The Penner Family Foundation concentrates its giving on higher education and education-focused leadership development, with substantial multi-million-dollar gifts to elite universities and national education networks. Its grants support undergraduate research and internships, university athletics/physical education infrastructure, charter-school leadership and community development initiatives, and arts/cultural scholarship. The foundation favors institutional, program-level investments at nationally prominent organizations rather than many small local grants.
Penner Family Foundation Inc has made repeated multi-million-dollar commitments to higher education and education-linked leadership initiatives, with Brown University receiving some of the largest recent awards. The foundation backed Brown’s Turf Field House with $9,000,000 in 2025 and $8,000,000 in 2024, alongside separate support for Brown Undergraduate Internship and Research Fund and the Van Wickle Scholarship Fund. Those grants sit next to major gifts to KIPP Foundation for Community Development - 2025 Campaign and Leadership Priorities, showing that the foundation funds both university-centered opportunity and K-12 leadership pipelines. Its recent grants also point to a strong interest in campus athletics and physical education. Stanford received repeated $4,000,000 pledge grants for The Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation, while Brown also received funding for a Performing Arts Center. The foundation’s portfolio includes institutional support for national education networks, mental health organizations, and arts-related scholarship and centers, but the clearest pattern is a preference for large, program-specific commitments to established institutions rather than dispersed local giving. Grants are national in scope and entirely U.S.-based.
Higher education is a central theme. Brown University received $2,000,000 grants for the Brown Undergraduate Internship and Research Fund in 2023, 2024, and 2025, plus $2,000,000 grants for the Van Wickle Scholarship Fund in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The foundation also gave Brown $1,000,000 in 2024 for Education - Performing Arts Center, indicating support that extends beyond aid into campus facilities and student experience. Education leadership and network-building are another clear focus. Teach for All Inc received $1,000,000 in 2024 for Education - General Fundraising Support and another $1,000,000 in 2025 for the same purpose, while The Opportunity Trust received $500,000 in 2024 for Education - General Operating Support. The foundation also funds youth and community well-being. The Jed Foundation received $1,000,000 in 2025 for support for the "OUR HOUSE" campaign, and Born This Way Foundation received $600,000 in 2025 for Community Development - General Operating Support.
$31.3M
$97.3M
$10.9M
$32.3M
Most grants fall between $10K and $50K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$50K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Highly concentrated, large grants to a small number of national institutions; repeat major gifts to the same universities and a mix of multi-year pledges and campaign/leadership funding rather than many small community grants.
Notable grantees: Brown University, Stanford University (Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University), KIPP Foundation, The Aspen Institute
Typical grants are modest relative to the foundation’s largest gifts: the 25th percentile is $10,000, the median is $20,000, and the 75th percentile is $50,000. Even so, the recent record includes repeated seven- and eight-figure awards, which suggests a portfolio that combines many smaller grants with a small number of large institutional commitments. The same recipients appear across multiple years, including Brown University, KIPP Foundation, Stanford, Teach for All Inc, and Redf, pointing to recurring support rather than one-time-only giving. Penner Family Foundation Inc is a regular funder, and the data identifies it as able to fund individuals. Program-related investments are not part of its profile.
Giving is national, and every recent grant in the dataset goes to U.S. recipients. California appears most often by grant count, with repeated awards to San Francisco-based organizations such as KIPP Foundation, Teach for All Inc, Rock Health Foundation, and Redf, plus Stanford in Stanford, CA. Other visible recipient cities include Providence, RI; Washington, DC; Dallas, TX; Brooklyn, NY; and Denver, CO. No grants in the recent list go to recipients outside the United States.
The foundation’s recent grants center on higher education, education leadership networks, athletics and physical education, and some mental health and community development work. Brown University, Stanford, KIPP Foundation, Teach for All Inc, and The Jed Foundation all appear in the recent grant list with purpose-specific awards.
Yes. Brown University appears across multiple years for the Turf Field House, the Brown Undergraduate Internship and Research Fund, and the Van Wickle Scholarship Fund. KIPP Foundation, Stanford, Teach for All Inc, and Redf also receive repeated support in different years.
The grant-size distribution centers on smaller awards: p25 is $10,000, median is $20,000, and p75 is $50,000. The recent list also includes much larger commitments, including multimillion-dollar grants to Brown University, KIPP Foundation, and Stanford.
By grant count, California is the top state in the recent data. Recipients there include organizations in San Francisco and Stanford, while other grants go to Providence, Washington, DC, Dallas, Brooklyn, New York, and Denver.
Yes. The foundation is marked as funding individuals. The rest of the recent record is dominated by institutional grants, especially to universities, education networks, and nonprofit organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $8,000,000 | 2026 | To build, equip, and maintain the turf field house |
| KIPP Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $5,000,000 | 2026 | to support KIPP Foundation's 2025 Campaign and Leadership Priorities |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $4,000,000 | 2026 | THE DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND RECREATION PLEDGE |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $1,000,000 | 2026 | To support Aspen Institute's initiatives |
| The Kennedy Forum | Island Heights, NJ | $900,000 | 2026 | to accelerate parity, access, and equity in mental health and substance use disorder systems |
| REDF | San Francisco, CA | $600,000 | 2026 | to support the strategic growth campaign of REDF |
| Rock Health Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $600,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Teach for All Inc | New York, NY | $500,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Western Stock Show Association | Denver, CO | $500,000 | 2026 | to support the Honoring the Legacy Campaign of the National Western Stock Show |
| The Opportunity Trust | St Louis, MO | $500,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Aspen Education Foundation | Aspen, CO | $500,000 | 2026 | to establish an endowment for the Outdoor/Experiential Education Program. |
| One Mind | Rutherford, CA | $500,000 | 2026 | to support the Cohort of the One Mind Accelerator |
| Monterey Peninsula Foundation | Monterey, CA | $450,000 | 2026 | to support general operations |
| Entitlements How Inc | Alexandria, VA | $250,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| History Colorado | Denver, CO | $250,000 | 2026 | to support the America 250- Colorado 150 Commemoration |
| Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $224,173 | 2026 | To support the Psychological Literacy Project |
| Heartland Forward | Bentonville, AR | $150,000 | 2026 | to align resources, accelerate policy adoption, and deliver lasting improvements in health outcomes, workforce readiness, and economic vitality across the heartland |
| Lone Rock Foundation | Bailey, CO | $125,000 | 2026 | to support developing plans for organizational growth |
| National Governors Association Center for Best Practices | Washington DC, DC | $100,000 | 2026 | to strengthen state capacity to coordinate and improve youth mental health systems |
| USA Cycling Inc | Colorado Springs, CO | $92,736 | 2026 | Support for Team USA Cycling |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $50,000 | 2026 | to support the Undergraduate Annual Fund |
| Sacred Heart Schools Atherton | Atherton, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| USA Cycling Inc | Colorado Springs, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| USA Water Polo Inc | Irvine, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| St Paul's School | Concord, NH | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | to support the School of Education |
| Teach for America Inc | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | to support the 2025 annual benefit dinner |
| Aspen Valley Land Trust | Carbondale, CO | $50,000 | 2026 | Support for capital campaign |
| Trustees of Deerfield Academy | Deerfield, MA | $50,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | to support the Business School |
| California Academy of Sciences | San Francisco, CA | $30,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Teach for America Inc | New York, NY | $25,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Governor Dummer Academy | Byfield, MA | $25,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Aspen Center for Environmental Studies | Aspen, CO | $25,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Honored Foundation | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Foxg1 Research Foundation | Sands Point, NY | $25,000 | 2026 | FoxG1 Research and Program Support |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | to support the Athletic Department |
| AspenCountryDaySchoolInc | ASPEN, CO | $25,000 | 2026 | to support the Annual Fund |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | to support the Parent Fund |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association | Aspen, CO | $20,000 | 2026 | to support the general operations of the Roaring Forks Mountain Bike Association |
| Star Rock Ministries | San Clemente, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $20,000 | 2026 | to support the Men and Women's Water Polo team |
| Child Mind Institute Inc | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Jim SaundersFund | KAILUA KONA, HI | $10,000 | 2026 | to support general operations |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2026 | To support School of Foreign Services |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation | Monterey, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health | Palo Alto, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
| Colorado Mountain College Foundation Inc | Glenwood Springs, CO | $10,000 | 2026 | General Operating Support |
Brown University
$8,000,000To build, equip, and maintain the turf field house
to support KIPP Foundation's 2025 Campaign and Leadership Priorities
THE DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND RECREATION PLEDGE
The Kennedy Forum
$900,000to accelerate parity, access, and equity in mental health and substance use disorder systems
Western Stock Show Association
$500,000to support the Honoring the Legacy Campaign of the National Western Stock Show
to establish an endowment for the Outdoor/Experiential Education Program.
Entitlements How Inc
$250,000General Operating Support
History Colorado
$250,000to support the America 250- Colorado 150 Commemoration
To support the Psychological Literacy Project
to align resources, accelerate policy adoption, and deliver lasting improvements in health outcomes, workforce readiness, and economic vitality across the heartland
Lone Rock Foundation
$125,000to support developing plans for organizational growth
to strengthen state capacity to coordinate and improve youth mental health systems
Brown University
$50,000to support the Undergraduate Annual Fund
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton
$50,000General Operating Support
to support the School of Education
to support the Business School
California Academy of Sciences
$30,000General Operating Support
Governor Dummer Academy
$25,000General Operating Support
Foxg1 Research Foundation
$25,000FoxG1 Research and Program Support
to support the Athletic Department
AspenCountryDaySchoolInc
$25,000to support the Annual Fund
to support the Parent Fund
Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association
$20,000to support the general operations of the Roaring Forks Mountain Bike Association
Brown University
$20,000to support the Men and Women's Water Polo team
Jim SaundersFund
$10,000to support general operations