Booth Foundation

The Booth Foundation, headquartered at 701 S. Colorado Avenue in Stuart, Florida, is a private grantmaking foundation with approximately $88.8 million in assets as of fiscal year 2024. Led by President Katherine Booth — an unpaid officer indicating this is a personal or family philanthropic vehicle — the foundation operates with a highly concentrated, relationship-driven giving model rather than a competitive, open application process.

The foundation's most consequential structural characteristic for prospective applicants is its preselected-only classification. Grants flow overwhelmingly to organizations with long-standing relationships with foundation leadership. Two anchor grantees — the Outreach Foundation of First Presbyterian ($5.56 million across two documented grants, earmarked for "programs for disadvantaged people") and International Cooperating Ministries ($1.31 million across two grants for "building churches in Africa") — together account for approximately 99% of all documented grant dollars. This extreme concentration is characteristic of family foundations using philanthropy as a vehicle for personal mission rather than responding to open solicitation.

First-time applicants must recognize that cold submissions are unlikely to succeed. The path to funding runs through personal relationships with foundation leadership, particularly Katherine Booth. The foundation's administrative contact is listed as Eisner Advisory Group LLC, a national accounting and advisory firm with Florida offices — suggesting professional advisors serve as practical gatekeepers.

Secondary grantees reveal a more accessible tier: Jupiter Medical Center ($40,000 total), Martin Health Foundation ($10,000), Cleveland Clinic ($10,000), Huntington Museum of Art in West Virginia ($15,000), Place of Hope ($1,500), and Martin County Fire Fighters ($200). These modest general-support gifts suggest the foundation does occasionally extend to healthcare institutions, arts organizations, and community services in its geographic footprint.

Organizations working in Christian ministry, faith-based social services, international development with a religious component, or healthcare and arts in the Stuart/Martin County, Florida region — or in West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee — are best positioned. Any approach must begin with documented mission alignment to these priorities. Relationship-building through shared community connections, mutual board contacts, or professional ties to Eisner Advisory Group should precede any formal funding request. No LOI template, application portal, or published review cycle has been publicly documented.

The Booth Foundation's total giving has grown substantially over the past 13 years, from $1.36 million (total giving, FY2011) to an estimated $6.76 million in charitable disbursements in FY2024 — a nearly 5x increase. Total assets expanded from approximately $25.2 million in FY2012 to $88.8 million in FY2024, driven primarily by a transformative $43.5 million contribution received in FY2019 that fundamentally changed the foundation's scale.

Total giving trend by fiscal year: $1.36M (2011) → $1.53M (2012) → $1.33M (2013) → $1.68M (2014) → $1.85M (2015) → $3.60M (2019) → $3.85M (2020) → $4.54M (2021) → est. $6.76M (2024). The compound annual growth rate from 2011 to 2024 is approximately 11.5%, reflecting consistent reinvestment of strong net investment income ($6.11M in FY2021, $4.99M in FY2020) into expanded grantmaking.

Grant sizing is starkly bimodal. A small number of large strategic grants dominate: the Outreach Foundation of First Presbyterian received an estimated $5.56 million across two grants (individual awards estimated at approximately $2.76M and $2.80M), while International Cooperating Ministries received approximately $1.31 million across two grants (averaging ~$655,000 each). These two relationships consume roughly 99% of all documented grant dollars across 11 total recorded grants.

Reported grant statistics (database): median $17,500, average $559,426, range $1,500 to $2,760,058. The median is misleading due to the bimodal distribution; the actual structure is a two-tier system of anchor grants ($650K–$2.8M) and nominal general-support gifts ($200–$40,000).

Smaller-tier giving: Jupiter Medical Center ($40,000 combined, 2 grants), Huntington Museum of Art — WV ($15,000), Cleveland Clinic ($10,000), Martin Health Foundation ($10,000), Place of Hope ($1,500), Martin County Fire Fighters ($200).

Geographic breakdown by grant count: Florida 55% (6 of 11), Tennessee 18% (2), Virginia 18% (2), West Virginia 9% (1).

By program area (estimated by dollar volume): Faith-based missions and social services ~99%, healthcare ~0.9%, arts/culture ~0.2%, community services <0.1%. The foundation's payout ratio in FY2024 is estimated at approximately 7.6% of assets — comfortably above the IRS-mandated 5% minimum for private foundations.

