The Porter Family Foundation concentrates its giving on its local Decatur, Indiana community, funding youth development and recreational infrastructure alongside faith-based congregations. Grants are sizable and targeted — supporting school athletics, Junior Achievement programming, municipal park facilities, and a notable one-off public policy/legal gift. The foundation favors concrete, place-based investments that benefit children and community life, with occasional support for national policy litigation aligned with its views.
Porter Family Foundation Inc's recent giving is anchored in Decatur, Indiana, and the pattern is easy to see in the recipients it supports: local churches, youth-serving organizations, schools, and city park projects dominate the record. The largest recent grant went to Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana for $258,000, signaling a strong interest in youth financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Another major award, $140,000 to First United Methodist Church Decatur, combined charitable support with a large disaffiliation-related component and funding for an electronic sign. The foundation also backed public recreation with $125,000 to the City of Decatur Park Board for formula field lighting, and it supported school athletics with $60,000 to Bellmont High School Athletic Dept. Alongside these place-based commitments, the foundation made a $50,000 grant to Southeastern Legal Foundation for a NOAA vessel speed restriction battle, showing that its grantmaking can extend beyond local community needs when a policy issue aligns with its priorities. The overall picture is of a family foundation making targeted grants for local institutions and selected issue-driven efforts.
Youth development appears as a core theme. Porter Family Foundation Inc gave $258,000 to Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana for charitable purposes, and it also supported Youth for Christ in Bluffton, Indiana with $20,000 in 2025 and $18,100 in 2024. School and recreation infrastructure is another consistent thread: the foundation awarded $125,000 to the City of Decatur Park Board for formula field lighting and $60,000 to Bellmont High School Athletic Dept for charitable support. Faith-based organizations also receive repeated support, including $46,000 to Grace First Community Church in 2025 and $12,250 to First United Methodist Church in South Bend for the So. Bend Music Program. Relief giving shows up as well, with $40,000 to Samaritans Purse for California wildfire relief and Hurricane Helene relief.
The foundation’s typical grant size is modest relative to its largest awards: the p25 is $1,000, the median is $5,000, and the p75 is $10,000. That distribution fits a pattern of many smaller charitable grants alongside a handful of larger, targeted commitments. Recipients recur across years, including First United Methodist Church Decatur, The Hope Clinic, Stillwater Hospice, Youth for Christ, and Corporate Chaplains of America. The foundation funds as a family foundation and does not make program-related investments or grants to individuals. The recent record also shows restricted and purpose-specific grants, including funding tied to disaffiliation, field lighting, an electronic sign, and disaster relief.
$1.5M
$5.9M
$604K
$642K
Most grants fall between $1K and $10K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$10K
About 83% of grants go to recipients in IN.
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A small number of relatively large, place-based grants concentrated in Decatur/Allen County; mixes program support and capital/infrastructure funding for youth and community institutions, with occasional out-of-area or ideologically aligned policy/legal gifts.
Notable grantees: Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana, First United Methodist Church, Decatur, City of Decatur Park Board, Bellmont High School Athletic Department, Southeastern Legal Foundation
Giving is overwhelmingly local and concentrated in Indiana: 83% of grants go to recipients in the foundation’s HQ state, and Indiana is also the top state by grant count. Decatur appears repeatedly through recipients such as the City of Decatur Park Board, Grace First Community Church, The Hope Clinic, and St Mary of the Assumption Parrish. Other Indiana recipients include Fort Wayne, Bluffton, Berne, and Indianapolis. Outside Indiana, grants land in Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, California, and Missouri, but all recipient countries in the recent record are in the US.
The recent record centers on youth development, churches, schools, parks, and selected relief work. Examples include Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana, Bellmont High School Athletic Dept, the City of Decatur Park Board, and multiple churches in Decatur and nearby Indiana communities.
Its grant-size distribution is relatively small at the center: p25 is $1,000, median grant size is $5,000, and p75 is $10,000. At the same time, the foundation also makes larger targeted awards such as $258,000 and $125,000.
Yes. Indiana is the top state by grant count, and 83% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. The record also includes Indiana recipients in Decatur, Fort Wayne, Bluffton, Berne, and Indianapolis.
Yes. Several organizations appear more than once, including First United Methodist Church Decatur, The Hope Clinic, Stillwater Hospice, Youth for Christ, and Corporate Chaplains of America. That suggests repeat support rather than isolated one-time giving.
