Grants for community recreation centers

557 community recreation centers received at least $28.3 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 599 grants made from 513 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,500. Of these 513 foundations, 92% made just a single grant to rec centers, and 1% made grants to four or more rec centers. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$28,253,482
Total grant dollars given to community recreation centers
599
Number of grants made annually to community recreation centers
513
Number of grantmakers funding community recreation centers
$1,500
Median grant size to community recreation centers

Foundations that support community recreation centers

Out of all grants made to community recreation centers, 73% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 95% of the dollar-value of grants to rec centers. Foundations funding rec centers also made grants to multiservice human service organizations, colleges, food distribution programs, scholarship organizations, and educational service providers.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
377
Medium
 
73
Large
 
63
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
 
20
Private
 
405
Corporate
 
34
Other
 
54

Grants made

Grants made to rec centersNumber of grantmakers
1
 
472
2-3
 
34
4-10
 
6
11+
 
1

Top 10 foundations supporting community recreation centers

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to rec centersNumber of grants made to rec centersMedian grant size
Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesIAState0.1%14$2,000
The Troy FoundationOHMetro0.2%10$750
Alliant Energy FoundationWIState0.4%9$780
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.0%6$1,307
Baird FoundationWINational0.1%5$700
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%4$630
Greater Tacoma Community Foundation (GTCF)WAMetro0.0%4$904
The Nord Family FoundationOHState0.1%3$2,500
Arkansas Community FoundationARState0.0%3$1,000
MANNA Food Bank (MANNA)NCMetro2.6%3$1,038

Community recreation centers grantees

Community recreation centers with more than $5 million in total revenues received 75% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 21% of all rec centers.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
592
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
7

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$2,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,500
$500k-$1M
 
$1,500
$1M-$5M
 
$1,200
>$5M
 
$2,500

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
California
 
57
New York
 
48
Pennsylvania
 
42
Illinois
 
35
Other
 
417

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
38
Chicago
 
30
Madison
 
23
Atlanta
 
23
Other
 
362

Top 25 grants made to community recreation centers

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore$6,564,659General SupportThe Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore
Muskingum Recreation Center$4,688,950General SupportMuskingum County Community Foundation (MCCF)
The Big Sky Community Organization (BSCC)$4,000,000EnvironmentSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
National Winter Activity Center Winter4kids (NWAC)$3,342,190General SupportCommunity Foundation of New Jersey
The Big Sky Community Organization (BSCC)$3,026,612Community Center/trailhead ImprovYellowstone Club Community Foundation
Jewish Community of Louisville$2,854,005Capital Campaign, Programs, Education, Preschool, Camps, Security, Outreach, EngagementJewish Heritage Fund for Excellence (JHFE)
Shepherd Center Foundation$2,500,000Traumatic Brain Injury Center Expansion PartnerBoulder Crest Foundation
Christian Schools Athletic Fellowship$5,000Religious EvangelismThe Clarence W Hottel SR Christian Ministry Trust
The Big Sky Community Organization (BSCC)$5,000Program SupportChristian Community Foundation of Memphis and the Mid-South
Prairie Grit Adaptive Sports$5,000General SupportInFaith Community Foundation (ICF)
Bensalem Kiwanis Foundation$5,000To Build Rock Wall on the Playground To Help Promoting Physical Attributes and Build Self-Confidence of the StudentsAlbert W Bader Foundation
Santa Fe Bridge Center$5,000Operating SupportThornburg Foundation
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center$5,000In Support of the Icon ProgramShimon Ben Joseph Foundation
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center$5,000General Operating SupportShimon Ben Joseph Foundation
Alchemy Skateboarding$5,000Charitable Contribution Through the Matching Gifts ProgramAnnie E Casey Foundation (AECF)
St Michaels Community Center$5,000Sustaining GrantRuth and Robert St John Foundation
The Community House$5,000The Kids Community @ 284People's United Community Foundation of Eastern Massachusetts
Aquatorium Innovations$5,000To Support the Mission of the AquatoriumMon-Vale Health Resources
Hanover Improvement Society Corporation$5,000Storrs Pond Recration Area Jack and Dorothy Bryne Foundation Match ChallengeHypertherm Hope Foundation
The Fit Kids Foundation$5,000General Operating SupportLisa and Douglas Goldman Fund
Friends of Boca Grande Community Center$5,000General SupportHunter Family Foundation
Yates Cultural and Recreational Resources$5,000In Support of Our Town RocksThe Nord Family Foundation
Charlo Community Outdoor Complex in$5,000General OperatingHeadwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana
Florence Community Center$5,000General OperatingHeadwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana
Miami Beach Jewish Community Center$5,000General Support To Carry Out the Mission of the OrganizationGreater Miami Jewish Federation
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 "Community recreation centers" category for this page is determined by the "N31: Community Recreational Centers" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.