Higher Foundation Trust

Higher Foundation Trust is a small, single-trustee private foundation (IRS foundation code 04, Form 990-PF filer) based in Atlanta, GA, tax-exempt since August 2001, administered by trustee Steven J Heyer with zero reported officer compensation across every filed year — the profile of a closed, individually-directed giving vehicle rather than an open-application grantmaker.

An important caveat for anyone using this profile: the mission text and website associated with this record ("Helps Georgia college students secure their basic needs," higherfoundation.org) describes a publicly promoted $500 direct-to-student micro-grant program run through a JotForm/PayPal portal — but that public charity is registered under a different EIN (82-1851349, founded 2018) than this Trust (58-6442623, on record since 2001). They are very likely two distinct legal entities sharing a similar name and mission language, not the same funder. Grant seekers should not assume the online application process applies here.

The only verifiable record of this Trust's actual giving is its Form 990-PF grant history: 6 grants totaling $446,000 to exactly 3 recipients — Piedmont Healthcare Foundation ($390,000 across 2 grants, 87% of tracked giving), Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta ($36,000), and Pace Academy ($20,000, a private Atlanta K-12 school). This is a pattern of large hospital-system philanthropy, Jewish communal giving, and elite private-school support — consistent with trustee-directed relationship giving, not a themed program open to unsolicited proposals.

Organizations working in "college student basic needs" should not treat that as the right entry point here; nothing in the Trust's own 990 history reflects that space, despite the associated website's branding. There is no LOI-to-proposal pipeline, no site-visit process, no public RFP, no listed application_form_url, and no contact email in either IRS or enrichment data. The realistic path in is a warm introduction through one of the three known grantee relationships — Piedmont Healthcare's foundation office, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta's development team, or Pace Academy's advancement office — since each has received exactly two grants over the observed record, suggesting durable, repeat personal relationships. Absent that network access, cold outreach to a $2.27M single-trustee trust with no communications staff has a low probability of success.

Total assets have grown slowly from $1,114,639 (FY2010) to $2,248,251 (FY2022), driven mostly by investment performance rather than new donor contributions: the Trust reported outside contributions in only 2 of 13 filed years — $1,021,535 in FY2019 (which also produced a one-time revenue spike to $1,063,066 and net investment income of $602,110) and $50,000 in FY2011. Every other filed year shows $0 in contributions received, meaning the Trust is essentially self-funded from its own portfolio, averaging roughly $74,000/year in net investment income across the observed decade.

Giving is highly variable year to year with no fixed payout rate. Total giving ranged from a low of $22,663 (FY2019) to a high of $239,883 (FY2021) — more than a 10x spread. Grants paid ranged from $13,000 (FY2019) to $223,000 (FY2021). As a share of assets, total giving swung from roughly 1% (FY2019, well under the 5% private-foundation minimum distribution requirement) to over 10% (FY2021, double the minimum) — evidence of opportunistic, relationship-driven payout timing rather than a programmed annual budget.

At the grant level, the database tracks only 6 individual grants split evenly (2 each) across the same 3 recipients: Piedmont Healthcare Foundation ($390,000 total, roughly $195,000 median per grant, 87% of all tracked giving, purpose coded "Advancement of Health"), Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta ($36,000 total, $18,000 per grant, 8%, "Civic Duties"), and Pace Academy ($20,000 total, $10,000 per grant, 5%, "Advancement of Education"). Average grant size across all 6 is $74,333. Geographic concentration is total — 100% of tracked recipients are Atlanta/Georgia-based, and purpose coding falls into exactly three buckets with no representation in scholarships, direct human services, or basic-needs categories despite the mission text associated with this record. No FY2023-2025 filings are reflected in this dataset, so current-cycle giving levels cannot be confirmed from available data.

Higher Foundation Trust sits in a cluster of similarly small, asset-matched private foundations all filed under the "Philanthropy & Grantmaking" NTEE category, none of which maintain a public website in this dataset — a structural signal that this is a common profile (small family/individual trusts near the $2.27M asset mark) rather than a themed peer cohort matched on mission.

All six entities cluster within roughly $26,000 of one another in total assets, which is more likely an artifact of how this peer set was selected (nearest-asset match) than evidence of a shared funding niche — none of the five peers have a website, disclosed giving level, or public application process on record, reinforcing that this size tier of foundation is generally closed and relationship-based rather than competitively reviewed.

No press coverage, leadership changes, or new-program announcements were found specifically tied to Higher Foundation Trust (EIN 58-6442623) itself — it has no dedicated news presence, and its most recent verified activity in this dataset is its FY2022 Form 990-PF filing (grants paid $83,000; total giving $94,268; assets $2,248,251). No FY2023, FY2024, or FY2025 filings appear in the available data, so there is no confirmed record of the Trust's activity in the last three years.

Separately, the higherfoundation.org website associated with this record (but registered under a different EIN, 82-1851349) published two items during the 2025-2026 window: the Shirley Ann Steinback-Hawthrone Scholarship, announced May 1, 2026 in partnership with Sage Consulting Partners, and a "Higher Salon" pilot providing accessible hair care, published May 18, 2025 and updated December 1, 2025. These should be treated as activity of a likely-separate, similarly named public charity rather than confirmed news about this Trust.

The broader Georgia context worth noting: the state introduced its first need-based DREAMS Scholarship, reaching campuses for the first time in fall 2026 per reporting from The Current GA and Inside Higher Ed (2026-09-19) — a structural shift in the basic-needs/college-affordability landscape that the higherfoundation.org brand operates in, though it is a state program with no direct tie to this Trust's own grantmaking.

There is no confirmed application process for this Trust — no application_form_url, no grants page, no listed contact email, and application_instructions on file read "__none__." Treat any approach as relationship-building, not form-filling. Before doing anything else, confirm which entity you are actually approaching: a JotForm-based $500 direct-to-student portal exists at higherfoundation.org, but it is very likely tied to a different, newer public charity (EIN 82-1851349, founded 2018) than this Trust (58-6442623, on record since 2001). Submitting an organizational grant proposal to that individual-student portal would be a wasted effort, and conversely, individual students seeking basic-needs aid should use that portal rather than trying to reach this Trust directly.

If you are an organization pursuing this Trust specifically: lead with health-sector alignment. Piedmont Healthcare Foundation received 87% of all tracked giving ($390,000 of $446,000) across two separate grants, making it by far the strongest historical precedent — any proposal from a health-system-adjacent, hospital foundation, or medical-access nonprofit has the best documented fit. Jewish communal/civic organizations (Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, $36,000) and private K-12 education (Pace Academy, $20,000) are secondary but real precedents. Outside these three lanes, there is no evidence this Trust has ever funded an unsolicited proposal.

Given only one trustee (Steven J Heyer) with no paid staff and no communications infrastructure, the only realistic entry points are: (1) an existing relationship with the trustee personally, (2) an introduction via Piedmont Healthcare Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, or Pace Academy's own development offices, since each has a multi-grant history suggesting an ongoing personal relationship, or (3) a short, direct mailed letter to the Trust's IRS-listed Atlanta address as a low-cost, low-expectation outreach — not a substitute for relationship-building. Timing: giving is not on a fixed annual cycle (it ranged from $22,663 to $239,883 year to year in the observed decade), so there is no evidence of a "best quarter" to approach; payout appears to track investment performance and trustee discretion rather than a calendar.