Hardison Family Foundation

The Hardison Family Foundation is a Cape Coral, Florida-based private foundation (EIN 65-0700303, NTEE T20Z, IRS ruling March 1997) operating as a 501(c)(3) classified under private grantmaking foundations. Public-facing information about the Foundation's strategy is essentially absent as of April 2026 — the hardison.org domain currently resolves to "Hardison System Consulting," an unrelated IT consulting site with no visible foundation content, and no dedicated foundation website, mission statement, or grantmaking guidelines could be verified. This is characteristic of small private family foundations that do not solicit applications and operate almost entirely through personal family direction. Applicants should treat this as an invitation-only family vehicle: cold unsolicited proposals are unlikely to receive review. The most reliable path to engagement is a direct relationship with the Hardison family or a referral from a trusted existing grantee. Southwest Florida (Lee County / Cape Coral / Fort Myers) organizations in education, community services, or family-aligned causes are the most plausible fit given the Foundation's geographic base, though this is inference rather than a published priority.

Recent 990-PF filings (2019-2024) show the Hardison Family Foundation holding steady assets of approximately $8.5M-$8.8M, with annual revenue ranging from $121K (2023) to $657K (2021), and a 2024 year-end asset value of $8.69M. The ProPublica summary reports "grants paid" at $0 on the summary line in all recent years — as with many small private foundations, this does NOT mean the Foundation made no distributions; grants are frequently reported in Schedule I or Part XV of Form 990-PF rather than on the summary line. By federal law, a private non-operating foundation must distribute approximately 5% of net investment assets annually to maintain tax-exempt status, which implies the Hardison Family Foundation disburses roughly $400,000-$440,000 per year. With a base of $8.7M and no public program areas, typical individual grant sizes likely cluster in the $2K-$25K range, with occasional larger anchor gifts. To obtain the actual grants list and beneficiary detail, applicants should pull the most recent Form 990-PF directly via the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search or ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

Hardison Family Foundation sits among the large population of small Florida family foundations with minimal public footprint. Peer comparison:

Compared to the regional Southwest Florida Community Foundation / Collaboratory (three orders of magnitude larger, with open program cycles), Hardison is a quiet family vehicle. Its opacity is typical for private foundations in the $5M-$15M range that lack professional staff. The realistic comparable is another small invitation-only family foundation, not an institutional regional funder.

As of April 23, 2026, no confirmed recent grant announcements, news stories, or foundation-published content could be verified for the Hardison Family Foundation. The most recent tax period on file at ProPublica is December 2024 with $8.69M in assets and $647K income. Search engine queries during this research window were rate-limited by Google and Bing, so a manual check of the 2024 Form 990-PF via ProPublica (https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/650700303) is the most reliable way to see the current year's beneficiaries. The hardison.org domain continues to resolve to an unrelated IT consulting business with a 2017 copyright, providing no foundation information.

Because Hardison Family Foundation has no visible public application process, realistic engagement requires relationship-building. Specific tips:

1. Confirm the Foundation's current mailing address and registered agent via the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search before attempting contact — small family foundations relocate frequently with trustees. 2. Pull the most recent 990-PF from ProPublica and review Schedule I / Part XV to see which organizations have historically received support. Look for patterns: geography (Cape Coral, Lee County, broader Southwest Florida?), cause area (education, health, youth?), and gift size range. 3. If your organization appears on or near the historical grant list by geography or cause, a one-page LOI mailed to the foundation's registered address is an appropriate first touch — never a long proposal. 4. Seek a warm introduction through a current or past Hardison grantee or a Cape Coral / Lee County community leader who may have ties to the Hardison family. 5. Do NOT expect a website-based application portal, program officer, or published deadlines. Family foundations of this size typically meet once or twice a year at the trustees' discretion. 6. In parallel, cultivate alternative Southwest Florida funders (Southwest Florida Community Foundation / Collaboratory, FineMark National Bank & Trust giving, United Way of Lee/Hendry/Glades) rather than relying on Hardison as a primary prospect.