Building Faith Inc.

Building Faith Inc. is a Fort Lauderdale-based education supporting organization that presents a fundamentally different access profile than open-application private foundations. Founded in April 2022 and classified under IRS subsection 03, it is structured as a supporting organization — legally obligated to benefit specific designated public charities in education rather than the general nonprofit community. Its application instructions are listed as none in public records, and its website offers no grant portal, program descriptions, or downloadable guidelines. This is not an oversight; it is a design choice that tells prospective partners everything they need to know about how access works.

Organizations seeking engagement with Building Faith Inc. must approach through relationship channels rather than formal grant cycles. The leadership team — Chairman Hugh Jarrett, Director Taylor Smith, and Director Sherilyn Moore, all serving without compensation — is the gatekeeper. Zero officer compensation is a strong signal of a founder-driven or family-affiliated entity where decisions are made by a small, personally invested group rather than a professional program staff. First-time outreach should be brief, mission-aligned, and addressed directly to Hugh Jarrett at 1225 SE 2nd Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.

The foundation's NTEE code B02 (Education — Management & Technical Assistance) clarifies the type of work it values: not direct scholarships or student services, but the organizational infrastructure that enables educational institutions to function and grow. Target organizations are likely those providing capacity-building, management consulting, accreditation support, curriculum development, or operational strengthening to schools and educational nonprofits.

With $260M in assets and $13–$14.7M in annual giving (FY2021–FY2023), the foundation is financially substantial. Its total giving consistently outpaces its annual revenue, which means it draws on investment returns or corpus — a sign of long-term endowment structure rather than pass-through philanthropy. First-time applicants should be prepared for a slow, relationship-first process and should not expect a response to cold outreach without a warm introduction or clear demonstrable alignment with the foundation's supported organizations.

Building Faith Inc.'s financials reveal a stable, mid-scale foundation with substantial assets relative to annual giving. Total assets have grown modestly from $255.3M in FY2021 to $260.8M in FY2022–FY2023 and remain approximately $260M in FY2024. Annual giving figures from IRS BMF data show $13,884,494 in FY2021, rising to $14,738,549 in FY2022 and FY2023 — representing a payout rate of approximately 5.4–5.7% against total assets, consistent with minimum distribution requirements for private foundations and slightly above the statutory 5% floor.

Total revenue has ranged from $11.7M (FY2021) to $12.7M (FY2022) to $13.5M (FY2024), suggesting primary reliance on investment income rather than contributions. Contributions received are listed at $0 across all available years, confirming this is an endowed foundation drawing exclusively on investment returns to fund operations and grantmaking.

A significant discrepancy appears between IRS BMF-reported total giving (~$14.7M) and ProPublica's FY2024 characterization of charitable disbursements at ~$1.7M (11% of $15.2M in total expenses). This divergence likely reflects how the supporting organization structure allocates expenditures on the 990 form: the majority of the foundation's $15.2M in expenses may be classified as program service expenditures supporting its designated beneficiary organizations, with a smaller portion recorded as discrete charitable grants. Grant seekers should interpret the $14.7M figure as the organization's total programmatic and grantmaking outlay combined, not necessarily as a pool of individually contestable grants.

No individual grantee records are publicly available, which is consistent with a supporting organization that directs funds to a limited number of pre-designated partners rather than distributing broadly through competitive grant rounds. Geographic focus appears to be Florida-based given the Fort Lauderdale headquarters, though no geographic restrictions have been publicly stated. Officer compensation is $0 across all years, which keeps administrative overhead minimal and reinforces a lean, distribution-focused operational model.

The following table compares Building Faith Inc. to four peer foundations of similar asset scale, all with a primary Education focus, drawn from the foundation's peer dataset:

Building Faith Inc. occupies the middle of this peer cohort by assets and has a slightly higher-than-average payout rate at ~5.7%, compared to a typical 5% minimum. The critical differentiator is accessibility: among these six comparable foundations, Building Faith Inc. is among the least accessible to outside applicants. The Flinn Foundation (AZ) maintains the most robust public-facing grant program, with documented open cycles and detailed guidelines. Making Waves Foundation focuses tightly on Bay Area K-12 college-access programs with an invited-only model. The Smet Foundation operates largely by invitation in California higher education. Building Faith Inc.'s Florida base and education management-and-technical-assistance focus make it relatively unique in this peer group — few foundations in this asset tier specifically target educational management capacity-building in the Southeast.

Public records on Building Faith Inc. are sparse, reflecting the organization's intentional low profile. The foundation received its IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt designation in April 2022, making it fewer than four years old as of 2026 — a very young institution for a $260M asset base, suggesting it was either spun off from or funded by a pre-existing larger entity.

The most current financial snapshot comes from ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, which reflects a FY ending June 2024 filing showing $260M in assets, $13.5M in revenue, and $15.2M in expenses. The negative net assets position (-$5.8M, with $266M in liabilities versus $260M in assets) is unusual and may indicate debt financing, obligations to supported organizations, or outstanding grant commitments that exceed current liquid assets.

No leadership changes, program announcements, press releases, or grant awards have been located through public web searches. The foundation does not maintain a social media presence, has not issued press releases, and does not appear in Florida philanthropic sector news. This is consistent with an organization that values operational privacy and relationship-based grantmaking over public profile-building.

Hugh Jarrett (Chairman), Taylor Smith (Director), and Sherilyn Moore (Director) remain the listed officers as of the most recent available filings. No additional staff or program officers are publicly identified. The zero-compensation structure for all officers has been consistent across all available years (FY2021–FY2024).

Given Building Faith Inc.'s structure as a non-public supporting organization, the following tips are specific to this funder's unique profile:

Do not submit unsolicited proposals. The application instructions field in the IRS database is explicitly listed as none, and the foundation's website has no application portal or grant guidelines. Submitting a cold proposal consumes resources without a realistic path to funding.

Identify the supported organizations first. As a Type III supporting organization, Building Faith Inc. must benefit one or more designated public charities. Researching which educational institution(s) or networks Hugh Jarrett, Taylor Smith, or Sherilyn Moore are affiliated with will reveal the funder's actual beneficiaries — and whether your organization has natural alignment or partnership potential.

Leverage the NTEE B02 frame explicitly. If your organization provides management consulting, technical assistance, operational capacity-building, accreditation preparation, leadership development, or systems-building services specifically to educational institutions, emphasize this language directly. Generic education program language will not resonate with a funder whose mandate is management and technical assistance, not direct service delivery.

Make contact through professional networks in South Florida education. The Fort Lauderdale address and Florida nexus suggest involvement in Broward County or broader South Florida education circles. Organizations with board members, advisors, or funders who travel in these circles are better positioned to secure a warm introduction to Hugh Jarrett.

Prepare a concise one-page capability profile, not a full proposal. First outreach to this type of funder should be a brief organizational snapshot — mission, key programs, annual budget, and a one-sentence case for alignment — not a 10-page grant proposal. If leadership is interested, they will request more.

Do not rely on a single contact attempt. Given that this is a lean, volunteer-led governance structure, response times are likely slow and non-systematic. A polite follow-up 4–6 weeks after initial outreach is appropriate.

Budget alignment matters. With total giving around $14.7M and what appears to be a small number of grantees (given no public grantee list and supporting organization structure), individual grants are likely substantial — potentially $500K or more. Position your organization for a meaningful multi-year partnership, not a small one-time award.