Grants for youth agriculture organizations

308 4-h and youth agricultural programs received at least $265.6 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 229 grants made from 121 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 121 foundations, 85% made just a single grant to 4-h clubs, and 4% made grants to four or more 4-h clubs. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$265,639,849
Total grant dollars given to youth agriculture organizations
229
Number of grants made annually to youth agriculture organizations
121
Number of grantmakers funding youth agriculture organizations
$1,000
Median grant size to youth agriculture organizations

Foundations that support 4-h and youth agricultural programs

Out of all grants made to youth agriculture organizations, 60% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 99% of the dollar-value of grants to 4-h clubs. Foundations funding 4-h clubs also made grants to universities, multiservice human service organizations, animal shelters, youth development programs, and food banks.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
73
Medium
 
25
Large
 
23
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
5
Private
 
79
Corporate
 
11
Other
 
26

Grants made

Grants made to 4-h clubsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
104
2-3
 
12
4-10
 
3
11+
 
2

Top 10 foundations supporting 4-h and youth agricultural programs

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to 4-h clubsNumber of grants made to 4-h clubsMedian grant size
NRA FoundationVANational0.1%62$1,305
Land O'Lakes FoundationMNNational0.3%20$1,000
Us Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and TechnologyNHNational0.4%6$4,721
Carmax FoundationVANational0.1%4$1,600
Big Ten Conference (B1G)ILRegional3.1%3$11,394,108
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%3$40
Big Twelve ConferenceTXNational9.6%2$36,973,835
John and Martha Carter FoundationFLMetro11.1%2$4,000
Arvin Sango FoundationINState2.1%2$3,850

4-H and youth agricultural programs grantees

Youth agriculture organizations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 3% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 4% of all 4-h clubs.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
221
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
8

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,122
$100k-$500k
 
$768
$500k-$1M
 
$1,625
$1M-$5M
 
$3,000
>$5M
 
$1,689

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
Indiana
 
29
Louisiana
 
17
Wisconsin
 
12
Florida
 
12
Other
 
159

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
Indianapolis
 
13
Madison
 
9
Chicago
 
9
New York City
 
8
Other
 
136

Top 25 grants made to youth agriculture organizations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Rutgers the State University of NJ$141,721,294Education-Related/ AthleticsRutgers University Foundation
Nicholas County Ceos$36,973,835Annual DistributionBig Twelve Conference
Nicholas County Ceos$36,973,835CashBig Twelve Conference
Rutgers the State University of NJ$18,000,000CashBig Ten Conference (B1G)
Rutgers the State University of NJ$11,394,108CashBig Ten Conference (B1G)
Rutgers the State University of NJ$11,394,108To Support the Missions of Member InstitutionsBig Ten Conference (B1G)
Nicholas County Ceos$6,282,620Expenditures on Grants Awarded To Wvurc on Behalf of Wvu for Acquisition of Capital Assets Or Expenditures on Grants Awarded To Wvurc on Behalf of Wvu for Acquisition of Capital Assets Or Construction Where the Asset Was Transferred To Wvu As A Beneficiary of the Asset.West Virginia University Research
University of Massachusetts$2,515,00011. Primary Purpose of the Academic Investment Funds Is To Support the University of Massachusetts Medical School Programs.-$2,515,000UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC)
University of Massachusetts$5,000General Operating, Creation And/or Presenting SupportNew England Foundation for the Arts Incorporated
The California 4-H Foundation$5,000Unrestricted GeneralSanford Anderson Charitable Foundation
Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center$5,000To Support Natural Resource Education ProgramGreater Lynchburg Community Foundation
Rutgers the State University of NJ$5,000Research GrantAmerican Association of Endodontists Foundation
University of Massachusetts$5,000Business Innovation SupportGreater Fall River Development Corporation
Midland County Livestock Association$5,000Youth ScholarshipsFasken Foundation
Rutgers the State University of NJ$5,000Field Camp GrantSociety of Exploration Geophysicists
Future Farmers of America - Missouri Ffa Association$5,000CharitableJerry Litton Family Memorial Foundation
Kentucky Future Farmers of America Foundation$5,000O52 Agricultural Youth DevelopmentThe Community Foundation of Louisville Corporate Depository
Montana FFA Foundation$5,000Helping Hands Community Service GrantDennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation
Indiana Future Farmers of Amercia Foundation$5,000General Operating Fund ContributionThe Hageman Foundation
Future Farmers of America - Or0076 Silverton High School Ffa$5,000Mini Grant ProgramOea Choice Trust
Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation$5,000State Horse ProgramRobert Kemper Corrigan Foundation
Casa of Lake and Sanders Counties$5,000General OperatingHeadwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana
Arkansas Junior Cattlemens Association$5,000General PurposeArkansas Cattlemens Association
Atascosa County Livestock Show$5,000Youth DevelopmentGreater Houston Community Foundation
Future Farmers of America - Ilo188 Chicago High School of Ag$5,000Fund Implementation of A Comprehensive Proposal for A Whole-School, Next-Generation ModelLeap Innovations
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Youth agriculture organizations" category for this page is determined by the "O52: Youth Development-Agricultural" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.