The Castleman Family Foundation concentrates on supporting libertarian-leaning public interest law firms that litigate for economic liberty, property rights, and limits on government, alongside targeted support for first-responder and military families. Their grants are large and strategic, often paid repeatedly to the same legal organizations, while a smaller portion of giving goes to charities serving veterans and fallen law enforcement families.
Concentrated, high-dollar giving with repeat multi-grant support to a small set of core national legal advocacy groups, supplemented by a few large gifts to veteran and law-enforcement family charities.
The Castleman Family Foundation’s recent giving is anchored by large general-support grants to public interest law groups that litigate over economic liberty, property rights, and limits on government. In 2025, it awarded $186,750 each to Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento and the Institute for Justice in Arlington, signaling a sustained commitment to organizations that use impact litigation to shape law and regulation. Those legal grants sit alongside a second thread of giving that supports military, first-responder, and memorial assistance organizations, including Special Operations Care Fund in Atlanta and Fallen Blue Foundation in Reno. The pattern suggests a foundation that uses flexible funding to back a narrow set of policy-oriented legal advocates while also directing meaningful support to service-family charities. Most grants are labeled general support, and the same legal recipients appear repeatedly across multiple years, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards. Smaller grants extend into Nevada civic and memorial groups as well as a few national charities, but the legal portfolio remains the clearest through line in the foundation’s recent activity.
Public interest litigation is one of the foundation’s clearest priorities. It gave $186,750 in 2025 to Pacific Legal Foundation for general support and the same amount to Institute for Justice, reflecting major backing for legal advocacy tied to economic liberty and property-rights themes. The same pair also received $126,500 each in 2023 and $120,000 each in 2024. Beyond that core, the foundation supports military and special-operations families: it awarded $330,000 in 2024 to Special Operations Care Fund and another $50,000 in 2025. It also funds fallen law enforcement and local sheriff-adjacent groups, including $250,000 to Fallen Blue Foundation in 2023 and $25,000 to Carson City Sheriff’s Search and Rescue in 2024. Smaller grants reach disaster-relief, shooting-sports, and youth-serving organizations, showing some breadth around the foundation’s main priorities.
Typical grant size is $6,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $120,000 at the 75th percentile, which indicates a mix of modest community grants and larger strategic awards. The recent record shows repeated support to the same recipients across 2023, 2024, and 2025, especially the two public-interest law organizations that receive annual general support. The foundation appears to use flexible funding: nearly all listed awards are labeled general support. It does not make program-related investments and does not fund individuals. The pattern is relationship-based rather than transactional, with recurring grants more common than isolated one-time awards among the largest recipients.
$583K
$13.8M
$1.5M
$625K
Most grants fall between $6K and $120K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$120K
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Notable grantees: Institute for Justice, Pacific Legal Foundation, Special Operations Care Fund, Fallen Blue Foundation
Grant recipients are entirely U.S.-based in the recent sample. Nevada is the top state by grant count, with 33% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Nevada recipients include Reno, Carson City, Minden, Hendersonville, and Glenbrook. Outside Nevada, the foundation’s money reaches Sacramento and Arlington for major legal grantees, Atlanta for service-family support, and Washington-area and Texas-based organizations as well. The geography is national, but Nevada remains the most frequent landing point for gifts.
Its clearest pattern is support for public interest legal advocacy, especially organizations tied to economic liberty, property rights, and limits on government. It also funds groups serving special operations veterans, fallen law enforcement families, and related memorial or assistance organizations.
The grant-size distribution is $6,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $120,000 at the 75th percentile. That spread shows both smaller community awards and much larger strategic grants.
Yes. Pacific Legal Foundation and Institute for Justice each received $126,500 in 2023, $120,000 in 2024, and $186,750 in 2025. Special Operations Care Fund also received grants in both 2024 and 2025.
Nevada receives the most grants, with 33% going to recipients in the HQ state. Recent Nevada recipients include organizations in Reno, Carson City, Minden, Hendersonville, and Glenbrook.
The listed grants are overwhelmingly labeled general support. That points to flexible funding rather than tightly restricted project-only awards.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE | ARLINGTON, VA | $186,750 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION | SACRAMENTO, CA | $186,750 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NEW YORK CANCER FOUNDATION | SHIRLEY, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SPECIAL OPERATIONS CARE FUND | ATLANTA, GA | $50,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| INDEPENDENCE FUND | CHARLOTTE, NV | $26,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S ADVISORY COUNCIL | MINDEN, NV | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| BOOT CAMPAIGN | DALLAS, TX | $20,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SPECIAL FORCES CHARITABLE TRUST | SOUTHERN PINES, NC | $11,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| LUBBOCK SWAT FOUNDATION | IDALOU, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| HOODNECK INC | GALVESTON, TX | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY | HOUSTON, TX | $7,500 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SPECIAL OPERATIONS CARE FUND | ATLANTA, GA | $330,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE | ARLINGTON, VA | $120,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION | SACRAMENTO, CA | $120,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CARSON CITY SHERIFF'S SEARCH AND RESCUE | CARSON CITY, NV | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHOE COUNTY HONORARY DEPUTY SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION | RENO, NV | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| USA SHOOTING | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S ADVISORY COUNCIL | MINDEN, NV | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY | HOUSTON, TX | $7,500 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SUMNER STATION FOUNDATION | PINE VALLEY, NJ | $6,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| GLENBROOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY | GLENBROOK, NV | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FALLEN BLUE FOUNDATION | RENO, NV | $250,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE | ARLINGTON, VA | $126,500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION | SACRAMENTO, CA | $126,500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FIRST TEE OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA | PHILADELPHIA, PA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WASHOE COUNTY HONORARY DEPUTY SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION | RENO, NV | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MARIPOSA COUNTY DISASTER RELIEF SERVICES | CATHEYS VALLEY, CA | $10,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| NATIONAL MS SOCIETY | NEW YORK, NY | $7,500 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF HENDERSON CO | HENDERSONVILLE, NC | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| FILM INDEPENDENT | LOS ANGELES, CA | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTESING CANCER CENTER | HAGERSTOWN, MD | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| CHARLIE'S PRESENCE | RENO, NV | $5,000 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
NEW YORK CANCER FOUNDATION
$50,000GENERAL SUPPORT
DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S ADVISORY COUNCIL
GENERAL SUPPORT
LUBBOCK SWAT FOUNDATION
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
HOODNECK INC
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY
$7,500GENERAL SUPPORT
CARSON CITY SHERIFF'S SEARCH AND RESCUE
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHOE COUNTY HONORARY DEPUTY SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S ADVISORY COUNCIL
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
SUMNER STATION FOUNDATION
$6,000GENERAL SUPPORT
GLENBROOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
FALLEN BLUE FOUNDATION
$250,000GENERAL SUPPORT
WASHOE COUNTY HONORARY DEPUTY SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION
$25,000GENERAL SUPPORT
MARIPOSA COUNTY DISASTER RELIEF SERVICES
$10,000GENERAL SUPPORT
NATIONAL MS SOCIETY
$7,500GENERAL SUPPORT
MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTESING CANCER CENTER
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT
CHARLIE'S PRESENCE
$5,000GENERAL SUPPORT