The Dillon Fund concentrates on a small portfolio of large grants that prioritize medical research into mitochondrial disease and place-based environmental conservation across U.S. regions. They support both national networks (multiple Nature Conservancy chapters) and local conservation/education nonprofits, and also make targeted gifts to an international ethics think tank and to a private boarding school. Grants are frequently purpose-driven (specific projects or funds) but also include general operating support.
The Dillon Fund’s most distinctive pattern is its concentration in POLG and mitochondrial disease research, led by a $585,000 grant in 2023 to The POLG Foundation Inc for research toward a cure for POLG and other mitochondrial conditions. That commitment continued in 2025 with a $560,000 grant to the same organization, including support for a three-year global Natural History Study and a general contribution. Alongside medical research, the fund has backed place-based conservation through long-running gifts to The Nature Conservancy chapters and related land-stewardship projects, including support for forests, preserves, and watershed work in multiple regions. The foundation also funds institutions that sit outside the conservation and medical lanes. Its recent grants include operating support for Carnegie Council, support for the Acquisitions Fund at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and capital and general support for Eaglebrook School. Other awards point to an interest in education, civic dialogue, and humanitarian relief, with gifts to organizations serving refugees, medical aid efforts in Ukraine, and community-based education and youth programming. The Dillon Fund gives nationally, but the portfolio is small enough that individual grants carry clear purpose statements and are often tied to a specific fund, project, or operating need.
Medical research is the clearest focus area. In 2024, The Dillon Fund gave $100,000 to The POLG Foundation Inc for research to find a cure for POLG and other mitochondrial conditions, and the 2025 award to the same grantee added support for a three-year global Natural History Study. The fund also supports environmental stewardship through conservation organizations. In 2024, it gave $405,000 to The Nature Conservancy In Connecticut for general operating fund support, and in 2025 it awarded $135,000 to The Nature Conservancy - MDDC Chapter for the Essential Forests Fund, Baltimore Harbor beneficial use, and annual operational requirements. Education and civic institutions are another thread. The Dillon Fund gave $255,000 to Eaglebrook School for a dining hall project and general contribution, and $50,000 to Americans for Oxford Inc for designing and building schools’ content websites. It also supports public-interest analysis, including $310,000 to Carnegie Council for The Voice for Ethics in International Affairs and annual operating requirements.
$2.1M
$31.4M
$2.6M
$2.3M
Most grants fall between $5K and $30K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$30K
Top 3 recipient countries by grant volume for Dillon Fund.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 157 | $5.9M | 96.3% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 3 |
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Concentrated portfolio of relatively large grants to a small number of recurring and mission-aligned organizations; mix of project-specific gifts and general operating support, with repeat funding to Nature Conservancy chapters and multiple grants to the POLG foundation.
Notable grantees: The POLG Foundation Inc, The Nature Conservancy (multiple state chapters), Carnegie Council, Eaglebrook School, Connecticut Audubon Society
The Dillon Fund’s typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $30,000 at the 75th percentile, even as several awards in the recent file are much larger. The portfolio shows repeat giving to the same organizations across years, including The POLG Foundation Inc, The Nature Conservancy In Connecticut, Living Classrooms Foundation, The Brookings Institution, and Turtle Key Arts Trust. Grants are often purpose-specific, with labels tied to a project, fund, or operating need. The data also shows a mix of general operating support, annual operating support, and capital or campaign funding, rather than a single grant type.
The Dillon Fund gives nationally, with the largest share of recipient organizations located in New York State. Recent grants also land in Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia, alongside recipients in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Illinois, Washington, DC, and international locations. Within the recent list, New York City appears repeatedly, as do New Haven, Bethesda, Baltimore, and Charlottesville, showing a strong East Coast concentration even with broader national reach.
Its recent grants show support for medical research organizations, conservation groups, schools, arts institutions, humanitarian aid groups, and policy or ethics organizations. Examples include The POLG Foundation Inc, The Nature Conservancy chapters, Eaglebrook School, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Doctors Without Borders, and Carnegie Council.
