The Manuel & Mary Johnson Foundation concentrates its giving on cultural institutions tied to sporting and equestrian heritage, regional educational centers, and occasional health initiatives. Grants are sizable and targeted, often supporting museums, libraries, university program centers, and traditional horse-sport events; the foundation makes repeat gifts to a small set of favored organizations. Its support tends to favor organizations that preserve sporting history or serve regional community infrastructure rather than broad national advocacy.
The Manuel & Mary Johnson Foundation gives at a level that is unusually concentrated around equestrian and sporting heritage. Its recent grants include repeated support for the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia, along with gifts to horse-sport events, historic preservation groups, and institutions tied to regional sporting culture. The foundation also appears in higher-education and community-health philanthropy, but those gifts sit alongside a clear pattern of support for organizations preserving horse-country traditions and related collections. Recent awards show a mix of large institutional gifts and narrower project support. In 2025, the foundation gave $176,744 and $155,000 to the National Sporting Library and Museum, following a $173,263 grant in 2023. It also backed Troy University Johnson Center with $110,000 in both 2023 and 2025, and supported Inova Health Foundation with $250,000 in 2023. Smaller grants extend the same theme to organizations such as Uppervile Colt Horse Show, Mount Vernon Library Association, and George Washingtons Mt Vernon. The pattern suggests a funder that favors mission-specific institutions and recurring relationships over broad, open-ended philanthropy.
In equestrian and sporting heritage preservation, the foundation gave $176,744 to National Sporting Library and Museum in 2025 and $173,263 in 2023, showing sustained support for a museum centered on sporting history collections. It also funded the Uppervile Colt Horse Show with $65,000 in 2025 and $15,000 in 2023, plus $12,000 in 2025, linking the funder to traditional horse-sport events. For museums, libraries, and historic sites, it gave $75,000 to Mount Vernon Library Association in 2025 and $25,000 to George Washingtons Mt Vernon in the same year, alongside $10,000 to Stratford Hall Historic Preserve in 2023. In higher education, Troy University Johnson Center received $110,000 in both 2023 and 2025, and Johnson Center for the Arts received $15,000 in 2025 plus $12,000 in both 2023 and 2025. Health philanthropy appears through a $250,000 gift to Inova Health Foundation in 2023.
Typical grants are in the middle-five-figure range: the p25 is $10,000, median grant size is $13,250, and p75 is $62,500. The recent list also shows several repeat recipients across multiple years, including National Sporting Library and Museum, Troy University Johnson Center, Uppervile Colt Horse Show, Johnson Center for the Arts, Windsor Charitable Foundation, Animal Rescue Foundation, and others. That repeat pattern fits a funder with concentrated, relationship-based giving rather than many one-time microgrants. The foundation is a private family foundation rather than a donor-advised fund or operating charity, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$325K
$4.1M
$520K
$325K
Most grants fall between $10K and $63K, with a median of $13K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$13K
75th Percentile
$63K
About 16% of grants go to recipients in VA.
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Concentrated, high-dollar grants to a small number of organizations with repeat funding for core grantees; a mix of large one-off gifts and multiple payments to favored cultural and regional institutions.
Notable grantees: National Sporting Library & Museum, Troy University Johnson Center, Inova Health Foundation, Mount Vernon Library Association, Upperville Colt Horse Show
Grantmaking is regional and heavily centered in Virginia, which accounts for the largest share of recipient organizations. Middleburg, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Uppervile, Stratford, Delaplane, Tallahassee, Vero Beach, and Leesburg all appear in the grant list, showing a strong Virginia corridor with some Florida and Alabama ties. Florida recipients make up 14% of grants, even though the foundation’s headquarters are in Vero Beach. All recent grants in the dataset went to U.S. organizations.
The foundation supports museums and libraries tied to sporting history, horse-sport event organizers, university program centers, regional health philanthropy, and historic preservation groups. Recent grants include support for sporting collections, a university center, a health foundation, and equestrian events.
Typical grants fall in the middle-five-figure range. The p25 grant size is $10,000, the median is $13,250, and the p75 is $62,500. Recent awards also range from $2,500 to $250,000.
