About Barry Foundation
The Barry Foundation concentrates on sizeable, place-based investments in education and faith-based youth organizations in North Dakota, frequently funding capital projects and scholarship endowments that expand local institutional capacity. Its grants favor a small number of substantial awards—often repeat gifts—to organizations that combine educational programming with religious or community-building missions. The foundation also uses program-related investments to support vocational training initiatives tied to workforce development.
Focus Areas
Historic and regional cultural institutions (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library capital projects)Catholic K–12 education and scholarship endowment support (JPII Catholic Schools, Deacon Builders)Faith-based youth ministry capital expansion (Young Life Castaway Club facility development)Workforce-oriented vocational training via program-related investments (dental assistant training through Venn Foundation)
Who They Fund
students (scholarship recipients; public service academy students)youth and young adults (paid interns)
About Barry Foundation
The Barry Foundation’s largest recent commitments point to a clear pattern: major capital support for place-based institutions in North Dakota and nearby regional organizations. In 2024 and 2025, it awarded $335,000 each year to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation in Medora for the TRPLF Auditorium, showing sustained support for a flagship cultural project. It also backed the Young Life Castaway Club with $150,000 in both 2024 and 2025 for Phase 2 building work, and it continued a matching effort for JPII Catholic Schools with $110,000 in 2024 and $140,000 in 2025 for the Deacon Builders Scholarship Endowment. Alongside these larger awards, the foundation funds scholarship programs, youth-serving institutions, health and human services, arts programming, and selected workforce-oriented training. Its recent grants include repeat support for institutions across education, spirituality, health, environment, and community programming, with multiple recipients appearing in consecutive years. The pattern suggests a funder that uses a mix of capital grants, match support, and targeted program funding to strengthen local organizations rather than distribute many small unrestricted gifts.
What Barry Foundation Funds
In education, the foundation supports both scholarship pipelines and institutional growth. It gave $140,000 in 2025 to JPII Catholic Schools for the Deacon Builders Scholarship Endowment, and it also funded the Barry Scholarship Program at Minnesota State University - Moorhead, North Dakota State College of Science, North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota, and Concordia College. Faith-based youth work is another visible theme. Young Life Castaway Club received $150,000 in 2025 for Phase 2 building, continuing a prior-year gift for the same project. The foundation also supports health and family services. It awarded $25,000 to Gillette Children's Hospital Foundation for PICU family equipment and financial assistance, and $10,000 to Churches United for the Homeless for Homeless Stabilization. Arts and community programming appear as well: Folkways fiscal host FM Area Foundation received $10,000 for downtown community programming support.
How Barry Foundation Gives
The Barry Foundation’s recent gifts cluster around a few sizes: p25 is $700, median is $1,000, and p75 is $5,000. That distribution sits alongside a handful of much larger awards that drive the narrative profile. The grant list also shows repeat giving to the same organizations across multiple years, including annual support for several capital or match efforts. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund sponsor, and it funds individuals as well as organizations. Its recent pattern includes scholarship support, capital campaigns, challenge or matching grants, and program-related investment activity. The presence of multiyear gifts to the same recipients suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time transactions.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.8M
Total Assets
$54.9M
Total Revenue
$5.7M
Total Expenses
$3.2M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $700 and $5K, with a median of $1K.
25th Percentile
$700
Median
$1K
75th Percentile
$5K
Geographic Reach
Regional18 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Barry Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Barry Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 912 | $4.7M | 99.7% |
| 2 | Canada | 3 |
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