Yes. The data shows repeat awards to several recipients across multiple years, including The POLG Foundation Inc, The Nature Conservancy In Connecticut, Living Classrooms Foundation, The Brookings Institution, and Turtle Key Arts Trust.
The typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $10,000 at the median, and $30,000 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards range well above that, including several six-figure grants.
The giving is national. The recipient distribution is 96.3% in the US, with a small number of grants in the UK and SZ. Within the US, New York is the top state by grant count.
The strongest themes are POLG and mitochondrial disease research, conservation and land stewardship, education-related support, and humanitarian or civic work. Recent grants include support for a global Natural History Study, conservation funds tied to forests and Baltimore Harbor, school infrastructure, and aid connected to Ukraine and refugee relief.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| $144K |
1.8% |
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | $90K | 1.8% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The POLG Foundation Inc | New York, NY | $560,000 | 2025 | $500k for the benefit of its three-year global Natural History Study, $60k for general contribution |
| Eaglebrook School | Deerfield, MA | $255,000 | 2025 | DINING HALL PROJECT; GENERAL CONTRIBUTION |
| The Nature Conservancy - MDDC Chapter | Bethesda, MD | $135,000 | 2025 | ESSENTIAL FORESTS FUND, BARN RENOVATION TO CREATE THE TRUMAN AND NELLIE SEMANS CENTER FOR CONSERVATION LEARNING, BALTIMORE HARBOR BENEFICIAL USE, ANNUAL OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS |
| Living Classrooms Foundation | Baltimore, MD | $110,000 | 2025 | Endowment Fund and annual operational requirements |
| Islesboro Islands Trust | Islesboro, ME | $100,000 | 2025 | CONSTRUCTION OF PERMANENT IIT CENTER |
| The Conservation Fund | Stuart, FL | $100,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Turtle Key Arts Trust | LO | $62,509 | 2025 | annual budgetary requirements |
| Depaul USA | Chicago, IL | $50,000 | 2025 | for the benefit of MedAid International |
| The Brookings Institution | WASHINGTON, DC | $50,000 | 2025 | a contribution towards Governance Studies |
| Jemicy School | Owings Mills, MD | $50,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Global Caring Alliance | Medford, OR | $30,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International | Atlanta, GA | $30,000 | 2025 | Towards the Education Program; RWANDA COMMUNITY PROGRAMS |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | to support Archibald Perkins, MD, Ph.D.'s on-going research program focused on developing a cure for infant leukemia |
| Harvard School of Public Health | BOSTON, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | annual fund |
| John F Kennedy Library Foundation | Boston, MA | $30,000 | 2025 | to help defray the costs of the Richard Aldous book event |
| Human Rights Watch | New York, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | FBO Criminal Justice Programs in the U.S. |
| Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation | MO | $30,000 | 2025 | general operating fund |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | $25,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Center for Larger Landscape Conservation | Bozeman, MT | $20,000 | 2025 | annual operational requirements |
| For Farmers Movement | Andes, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| The Equus Effect | SHARON, CT | $20,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Jerusalem Peacebuilders Inc | Houston, TX | $20,000 | 2025 | annual operational needs |
| Islesboro Affordable Property | ISLESBORO, ME | $20,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | to the Department of Asian Art Chairman's Discretionary Fund |
| Getting Out and Staying Out | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Spring Island Trust | Okatie, SC | $20,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| The Nature Conservancy In Connecticut | NEW HAVEN, CT | $15,000 | 2025 | annual operational requirements |
| Trustees Of Columbia Univ City Of NY | NEW YORK, NY | $15,000 | 2025 | for the benefit of Columbia Business School's Global Family Enterprise Program |
| Groton School | GROTON, MA | $15,000 | 2025 | annual operational requirements |
| Lenox Hill Neighborhood House | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| University of Iowa Center for Advancement | IOWA CITY, IA | $10,000 | 2025 | Dr. Wahls Research Fund |
