Iowa · Private foundation
James W and Ella B Forster Trust
Its FY2026 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.
- $315k
- Granted FY2026(still arriving)
- 6
- Grants FY2026
- 7
- Organizations funded FY2025
- 29%
- First-time grantees FY2025
- Median grant, FY2026
- $36,000
- Largest grant, FY2026
- $183,685
- Organizations funded a year
- 3 to 7
- FY2019 to FY2025
- States reached, FY2026
- 1
- Total assets, FY2026
- $1.6M
- Applications
- Takes unsolicited applications
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2025, 29% of the organizations James W and Ella B Forster Trust funded were first-time grantees, receiving 10% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 90% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $38k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026still arriving | 6 | $315k | 17% |
| FY2025 | 7 | $358k | 29% |
| FY2024 | 5 | $318k | 20% |
| FY2023 | 6 | $356k | 17% |
| FY2022 | 4 | $269k | 0% |
| FY2021 | 3 | $282k | 0% |
| FY2020 | 4 | $276k | 25% |
| FY2019 | 6 | $166k | 50% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2026, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill Pioneer Community Hospital Inc | $2,189,370 | 10 | 27% |
| Rock Rapids Area Development Foundation | $502,415 | 7 | 58% |
| Atlas Group of Lyon County | $164,000 | 5 | 11% |
| Rock Rapids Kids Club Inc | $100,000 | 2 | 5% |
| Rock Rapids Mural Society Inc | $55,000 | 9 | n/a |
| Rapids Theatre Preservation Society Inc | $44,288 | 4 | n/a |
| Mid-Sioux Opportunity Inc | $40,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Destiny Youth Ranch Inc | $40,000 | 1 | 25% |
| Lester Development Corporation | $15,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Lyon County Fair Association | $15,000 | 2 | n/a |
Show all 13 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill Pioneer Community Hospital Inc | $2,189,370 | 10 | 27% |
| Rock Rapids Area Development Foundation | $502,415 | 7 | 58% |
| Atlas Group of Lyon County | $164,000 | 5 | 11% |
| Rock Rapids Kids Club Inc | $100,000 | 2 | 5% |
| Rock Rapids Mural Society Inc | $55,000 | 9 | n/a |
| Rapids Theatre Preservation Society Inc | $44,288 | 4 | n/a |
| Mid-Sioux Opportunity Inc | $40,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Destiny Youth Ranch Inc | $40,000 | 1 | 25% |
| Lester Development Corporation | $15,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Lyon County Fair Association | $15,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Justice for All Nw Iowa Chapter | $5,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Lyon County Historical Society | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Center for Financial Education | $1,000 | 1 | 0% |
Plus 5 recipients with no EIN on record ($91k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
James W and Ella B Forster Trust supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 3 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 8 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Open a dossier: Dorothy E McCormack Charitable Trust · Lyon County Riverboat Foundation Inc · Stewart Family Foundation · Premier Communications Foundation · Land O'Lakes Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to James W and Ella B Forster Trust?
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Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.
About James W and Ella B Forster Trust
- How much does James W and Ella B Forster Trust give?
- James W and Ella B Forster Trust reported 6 grants totaling $314,530 in its FY2026 IRS filing. It funded between 3 and 7 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2025.
- What does James W and Ella B Forster Trust fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2026, its largest causes are Health (68%), Community Improvement (15%), Human Services (5%).
- Who are James W and Ella B Forster Trust's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2026: Merrill Pioneer Community Hospital Inc ($2.2M), Rock Rapids Area Development Foundation ($502k), Atlas Group of Lyon County ($164k).
- Does James W and Ella B Forster Trust fund new organizations?
- In FY2025, 29% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does James W and Ella B Forster Trust accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
- Which funders back the same organizations as James W and Ella B Forster Trust?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Dorothy E McCormack Charitable Trust, Lyon County Riverboat Foundation Inc, Stewart Family Foundation.
- Where is James W and Ella B Forster Trust based?
- James W and Ella B Forster Trust is based in IA.
Play a game based on James W and Ella B Forster’s filings →