The following table compares the Booth Foundation to its five closest asset-size peers, all classified under NTEE category T (Philanthropy & Grantmaking), as identified in the foundation database:

All five peer foundations operate in the same asset band ($88.5M–$89.0M) and the same NTEE classification, and none maintain publicly documented open application processes — a defining characteristic of private family foundations at this asset level. The Booth Foundation's estimated $6.76M in 2024 disbursements represents approximately 7.6% of total assets, meaningfully exceeding the IRS-mandated 5% payout minimum and suggesting active stewardship. Among this peer group, the Schiewetz Foundation (Ohio) is the only entity with a publicly accessible website, offering a benchmark for how similar foundations can structure public-facing communications. Booth's documented 13-year giving growth — from $1.36M in 2011 to an estimated $6.76M in 2024 — reflects stronger-than-typical asset deployment, primarily enabled by the 2019 endowment event and sustained investment performance. Grant seekers targeting this peer tier should uniformly expect relationship-based rather than application-based pathways to funding.

No press releases, news articles, or public announcements were identified for the Booth Foundation (Stuart, FL, EIN 20-0667161) in searches covering 2025 and 2026. Multiple search queries returned results for entirely unrelated entities — the Booth Ferris Foundation (NYC), the Otis Booth Foundation (Los Angeles), and a Booth Family Foundation (Iowa) — confirming that the Stuart, FL Booth Foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its family-driven, preselected-only structure. The foundation's website (boothfoundation.org) was unresponsive during research, consistent with a minimal or static web presence.

Documented activity from public 990-PF filings: - FY2024: $88.8M in total assets; approximately $6.76M in charitable disbursements (89.7% of expenses). Revenue of $7.05M comprised investment dividends ($1.64M, 23%), interest income ($703,851, 10%), and asset sales ($4.70M, 67%). - FY2021: $97.3M peak assets; $4.54M total giving; $3.59M in grants paid; net investment income of $6.11M. - FY2019: The pivotal year — $43.5M in contributions received expanded total assets from the mid-$80M range and transformed annual giving capacity from ~$1.7–1.9M to $3.5M+.

Staffing update (FY2024): Officer compensation increased from $100,000 (FY2021) to $152,000 for both VP Susan Machamer and Treasurer Kimberly Lombaer. Five additional directors now receive $20,000 each, indicating expanded governance. Katherine Booth remains president at $0 compensation. No leadership departures or additions have been publicly reported.

Given the Booth Foundation's preselected-only classification and the complete absence of a documented public application process, the following tips are calibrated to this funder's actual operating structure — not generic grant-writing guidance.

Accept the relationship reality first. There is no application portal, no published RFP, and no LOI deadline. The foundation's two dominant grantees — Outreach Foundation of First Presbyterian and International Cooperating Ministries — are clearly multi-year anchor relationships receiving $655,000 to $2.8M per grant. New entrants must build trust before asking, not after.

Lead with faith alignment. Every documented major grant carries an explicitly religious purpose: "programs for disadvantaged people" through a Presbyterian church-affiliated organization, and "building churches in Africa." Any outreach should foreground a faith-based mission. Organizations that are entirely secular face a very high barrier to entry based on documented giving patterns.

Target the accessible tier realistically. Healthcare institutions (Jupiter Medical Center and Martin Health Foundation both received $10,000–$40,000 in general support) and arts organizations (Huntington Museum of Art received $15,000) represent the more accessible tier of this portfolio. For organizations in these categories based in Martin County, FL or the Huntington, WV region, a relationship-forward letter of inquiry is worth attempting if a board connection exists.

Route through Eisner Advisory Group. The foundation's listed contact is "% Eisner Advisory Group LLC" at (772) 225-4391. Identifying the specific Eisner advisor who manages the Booth Foundation account is a strategic priority — they represent the most realistic warm introduction path.

Geographic precision is non-negotiable. All documented grants went to organizations operating in Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, or Tennessee. Do not approach this foundation if your organization's work is located outside these four states.

Keep initial outreach brief and personal. A 1–2 page letter addressed to Katherine Booth at 701 S. Colorado Ave, Stuart, FL 34994-3008 — centered on mission alignment and measurable impact rather than financial need — is the appropriate first contact. Do not submit an unsolicited full proposal.

Avoid aggressive follow-up. Family foundations of this type value discretion. One polite follow-up after 30 days is appropriate. Repeated outreach risks relationship damage at a foundation where personal rapport is the primary currency.