Recent grants show support for youth financial literacy and entrepreneurship, school athletics, municipal park improvements, faith-based congregations, disaster relief, and a policy-related grant to Southeastern Legal Foundation for the NOAA vessel speed restriction battle.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN IN | FORT WAYNE, IN | $258,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Grace First Community Church | Decatur, IN | $46,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| SAMARITANS PURSE | BOONE, NC | $40,000 | 2025 | charitable - CA Wildfire relief; charitable - Hurricane Helene relief |
| Marine Trades Institute | Cedarville, MI | $40,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| The University of Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | $30,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Mercy Chefs | Chesapeae, VA | $20,000 | 2025 | charitable: Hurricane Helene relief; charitable - CA Wildfire relief |
| Team Rubicon | Los Angeles, CA | $20,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| YOUTH FOR CHRIST | BLUFFTON, IN | $20,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Convoy of Hope | Springfield, MO | $20,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| THE HOPE CLINIC | DECATUR, IN | $14,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| STILLWATER HOSPICE | FORT WAYNE, IN | $10,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| ADAMS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY | DECATUR, IN | $10,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| ST MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION PARRISH | DECATUR, IN | $10,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| BOYS GIRLS CLUB | DECATUR, IN | $8,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| UNFAILING LOVE | DECATUR, IN | $8,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH | SOUTH BEND, IN | $6,250 | 2025 | charitable $6,250.00 So. Bend Music Program |
| ADAMS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | DECATUR, IN | $6,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| DECATUR SCULPTURE TOUR | DECATUR, IN | $5,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| ADAMS WELLS COUNTY CRISIS CENTER | DECATUR, IN | $5,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| NEIGHBORLINK ADAMS COUNTY | BERNE, IN | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| MUDDY RIVER FC | DECATUR, IN | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable 5-yr commitment 2025-2029 |
| St Josephs Catholic School Decatur IN | Decatur, IN | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Lifewise Academy | Hilliard, OH | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| WOMENS CARE CENTER | SOUTH BEND, IN | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Hummingbird Charitable Foundation | New Palestine, IN | $5,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| KATES KART | FORT WAYNE, IN | $3,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| DECATUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | DECATUR, IN | $2,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| Get Sober Stay Sober Inc | Decatur, IN | $2,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| CONNOR BRITES WILDFLOWERS | DECATUR, IN | $2,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| Adams County Cancer Coalition | Decatur, IN | $2,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| COAST GUARD FOUNDATION | STONINGTON, CT | $2,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| THE SALVATION ARMY OF FORT WAYNE | FORT WAYNE, IN | $2,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Adams Health Network Foundation | Decatur, IN | $2,000 | 2025 | charitable: Bronze sponsorship |
| Adams Central Schools | Monroe, IN | $1,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| Annual Bishops Appeal | Fort Wayne, IN | $1,500 | 2025 | charitable |
| Merrimack Hall | Huntsville, AL | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable - for Hayden Heckman |
| The WBCL Radio Network | Fort Wayne, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Prison Book Project | Titusville, FL | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| GENEVA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT | GENEVA, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Adams County IN 4H Shotgun Program | Monroeville, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| C and C Bible Fellowship | Berne, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Alpha Delta Chapter Psi Iota Xi | Decatur, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| Star 883 | Fort Wayne, IN | $1,000 | 2025 | charitable |
| JA SERVING DECATUR MONROE IN | DECATUR, IN | $825 | 2025 | charitable - Purse bingo |
| City of Decatur | Decatur, IN | $500 | 2025 | charitable K9 Koda |
| Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District | Decatur, IN | $500 | 2025 | charitable |
| FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH DEC | DECATUR, IN | $140,000 | 2024 | charitable $5,000; disaffiliation $125,000; electronic sign $10,000 |
| Southeastern Legal Foundation SLF | Roswell, GA | $50,000 | 2024 | NOAA Vessel Speed Restriction battle |
| CORPORATE CHAPLAINS OF AMERICA | WAKE FOREST, NC | $22,000 | 2024 | charitable |
| YOUTH FOR CHRIST | BLUFFTON, IN | $18,100 | 2024 | charitable |
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN IN
$258,000charitable
Grace First Community Church
$46,000charitable
SAMARITANS PURSE
$40,000charitable - CA Wildfire relief; charitable - Hurricane Helene relief
Marine Trades Institute
$40,000charitable
The University of Indianapolis
$30,000charitable
Mercy Chefs
$20,000charitable: Hurricane Helene relief; charitable - CA Wildfire relief
Team Rubicon
$20,000charitable
YOUTH FOR CHRIST
$20,000charitable
Convoy of Hope
$20,000charitable
THE HOPE CLINIC
$14,500charitable
STILLWATER HOSPICE
$10,500charitable
ADAMS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
$10,500charitable
ST MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION PARRISH
$10,000charitable
BOYS GIRLS CLUB
$8,500charitable
UNFAILING LOVE
$8,000charitable
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
$6,250charitable $6,250.00 So. Bend Music Program
ADAMS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
$6,000charitable
DECATUR SCULPTURE TOUR
$5,500charitable
ADAMS WELLS COUNTY CRISIS CENTER
$5,500charitable
NEIGHBORLINK ADAMS COUNTY
$5,000charitable
MUDDY RIVER FC
$5,000charitable 5-yr commitment 2025-2029
St Josephs Catholic School Decatur IN
$5,000charitable
Lifewise Academy
$5,000charitable
WOMENS CARE CENTER
$5,000charitable
Hummingbird Charitable Foundation
$5,000charitable
KATES KART
$3,000charitable
DECATUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
$2,500charitable
Get Sober Stay Sober Inc
$2,500charitable
CONNOR BRITES WILDFLOWERS
$2,500charitable
Adams County Cancer Coalition
$2,500charitable
COAST GUARD FOUNDATION
$2,000charitable
THE SALVATION ARMY OF FORT WAYNE
$2,000charitable
Adams Health Network Foundation
$2,000charitable: Bronze sponsorship
Adams Central Schools
$1,500charitable
Annual Bishops Appeal
$1,500charitable
Merrimack Hall
$1,000charitable - for Hayden Heckman
The WBCL Radio Network
$1,000charitable
Prison Book Project
$1,000charitable
GENEVA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
$1,000charitable
Adams County IN 4H Shotgun Program
$1,000charitable
C and C Bible Fellowship
$1,000charitable
Alpha Delta Chapter Psi Iota Xi
$1,000charitable
Star 883
$1,000charitable
JA SERVING DECATUR MONROE IN
$825charitable - Purse bingo
City of Decatur
$500charitable K9 Koda
Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District
$500charitable
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH DEC
$140,000charitable $5,000; disaffiliation $125,000; electronic sign $10,000
Southeastern Legal Foundation SLF
$50,000NOAA Vessel Speed Restriction battle
CORPORATE CHAPLAINS OF AMERICA
$22,000charitable
YOUTH FOR CHRIST
$18,100charitable