Virginia · Nonprofit
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 78 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,173,907 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($5,782,000). 49 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $14M
- Funders on record
- 78
- Grants received
- $19M
- Net assets
- $21M
What Montpelier Foundation does
Mission
A memorial to james madison and the enslaved community, a museum of american history, and a center for constitutional education that engages the public with the enduring legacy of madison's most powerful idea: government by the people.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Education and engagement: working closely with archaeology, historic architecture and collections, the department of education and engagement oversees all public programming at montpelier. This includes developing tour content, interpretive signage, and programming for student and adult groups. It was instrumental in the planning and execution of the award-winning exhibition the mere distinction of colour.
$2,310,326 spent$1,291,004 earned by the program51% of program spendingHistoric architecture and collections:historic architecture and collections are responsible for the care and maintenance of montpelier's historic structures - many associated with the dupont era - in addition to leading significant historic reconstruction projects such as the south yard. This is accomplished through architectural fieldwork by examining wood species, nails, windows, decorative mouldings, and more, to ensure that the reconstructed buildings are as historically accurate as possible. For example, during the restoration of the temple, the recovery of a single madison-era shingle while investigating the roof framing led to the determination that the temple roof was originally painted red.curatorial and collections is instrumental in the furnishing of the house and other reconstructed buildings on the property. All of the installations and acquisitions are based, at least in part, on the work and discoveries of other departments like archaeology, research, and architectural preservation. Recent projects include the furnishing plans for the south yard quarters; the acquisition of the artwork in the south passage of the house; the acquisition of objects connected to dolley…
$523,435 spent12% of program spendingRobert h. Smith center for the constitution:the robert h. Smith center for the constitution provides world-class educational programming, both on-site and online. Participants come from all over the world to engage in civic dialogue, improve their understanding of the founding principles of the united states, and deepen their potential involvement in democracy. Specific programming is offered for educators, law enforcement officers, and international civil servants.
$561,362 spent$83,203 earned by the program12% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$1,153,953 spent25% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,549,076.
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 2024 to 2025, from $35M to $21M (−39%).
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 0% · 2019 0% · 2021 10% · 2022 26% · 2023 3% · 2024 5% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
83% of MONTPELIER FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (58% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 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
Ms Krista Costello
Interim president and CEO
Board chair
Dr Hasan Kwame Jeffries
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 25 funders to 27 funders, grant income rose $1.1M → $2.6M.
14 of 78 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 13% 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 MONTPELIER FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 78 funders by total. 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
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 30% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
25% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund MONTPELIER FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 47% · 2018 22% · 2019 22% · 2020 19% · 2021 17% · 2022 27% · 2023 57% — growing more concentrated.
“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
52% of MONTPELIER FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION draws 71% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 21 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.6M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 570 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 570 arts & culture nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding MONTPELIER FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.1M on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$864k
- National Endowment for the Humanities$685k
- Department of the Interior$552k
- Department of Justice$27k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like MONTPELIER FOUNDATION
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
71%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 50 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- Montpelier Descendants Committee · exempt
- Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (1) · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MONTPELIER FOUNDATION: 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 MONTPELIER FOUNDATION?
- MONTPELIER FOUNDATION (Virginia) receives grants from 78 organizations whose IRS filings report $19,173,907 to it, the largest being THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION ($5,782,000). 49 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MONTPELIER FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 78 organizations giving $19,173,907 in grants to MONTPELIER FOUNDATION, 49 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MONTPELIER FOUNDATION?
- THE ANDREW W MELLON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,782,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MONTPELIER FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
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 78 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing