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Michigan · Private foundation

Penske Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$11M
Granted FY2025(still arriving)
29
Grants FY2025
16
Organizations funded FY2024
31%
First-time grantees FY2024
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2025
$125,000
Largest grant, FY2025
$2,000,000
Organizations funded a year
9 to 16
FY2018 to FY2024
States reached, FY2025
15
Total assets, FY2025
$219M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2024, 31% of the organizations Penske Foundation Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 35% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 65% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.3M went to new ones.

50%100%’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2025still arriving28$9.8M68%
FY202416$6.5M31%
FY20239$1.9M22%
FY202215$2.2M27%
FY202116$1.2M38%
FY20209$905k0%
FY201910$1.1M10%
FY201810$1.0M20%
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Health$13MArts & Culture$6.9MEducation$5.0MPhilanthropy$3.1MPublic Benefit$3.0MHuman Services$655kYouth Development$610kRecreation & Sports$295kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
MN
MI
NY
MA
NV
IN
OH
PA
CT
CA
MO
VA
AZ
TN
NC
DC
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Henry Ford Health System$4,000,00030%
The Detroit Institute of Arts$3,500,00071%
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation Inc$2,500,000227%
Oakland County$2,000,0001n/a
Paralyzed Veterans of America$1,500,00021%
Horatio Alger Assn of Distinguished Americans Inc$1,300,00091%
Culver Educational Foundation$1,015,00011%
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation$1,000,00010%
Steadfast la Foundation$1,000,0001n/a
Nantucket Dreamland Foundation Inc$435,00074%
Show all 38 grantees
All grantees of Penske Foundation Inc by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Henry Ford Health System$4,000,00030%
The Detroit Institute of Arts$3,500,00071%
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation Inc$2,500,000227%
Oakland County$2,000,0001n/a
Paralyzed Veterans of America$1,500,00021%
Horatio Alger Assn of Distinguished Americans Inc$1,300,00091%
Culver Educational Foundation$1,015,00011%
Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation$1,000,00010%
Steadfast la Foundation$1,000,0001n/a
Nantucket Dreamland Foundation Inc$435,00074%
National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation$250,0001n/a
Birthstone Corporation$250,000172%
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan$250,0001n/a
Nxg Youth Motorsports Inc$250,000145%
Cancer Vaccine Coalition Inc$250,000145%
Ryan Blaney Family Foundation$235,000521%
El Education Inc$230,00060%
St Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc$200,00020%
Michigan Science Center$200,0001n/a
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc$165,00081%
Techforce Foundation$150,00091%
Trustees of Boston University$125,00010%
Cornell University$125,00010%
The Mark Donohue Foundation Inc$110,000290%
Shattuck-St Mary's School$100,00010%
Easy Day Foundation$100,0001n/a
Navy Seal Foundation Inc$100,00010%
Child Safe Michigan$60,00061%
Chapman University$50,00010%
Helens Pink Sky Foundation$50,0001n/a
Habitat for Humanity Detroit$50,00012%
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Inc$50,00050%
Brunswick School Inc$50,00010%
National Kidney Foundation Inc$50,00010%
Family First Inc$45,00010%
Detroit Historical Society$40,00040%
Regents of the University of Michigan$25,0001n/a
Say Detroit$5,0001n/a

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 11 recipients with no EIN on record ($4.0M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Penske Foundation Inc supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 5 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 29 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHenry Ford Health System: $4,000,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Detroit Institute of Arts: $3,500,000 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetIndianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation Inc: $2,500,000 over 2y, 27% of budgetParalyzed Veterans of America: $1,500,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetHoratio Alger Assn of Distinguished Americans Inc: $1,300,000 over 9y, 1.1% of budgetCulver Educational Foundation: $1,015,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetStephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetNantucket Dreamland Foundation Inc: $435,000 over 7y, 3.8% of budgetBirthstone Corporation: $250,000 over 1y, 72% of budgetNxg Youth Motorsports Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetCancer Vaccine Coalition Inc: $250,000 over 1y, 45% of budgetRyan Blaney Family Foundation: $235,000 over 5y, 21% of budgetEl Education Inc: $230,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetSt Jude Children's Research Hospital Inc: $200,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNantucket Conservation Foundation Inc: $165,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetTechforce Foundation: $150,000 over 9y, 1.0% of budgetTrustees of Boston University: $125,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $125,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Mark Donohue Foundation Inc: $110,000 over 2y, 90% of budgetShattuck-St Mary's School: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNavy Seal Foundation Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetChild Safe Michigan: $60,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetChapman University: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHabitat for Humanity Detroit: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetDetroit Symphony Orchestra Inc: $50,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBrunswick School Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNational Kidney Foundation Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFamily First Inc: $45,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetDetroit Historical Society: $40,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 29.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

Ford PhilanthropyMI17.4× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Ford Philanthropy · Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan · DTE Energy Foundation · The Kresge Foundation · WK Kellogg Foundation · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Ayco Charitable Foundation · Charities Aid Foundation America · National Philanthropic Trust · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Compare Penske Foundation Inc with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Penske Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Penske Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

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 Penske Foundation Inc

How much does Penske Foundation Inc give?
Penske Foundation Inc reported 29 grants totaling $10,843,333 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 9 and 16 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
What does Penske Foundation Inc fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Health (39%), Arts & Culture (21%), Education (15%).
Who are Penske Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Henry Ford Health System ($4.0M), The Detroit Institute of Arts ($3.5M), Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation Inc ($2.5M).
Does Penske Foundation Inc fund new organizations?
In FY2024, 31% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does Penske Foundation Inc accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as Penske Foundation Inc?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Ford Philanthropy, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, DTE Energy Foundation.
Where is Penske Foundation Inc based?
Penske Foundation Inc is based in MI.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 51 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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