| Pripet Riding Program | ROCKPORT, ME | $10,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Carnegie Council | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2025 | annual operating requirements |
| United Way of Central Maryland | BALtimore, MD | $10,000 | 2025 | in support of the Living Classrooms Foundation |
| The Land Preservation Trust | Cockeysville, MD | $10,000 | 2025 | to help defray the legal costs |
| Horsespeak Center for Personal Dev Inc | Burson, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | general operating fund |
| Downtown Sailing Center | Baltimore, MD | $7,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Phillips Academy | ANDOVER, MD | $5,000 | 2025 | in support of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers |
| Endometriosis Foundation of America Inc | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Center for Community Solutions | San Diego, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | general operating budget |
| Council on Foreign Relations | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | contribution to Annual Fund |
| Casa of New Jersey | East Brunswick, NJ | $5,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| Harvard Kennedy School | boston, MA | $5,000 | 2025 | towards the Dean's fund |
| St John's Church | Reisterstown, MD | $5,000 | 2025 | annual operational requirements |
| River Partners | Chico, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | general operating budget |
| Mystic Seaport Museum | MYSTIC, CT | $5,000 | 2025 | Annual Fund |
| Mitoaction | novi, MI | $5,000 | 2025 | annual budgetary needs |
| South Orange Rescue Squad | South Orange, NJ | $5,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
| American Friends Of Blerancourt Inc | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2025 | annual operational requirements |
| San Diego Symphony | SAN DIEGO, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | general contribution |
The POLG Foundation Inc
$560,000$500k for the benefit of its three-year global Natural History Study, $60k for general contribution
Eaglebrook School
$255,000DINING HALL PROJECT; GENERAL CONTRIBUTION
ESSENTIAL FORESTS FUND, BARN RENOVATION TO CREATE THE TRUMAN AND NELLIE SEMANS CENTER FOR CONSERVATION LEARNING, BALTIMORE HARBOR BENEFICIAL USE, ANNUAL OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Living Classrooms Foundation
$110,000Endowment Fund and annual operational requirements
Islesboro Islands Trust
$100,000CONSTRUCTION OF PERMANENT IIT CENTER
The Conservation Fund
general contribution
Turtle Key Arts Trust
$62,509annual budgetary requirements
Global Caring Alliance
$30,000general contribution
Towards the Education Program; RWANDA COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
University of Rochester
$30,000to support Archibald Perkins, MD, Ph.D.'s on-going research program focused on developing a cure for infant leukemia
Harvard School of Public Health
$30,000annual fund
John F Kennedy Library Foundation
$30,000to help defray the costs of the Richard Aldous book event
Human Rights Watch
$30,000FBO Criminal Justice Programs in the U.S.
Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation
$30,000general operating fund
Middlebury College
$25,000general contribution
Center for Larger Landscape Conservation
$20,000annual operational requirements
For Farmers Movement
$20,000general contribution
The Equus Effect
$20,000general contribution
Jerusalem Peacebuilders Inc
$20,000annual operational needs
Islesboro Affordable Property
$20,000general contribution
to the Department of Asian Art Chairman's Discretionary Fund
Spring Island Trust
$20,000general contribution
Trustees Of Columbia Univ City Of NY
$15,000for the benefit of Columbia Business School's Global Family Enterprise Program
Groton School
$15,000annual operational requirements
University of Iowa Center for Advancement
$10,000Dr. Wahls Research Fund
Pripet Riding Program
$10,000general contribution
in support of the Living Classrooms Foundation
The Land Preservation Trust
$10,000to help defray the legal costs
Horsespeak Center for Personal Dev Inc
$10,000general operating fund
Downtown Sailing Center
$7,000general contribution
Phillips Academy
$5,000in support of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers
Council on Foreign Relations
$5,000contribution to Annual Fund
Casa of New Jersey
$5,000general contribution
Harvard Kennedy School
$5,000towards the Dean's fund
St John's Church
$5,000annual operational requirements
Mystic Seaport Museum
$5,000Annual Fund
Mitoaction
$5,000annual budgetary needs
South Orange Rescue Squad
$5,000general contribution
American Friends Of Blerancourt Inc
$5,000annual operational requirements
San Diego Symphony
$5,000general contribution