation organizations rather than broad geographic diversification.
Funding Style
About Ave Maria Foundation
The Ave Maria Foundation gives direct support to a small set of named Catholic institutions, with Ave Maria University receiving the largest recent grants and repeated support across multiple years. That pattern points to a funder built around affiliated organizations rather than broad open-call grantmaking. In the recent grants list, the university received $88,190 in 2023 and another $42,477 the same year, while Ave Maria School of Law also appeared several times, including a $32,500 grant in 2023. The foundation’s network includes Catholic higher education, legal education, media, and leadership formation organizations such as Legatus and the Thomas More Law Center. Its giving also reaches Catholic secondary education in Michigan, including Fr Gabriel Richard High School and Spiritus Sanctus Academy. The grant record shows a mix of general support awards to institutions connected to Catholic life and culture, with recurring support for a defined set of partners rather than a large, diversified portfolio.
What Ave Maria Foundation Funds
Catholic higher education is a clear priority. The foundation gave $88,190 to Ave Maria University in 2023, and the university appears again with another $42,477 grant the same year and a $7,155 grant in 2024, all for general support. Legal formation is another recurring theme: Ave Maria School of Law received $32,500 in 2023, followed by additional grants of $2,700 and $1,738. Catholic leadership formation also appears through Legatus, which received $22,646, $22,558, and $19,010 across recent grants. The foundation also supports Catholic secondary education in Michigan, including a $20,000 general-support grant to Fr Gabriel Richard High School and a $5,000 grant to Spiritus Sanctus Academy.
How Ave Maria Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster at a modest to mid-range size, with a p25 of $2,000, median of $6,078, and p75 of $22,580. The recent record shows repeated support to the same organizations across 2023 and 2024, especially Ave Maria University, Ave Maria School of Law, and Legatus, which suggests an ongoing institutional funding pattern rather than one-off awards. The foundation is not a program-related investor and does not fund individuals. Its active grant programs describe direct support for a small, defined set of Catholic organizations, and they state that unsolicited financial requests are not accepted.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$46K
Total Assets
$3.4M
Total Revenue
$1.7M
Total Expenses
$1.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $2K and $23K, with a median of $6K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$6K
75th Percentile
$23K
Geographic Reach
Regional3 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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