The Pleasants Family Foundation gives modest, locally focused grants in Maryland with a strong emphasis on supporting community organizations in the Frederick/Western Maryland area. Their giving centers on civic/community associations, arts and cultural programming, and a smaller but consistent interest in services for people with disabilities. They favor a small number of local recipients and have repeatedly supported at least one civic organization.
Concentrated, small-program portfolio: few grants per year with large portion of total funding going to a single repeat grantee; primarily one-off or short series grants to local organizations rather than broad national giving.
Pleasants Family Foundation Inc has a clear local pattern: a $50,000 grant to The Community Foundation of Frederick County in 2025 anchors a portfolio that stays in Maryland and often supports civic and cultural life in the Frederick area. The foundation’s recent giving also shows repeated backing for Little Washington Civic Association, which appears multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025, suggesting steady support for a single community group rather than one-time awards. Alongside that civic thread, the foundation has funded arts, historic preservation, and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Recent recipients include Frederick Art Council, Heritage Frederick, and L'arche Frederick MD, showing a mix of community infrastructure and direct nonprofit support. Grant sizes are modest to mid-sized, and the overall picture is of a small private foundation using targeted grants to support organizations rooted in local community life. The foundation also appears to favor organizations that serve broad charitable purposes, with grants described for organizational charitable purposes across the recent record.
Civic and community work is the strongest theme in the recent record. The foundation gave $25,000 to Little Washington Civic Association in 2024 and repeated that support at the same amount in 2025, after a prior $25,000 grant in 2023, indicating an ongoing relationship with one local civic group. Arts and culture are another visible area: Frederick Art Council received $25,000 in 2024, and Heritage Frederick received $10,000 in 2025. The foundation also supports organizations connected to disabilities and inclusive services, including a $5,000 grant to L'arche Frederick MD in 2025 and $2,500 to Easterseals in Silver Spring. Smaller grants such as $2,650 to Mountain City Elks Lodge and $5,000 to Mt Airy Bible Church show that the foundation funds a range of local charitable organizations, not just one type of institution.
The typical grant size is modest: the p25 is $1,000, the median is $5,000, and the p75 is $25,000. The recent record includes both one-off grants and repeated support, with Little Washington Civic Association and Lifestyles of Maryland Foundation appearing in multiple years. The foundation is a private family foundation, not a program-related-investment funder, and it does not fund individuals. Grants are described for organizations charitable purposes, consistent with broad organizational support rather than restricted program lines. The overall pattern is concentrated and local rather than distributed across many states or countries.
$203K
$974K
$1M
$98K
Most grants fall between $1K and $25K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$25K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in MD.
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Notable grantees: Little Washington Civic Association, Frederick Art Council, L'Arche Frederick MD
All recent grants in the data went to U.S. recipients, and every listed grant landed in Maryland. Frederick appears frequently, including The Community Foundation of Frederick County, Frederick Art Council, Heritage Frederick, L'arche Frederick MD, and Mountain City Elks Lodge. Other Maryland recipient locations include Upper Marlboro, Mount Airy, and Silver Spring. The foundation’s giving is therefore tightly concentrated within one state and centered on Maryland community organizations.
The recent record shows support for community foundations, civic associations, arts and cultural organizations, and disability-services nonprofits. Examples include The Community Foundation of Frederick County, Little Washington Civic Association, Frederick Art Council, Heritage Frederick, L'arche Frederick MD, and Easterseals.
Typical grants are modest to mid-sized: the p25 is $1,000, the median is $5,000, and the p75 is $25,000. The recent grants list also includes a $50,000 award to The Community Foundation of Frederick County.
Yes. Little Washington Civic Association appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Lifestyles of Maryland Foundation appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships with at least some recipients.
The recent grants are entirely in Maryland, with 100% of grants going to recipients in the state. Frederick is a recurring recipient city, and other Maryland locations in the record include Upper Marlboro, Mount Airy, and Silver Spring.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF FREDERICK COUNTY | FREDERICK, MD | $50,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $25,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $25,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| HERITAGE FREDERICK | FREDERICK, MD | $10,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| L'ARCHE FREDERICK MD | FREDERICK, MD | $5,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MT AIRY BIBLE CHURCH | MOUNT AIRY, MD | $5,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| MOUNTAIN CITY ELKS LODGE | FREDERICK, MD | $2,650 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| EASTERSEALS | SILVERSPRING, MD | $2,500 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $1,000 | 2025 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $25,000 | 2024 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| FREDERICK ART COUNCIL | FREDERICK, MD | $25,000 | 2024 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $1,000 | 2024 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $25,000 | 2023 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
| LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION | UPPER MARLBORO, MD | $1,000 | 2023 | FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES |
THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF FREDERICK COUNTY
$50,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION
$25,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION
$25,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
HERITAGE FREDERICK
$10,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
L'ARCHE FREDERICK MD
$5,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
MT AIRY BIBLE CHURCH
$5,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
MOUNTAIN CITY ELKS LODGE
$2,650FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
EASTERSEALS
$2,500FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION
$1,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION
$25,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
FREDERICK ART COUNCIL
$25,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION
$1,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LITTLE WASHINGTON CIVIC ASSOCIATION
$25,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES
LIFESTYLES OF MARYLAND FOUNDATION
$1,000FOR ORGANIZATIONS CHARITABLE PURPOSES