Yes. The recent grants list shows repeated support across years for several recipients, including National Sporting Library and Museum, Troy University Johnson Center, Uppervile Colt Horse Show, Johnson Center for the Arts, Windsor Charitable Foundation, and Animal Rescue Foundation.
Virginia is the top state by grant count. Recipient locations in the recent list include Middleburg, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Uppervile, Stratford, Delaplane, and Leesburg, indicating a strong concentration in that state.
No. The foundation does not fund individuals. Its recent grants are made to organizations such as museums, universities, health foundations, and event associations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY AND MUSEU | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $176,744 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY AND MUSEU | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $155,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| TROY UNIVERSITY JOHNSON CENTER | TROY, AL | $110,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| MOUNT VERNON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION | MOUNT VERNON, VA | $75,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| UPPERVILE COLT HORSE SHOW | UPPERVILLE, VA | $65,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| BEAR GIVERS | NEW YORK, NY | $30,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| BEAR GIVERS | NEW YORK, NY | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| GEORGE WASHINGTONS MT VERNON | MOUNT VERNON, VA | $25,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | TROY, AL | $15,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | VERO BEACH, FL | $12,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | TROY, AL | $12,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| UPPERVILE COLT HORSE SHOW | UPPERVILLE, VA | $12,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| MOUNT VERNON LADIES ASSN | MOUNT VERNON, VA | $10,150 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| SEMINOLE BOOSTERS | TALLAHASSEE, FL | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| BOWDEN SOCIETY | TALLAHASSEE, FL | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | VERO BEACH, FL | $7,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION | DELAPLANE, VA | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| ULARF | LEESBURG, VA | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| LAND TRUST OF VIRGINIA | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $2,500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $2,250 | 2025 | CHARITABLE |
| INOVA HEALTH FOUNDATION | FAIRFAX, VA | $250,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY AND MUSEU | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $173,263 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| TROY UNIVERSITY JOHNSON CENTER | TROY, AL | $110,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | LOS ANGELES, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| PIEDMONT FOX HOUNDS CONSERVATION | UPPERVILLE, VA | $20,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| UPPERVILE COLT HORSE SHOW | UPPERVILLE, VA | $15,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | VERO BEACH, FL | $14,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS | TROY, AL | $12,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| STRATFORD HALL HISTORIC PRESERVE | STRATFORD, VA | $10,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION | DELAPLANE, VA | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
| MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION | MIDDLEBURG, VA | $2,500 | 2023 | CHARITABLE |
NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY AND MUSEU
$176,744CHARITABLE
TROY UNIVERSITY JOHNSON CENTER
$110,000CHARITABLE
MOUNT VERNON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
$75,000CHARITABLE
UPPERVILE COLT HORSE SHOW
$65,000CHARITABLE
BEAR GIVERS
$30,000CHARITABLE
BEAR GIVERS
$25,000CHARITABLE
GEORGE WASHINGTONS MT VERNON
$25,000CHARITABLE
JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
$15,000CHARITABLE
WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
$12,500CHARITABLE
JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
$12,000CHARITABLE
MOUNT VERNON LADIES ASSN
$10,150CHARITABLE
BOWDEN SOCIETY
$10,000CHARITABLE
WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
$7,500CHARITABLE
ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE
ULARF
$5,000CHARITABLE
LAND TRUST OF VIRGINIA
$5,000CHARITABLE
MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION
$2,500CHARITABLE
MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION
$2,250CHARITABLE
INOVA HEALTH FOUNDATION
$250,000CHARITABLE
NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY AND MUSEU
$173,263CHARITABLE
TROY UNIVERSITY JOHNSON CENTER
$110,000CHARITABLE
PIEDMONT FOX HOUNDS CONSERVATION
$20,000CHARITABLE
WINDSOR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
$14,000CHARITABLE
JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS
$12,000CHARITABLE
STRATFORD HALL HISTORIC PRESERVE
$10,000CHARITABLE
ANIMAL RESCUE FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE
MIDDLEBURG SPRING RACE ASSOCIATION
$2,500CHARITABLE