3 Dog Garage

3 Dog Garage (EIN 26-0701933) is a private operating foundation classified under NTEE code A50 (Museums) — not a traditional external grantmaker. This distinction is essential: across every 990 filing on record from 2012 through 2023, the foundation reports $0 in grants paid to outside organizations. All expenditures fund the museum's own programs: displaying collectible automobiles, restoring vehicles, and conducting car promotion activities. Prospective applicants expecting a standard grant relationship will find no such mechanism here.

That said, organizations aligned with the museum's Ford-centric American automotive heritage mission have genuine pathways for meaningful engagement. The foundation is governed by founder A. Ross Myers (President/Director) and Beth Myers (Treasurer/Director), operating without compensation alongside Secretary Teresa Hasson — a three-person, all-volunteer leadership structure reflecting a closely held, founder-driven institution. Myers began restoring a 1936 Ford at age eight; that vehicle now anchors the collection and appears in show circuits. Decisions flow directly from his personal passion and judgment.

The museum's accelerating scale — assets grew from $8.07 million in FY2014 to $29.66 million in FY2024, a 267% increase over ten years — and its October 2025 launch of a full IMSA WeatherTech racing program (Myers Riley Motorsports, fielding two Multimatic-built Mustang GT3s in GTD) signal an institution entering a new phase of institutional ambition. Organizations that can create mutually beneficial programming — joint events, STEM-through-motorsports curricula, automotive restoration education, or racing heritage media projects — stand the best chance of capturing leadership attention.

First engagement should come through the museum's group-visit reservation system, not an unsolicited grant request. The museum actively hosts car clubs (PCA Riesentoter held an event there July 2025) and community organizations. From there, a follow-on proposal framed as a co-programming or sponsorship partnership — not a grant — aligns with how the foundation actually operates.

Organizations in automotive preservation, historic racing, Ford heritage, or automotive STEM education should lead with their content: what collection, expertise, or audience do you bring that complements 100+ vehicles spanning Shelby, drag racing, hot rod, and early-to-late race car categories across ~75,000 square feet in Boyertown, Pennsylvania? That programmatic specificity will resonate far more than any funding ask.

3 Dog Garage directs all financial resources to its own operations. The 990 program expense breakdown reveals three defined budget lines: display operations at $1,656,425 (approximately 87.6% of total documented program expenses), car promotion activities at $176,410 (9.3%), and vehicle restoration at $58,953 (3.1%) — totaling roughly $1.89 million in program service costs. The foundation reports $0 in grants paid externally across all available filing years (FY2012–FY2023).

The headline "total giving" figures in IRS records represent program service expenditures, not grants distributed to third parties. In FY2023, that figure reached $2,606,130 — the highest on record — up from $2,094,611 in FY2022 and $2,059,215 in FY2021. This steady upward trend reflects growing operational scale, not an expanding external grant portfolio.

Revenue growth has been substantial and consistent. Total revenue rose from $1.39 million in FY2014 to $4.65 million in FY2023, a 235% increase over nine years. Contributions received in FY2023 totaled $4,734,984 — virtually all of revenue — indicating the foundation is almost entirely donor-dependent rather than investment-income driven (net investment income reported as $0 across all years). Assets have grown correspondingly: $6.13M (2012) → $8.07M (2014) → $23.08M (2019) → $27.24M (2022) → $29.66M (2024).

The car promotion activities budget ($176,410) is the line most relevant to external partners, as it covers events and public-facing outreach that could accommodate co-branded collaborators. The restoration program ($58,953) could similarly attract partnering conservators or technical/vocational schools. However, neither line has historically flowed to outside organizations as cash grants.

Officer compensation has been $0 in every filing year, underscoring the all-volunteer governance model. The museum's free-admission, donation-supported operating model means all contributed dollars flow directly back into collection maintenance, facility investment, and promotional activities.

For any organization considering engagement, the realistic "funding" available is not cash grants but rather access to the museum's platform: display partnerships, event co-hosting, and promotional visibility within the collector-car community — a network with significant high-net-worth concentration in the mid-Atlantic region.

The following table compares 3 Dog Garage to its five closest asset-size peers in the Arts & Culture (NTEE A) category:

3 Dog Garage sits mid-range among its asset-comparable peers at $29.7 million with the most highly specialized programmatic focus in the group. Unlike the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation — which maintains an active, documented grants program supporting visual arts education and design — 3 Dog Garage directs all resources to internal operations, making it the most operationally insular institution among peers where grant data is available.

