North Carolina · Nonprofit
Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc
Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc (North Carolina) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $357,567 to it, the largest being 1772 FOUNDATION INC ($260,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $373k
- Funders on record
- 13
- Grants received
- $358k
- Net assets
- $2.1M
What Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc does
Mission
The mission of Historic Wilmington Foundation is to protect and preserve the irreplaceable historic resources of Wilmington and the Lower Cape Fear Region.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Historic Wilmington Foundation (HWF) operates a retail salvage operation, Legacy Architectural Salvage (LAS). HWF works every day to keep historic properties intact and in place. But when a property is facing demolition, LAS serves as the best-case option in a worst-case scenario. Our team of staff and volunteers deconstruct historic properties, salvaging architectural elements (e.g., flooring, doors, windows, door knobs, fireplace mantles, newel posts, and more). LAS also accepts donations of pre-1960s architectural salvage from homeowners and contractors, who have removed such elements during deconstruction and renovation projects. These elements are then sold to members of our community, who utilize them in restoration and rehabilitation projects. As an operation of HWF, LAS diverts tons of wood from the landfill and places these salvaged elements right back into area properties, helping to preserve our region's built history. Proceeds from LAS support HWF's preservation efforts.At LAS, free workshops are offered on a regular basis, covering various topics related to home repair and maintenance. Wilmington is blessed with a large supply of historic homes, but unfortunately,…
$254,562 spent$110,464 earned by the program100% of program spendingFor over 55 years, HWF has preserved our region's built history utilizing a revolving grant fund, easements, education, and advocacy. Wilmington has eight National Register of Historic Places and HWF has played a pivotal role in the creation and designation of all of them. Beginning with the creation of the Wilmington Historic and Archeological District in 1974, HWF has helped establish the National Register of Historic Places of Market Street Mansion, Carolina Place, Carolina Heights, Masonboro Sound, Sunset Park, Westbrook-Ardmore, and Brookwood. HWF has one of the most prolific local plaque programs in the country, featuring six distinctive plaques to honor a variety of historic properties. More than 700 plaques have been researched and approved for historic properties throughout New Hanover County, NC, and beyond. Another educational program is Tar Heels Go Walking, a walking tour for New Hanover County's third grade students. HWF also holds free walking tours each month for adults, covering a variety of topics related to architecture and history. In the last three years, HWF has used its revolving grant fund for the relocation of 310 Bladen, an 1890s bungalow set for…
HWF partners with the City of Wilmington in an effort to save properties on the Demolition by Neglect (DBN) list. Grant funding is received from The 1772 Foundation, which helps identify endangered properties and then HWF works with area homeowners, providing grant funds for necessary repairs. In addition to funding, HWF provides advice and support during the repair process.
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $254,562.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $1.6M to $2.4M (+50%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 4% · 2018 6% · 2019 5% · 2022 2% · 2024 3% · 2025 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
47% of Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Carol Bullock
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023, and between the FY2023 and FY2024, and between the FY2024 and FY2025 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $5k → $92k.
2 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 8% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 73% of grant income and the top three 88%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 58% · 2020 99% · 2021 79% · 2022 54% · 2023 82% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
25% of Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 38% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc draws 85% of its grant income from funders outside North Carolina, across 4 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $28k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 5 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,634 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In North Carolina
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
61% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc?
- Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc (North Carolina) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $357,567 to it, the largest being 1772 FOUNDATION INC ($260,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc have?
- IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $357,567 in grants to Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc?
- 1772 FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $260,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Historic Wilmington Foundation Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in North Carolina. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Historic Wilmington →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 13 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing