The Farkas Family Foundation appears to be making a concentrated, strategic investment in civil legal services and systemic advocacy—its sole publicized grant is a $4 million award to the Legal Aid Justice Center. This suggests the foundation prioritizes expanding access to legal representation and policy change to address poverty, housing, and related social-justice issues, likely with a focus on Virginia and regional impact.
Highly concentrated giving: a single large grant to one public-interest legal organization, indicating preference for transformational, targeted investments rather than many small or diversified grants.
The Farkas Family Foundation’s clearest public signal is a $4 million grant to the Legal Aid Justice Center in 2025, a single award that points to concentrated support for civil legal services and systemic advocacy. The foundation has also made repeated gifts to the same organization in earlier years, including $150,000 in 2023, $100,000 in 2024, and $25,000 in 2024, showing a multi-year relationship rather than a one-time transaction. Across its recent grants, the foundation backs work tied to legal aid, housing justice, environmental law, and health and community services, with many recipients in Virginia. Its funding pattern includes both large, transformational awards and smaller general-support grants, often to organizations based in Charlottesville and other parts of the state. In the public record provided, Legal Aid Justice Center stands out as the largest grantee, while Southern Environmental Law Center and the New River Abortion Access Fund also appear among the foundation’s recent recipients. The overall picture is of a family foundation giving locally and supporting organizations that work on representation, policy, and community welfare.
Civil legal services are central to the foundation’s grantmaking. The largest recent award went to Legal Aid Justice Center for general support, and the same organization also received smaller grants in earlier years, including $150,000 in 2023 and $100,000 in 2024. Housing justice appears alongside legal aid. Albemarle Housing Improvement Program received $20,000 in 2023 and $15,000 in 2024, while the Legal Aid Justice Center’s work is tied to representation and systemic advocacy. The foundation also supports health-related and community services. University of Virginia Midlife Health received $30,000 in 2024 and $25,000 in 2025, and The Women’s Initiative received $25,000 in 2024. Environmental and public-interest law is another thread, with Southern Environmental Law Center receiving $40,000 in 2023 and 2024 and $40,000 in 2025.
Typical grants cluster at a modest-to-mid level, with a p25 of $10,000, median of $15,000, and p75 of $25,000. The pattern also includes a much larger outlier: a $4 million award in 2025. Several recipients appear more than once across years, including Legal Aid Justice Center, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which points to recurring support rather than isolated gifts. The foundation is a family foundation, gives locally, and makes grants only; it does not fund individuals or program-related investments. No application process is described in the provided data.
$4.1M
$5.7M
$2.2M
$4.2M
Most grants fall between $10K and $25K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$25K
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Notable grantees: Legal Aid Justice Center
Grantmaking is overwhelmingly Virginia-focused: 85% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, and the recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based. Charlottesville is the main city in the recent grants list, with additional grants in Blacksburg, Waynesboro, Verona, Warrenton, and Abingdon. Outside Virginia, only one recipient appears in the recent list: Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking in Seattle, Washington.
The recent grants point to civil legal services and legal aid, policy advocacy on poverty and housing justice, access to representation for renters and people facing housing insecurity, support for public-interest law organizations in Virginia, and related community services in health, food access, and the environment.
The foundation’s typical awards are relatively small to mid-sized: p25 is $10,000, the median is $15,000, and p75 is $25,000. The grant record also includes a $4 million award, which is far above the rest of the distribution.
Yes. Legal Aid Justice Center appears multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025. Southern Environmental Law Center also appears in three different years, and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank appears in 2023 and 2024.
Its giving is concentrated in Virginia. The data shows 85% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state, and the recent grants list includes cities such as Charlottesville, Blacksburg, Waynesboro, Verona, Warrenton, and Abingdon.
No. The foundation does not fund individuals, and it does not make program-related investments.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $4,000,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $40,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MIDLIFE HEALTH | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| KINDNESS CVILLE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $12,500 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| MOBIUS DISCOVERY CENTER | SPOKANE, WA | $10,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| SAINT GEORGE'S SCHOOL | SPOKANE, WA | $5,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| BUFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $2,000 | 2025 | GENERAL |
| LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $100,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| NEW RIVER ABORTION ACCESS FUND | BLACKSBURG, VA | $50,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| WILDLIFE CENTER OF VIRGINIA | WAYNESBORO, VA | $40,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $40,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MIDLIFE HEALTH | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $30,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| THE WOMEN'S INITIATIVE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| BUSINESSES ENDING SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING | SEATTLE, WA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| BLUE RIDGE AREA FOOD BANK | VERONA, VA | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| READY KIDS | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $20,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| COMMUNITY CLIMATE COLLABORATIVE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $20,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL | WARRENTON, VA | $20,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| MEALS ON WHEELS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE/ALBEMARLE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| KINDNESS CAFE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| COMMUNITY INVESTMENT COLLABORATIVE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| CHILD HEALTH PARTNERSHIP | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL | WARRENTON, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| ALBEMARLE HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| JEFFERSON SCHOOL AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| MONTPELIER FOUNDATION | ORANGE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| MOBIUS DISCOVERY CENTER | SPOKANE, WA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| AMERICAN RIVERS | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| FOUNTAIN FUND JEFFERSON SCHOOL CITY CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| THE SANTA FUND | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE/ALBEMARLE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| HOSPICE OF THE PIEDMONT | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| LAND TRUST ALLIANCE | WASHINGTON, DC | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| PUBLIC HOUSING ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENTS | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| CHARLOTTESVILLE TOMORROW | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $10,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| THE CENTER AT BELVIDERE | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| THE VIRGINIA DISCOVERY MUSEUM | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $5,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| MONTPELIER FOUNDATION | ORANGE, VA | $3,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| SAINT GEORGE'S SCHOOL | SPOKANE, WA | $1,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| TANDEM FRIENDS SCHOOL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $1,000 | 2024 | GENERAL |
| LEGAL AID JUSTICE CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $150,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| NEW RIVER ABORTION ACCESS FUND | BLACKSBURG, VA | $100,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $40,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| WILDLIFE CENTER OF VIRGINIA | WAYNESBORO, VA | $40,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| ALLIED EXTRACT | ABINGDON, VA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| THE WOMEN'S INITIATIVE GENERAL | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL | WARRENTON, VA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
| UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $25,000 | 2023 | GENERAL |
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MIDLIFE HEALTH
$25,000GENERAL
KINDNESS CVILLE
$12,500GENERAL
MOBIUS DISCOVERY CENTER
$10,000GENERAL
SAINT GEORGE'S SCHOOL
$5,000GENERAL
BUFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL
$2,000GENERAL
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MIDLIFE HEALTH
$30,000GENERAL
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH
$25,000GENERAL
READY KIDS
$20,000GENERAL
MEALS ON WHEELS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE/ALBEMARLE
$15,000GENERAL
KINDNESS CAFE
$15,000GENERAL
JEFFERSON SCHOOL AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER
$10,000GENERAL
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION
$10,000GENERAL
MOBIUS DISCOVERY CENTER
$10,000GENERAL
THE SANTA FUND
$10,000GENERAL
LITERACY VOLUNTEERS OF CHARLOTTESVILLE/ALBEMARLE
$10,000GENERAL
HOSPICE OF THE PIEDMONT
$10,000GENERAL
PUBLIC HOUSING ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENTS
$10,000GENERAL
THE CENTER AT BELVIDERE
$5,000GENERAL
SAINT GEORGE'S SCHOOL
$1,000GENERAL
TANDEM FRIENDS SCHOOL
$1,000GENERAL
ALLIED EXTRACT
$25,000GENERAL
THE WOMEN'S INITIATIVE GENERAL
$25,000GENERAL
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH
$25,000GENERAL