The Cook Museum of Natural Science in Alabama offers the closest structural parallel: both are operating foundations maintaining physical collections for free public access, with similar asset scales and no external grant history. Both are mission-constrained to a specific collection type rather than broadly grantmaking across a category.

What distinguishes 3 Dog Garage from all peers is its recent pivot toward competitive motorsports. The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech GT3 program is a highly unusual strategic move for a foundation of this asset size and profile, suggesting leadership ambitions well beyond traditional museum stewardship — and a potential appetite for event-based sponsorship partnerships.

The most significant recent development is the October 31, 2025 announcement that 3 Dog Garage founder Ross Myers is partnering with Riley Motorsports principal Bill Riley to field a Ford Mustang GT3 in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class under the team name Myers Riley Motorsports. The team acquired two Multimatic-built Mustang GT3 chassis and completed an inaugural test at Daytona International Speedway in November 2025. General Manager Chris Liebenberg oversees day-to-day operations for the combined museum and racing initiative. Myers described the move as "taking it up one notch," with long-term ambitions including a Le Mans entry.

Earlier in 2025, the museum hosted the Porsche Club of America Riesentoter chapter for a club event on July 19, reinforcing its status as a premier mid-Atlantic destination for collector-car clubs. The museum's welcoming of non-Ford clubs — including Porsche enthusiasts — signals an inclusive events posture beyond the core Ford collection.

The second museum building, a renovated mid-20th-century facility, has been open since 2022, and the expanded ~75,000-square-foot footprint now houses over 100 vehicles across eight collection categories: Shelby, Drag Race/Dry Lakes, Hot Rods and Customs, Early Race Cars, Late Race Cars, Specials, the Mark Smith Ford Collection, and Motorcycles. An on-site restoration shop, art gallery, and library complete the visitor experience.

No leadership changes have been announced. Ross Myers, Beth Myers, and Teresa Hasson have held their roles continuously. Foundation assets reached $29.66 million in FY2024, with revenue of $2.81 million — a decline from FY2023's $4.65 million peak — suggesting some year-to-year variability in donor contributions.

Because 3 Dog Garage does not operate an external grant program, "applying" in the traditional sense is not an available pathway. The actionable strategy for any organization seeking engagement is to position itself as a programming partner, event co-host, or content collaborator — not a grant recipient. Every piece of outreach should be framed accordingly.

Lead with Ford and American motorsports alignment. The collection centers on Ford-bodied and Ford-powered vehicles: Shelby Cobras and GT350s, dry-lakes and drag racing machines, pre-WWII brass-era Fords, and late-20th-century racing machines. Any inquiry that cannot speak fluently to this niche will be quickly deprioritized. Reference specific vehicles, eras, or builders from 3 Dog Garage's eight collection categories when making contact.

Contact the right people for the right ask. Reach Chris Liebenberg (General Manager) for event logistics, visit reservations, or co-hosting proposals. Approach Ross Myers (President/Director) only for larger strategic partnerships — sponsorship of the IMSA program, multi-year exhibition co-hosting, or a substantial co-programming venture. Cold outreach to Myers without an established relationship or a compelling Ford-heritage hook is unlikely to succeed.

Use the group visit as a first step, not a formality. Reserve through 3dog.org/visit-3-dog-garage before making any partnership pitch. Document your visit in detail: which vehicles captured your group's attention, what restoration work was visible in the shop, what programming gaps you identified. These specifics will anchor your follow-on proposal in observations that resonate with Myers's collection pride.

Avoid grant-framing entirely. Foundation directories list the application instructions as "none," and there is no application portal, deadline, or review cycle. A formal grant proposal will go unacknowledged. Instead, submit a one-page co-programming brief that specifies: (a) your automotive alignment, (b) the specific collaboration proposed, (c) what you bring (audience, expertise, geographic reach, media visibility), and (d) what in-kind support or co-branding you need.

Time outreach to planning windows. The IMSA season runs January through November; event planning for summer typically occurs in the November–February window. Outreach in October–November or February–March aligns with when the museum's leadership is mapping the upcoming event calendar and is most likely to be receptive to new co-programming proposals.