Iowa · Private foundation
Samuel B O'Brien Foundation
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.
- $41k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 14
- Grants FY2025
- 16
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 6%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $300
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $30,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 11 to 17
- FY2019 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 4
- Total assets, FY2025
- $465k
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 6% of the organizations Samuel B O'Brien Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 1% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $500 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 14 | $41k | 14% |
| FY2024 | 16 | $42k | 6% |
| FY2023 | 11 | $39k | 9% |
| FY2022 | 17 | $35k | 12% |
| FY2021 | 13 | $26k | 8% |
| FY2020 | 16 | $34k | 31% |
| FY2019 | 13 | $29k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2019 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historic Arnolds Park Inc | $101,750 | 3 | 0% |
| Des Moines Metro Opera Inc | $63,301 | 7 | 1% |
| Shattuck-St Mary's School | $13,950 | 7 | 0% |
| Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation | $9,340 | 7 | 0% |
| Brenton Arboretum Inc | $6,825 | 7 | 0% |
| Iowa Great Lakes Foundation | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Ding Darling Wildlife Society Inc | $5,250 | 2 | 0% |
| State University of Iowa | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Mill Reef Fund | $3,500 | 7 | 0% |
| Blank Park Zoo Foundation Inc | $1,600 | 5 | 0% |
Show all 15 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historic Arnolds Park Inc | $101,750 | 3 | 0% |
| Des Moines Metro Opera Inc | $63,301 | 7 | 1% |
| Shattuck-St Mary's School | $13,950 | 7 | 0% |
| Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation | $9,340 | 7 | 0% |
| Brenton Arboretum Inc | $6,825 | 7 | 0% |
| Iowa Great Lakes Foundation | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Ding Darling Wildlife Society Inc | $5,250 | 2 | 0% |
| State University of Iowa | $5,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Mill Reef Fund | $3,500 | 7 | 0% |
| Blank Park Zoo Foundation Inc | $1,600 | 5 | 0% |
| Edmundson Art Foundation Inc | $1,170 | 6 | 0% |
| Pearson Lakes Art Center | $925 | 6 | 0% |
| Food Bank of Iowa | $500 | 1 | 0% |
| Lewis & Clark College | $300 | 3 | 0% |
| Pacific Crest Trail Association | $125 | 2 | 0% |
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 10 recipients with no EIN on record ($26k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Samuel B O'Brien Foundation supplied at peak.
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: Windsor Charitable Foundation · Brenton Foundation · Krause Gentle Foundation · Meredith Corporation Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
About Samuel B O'Brien Foundation
- How much does Samuel B O'Brien Foundation give?
- Samuel B O'Brien Foundation reported 14 grants totaling $40,821 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 11 and 17 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2024.
- What does Samuel B O'Brien Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2019 to FY2025, its largest causes are Recreation & Sports (45%), Arts & Culture (31%), Environment (10%).
- Who are Samuel B O'Brien Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2019 to FY2025: Historic Arnolds Park Inc ($102k), Des Moines Metro Opera Inc ($63k), Shattuck-St Mary's School ($14k).
- Does Samuel B O'Brien Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 6% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does Samuel B O'Brien Foundation 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 Samuel B O'Brien Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Windsor Charitable Foundation, Brenton Foundation, Krause Gentle Foundation.
- Where is Samuel B O'Brien Foundation based?
- Samuel B O'Brien Foundation is based in IA.
Play a game based on Samuel B O'Brien’s filings →