Kullman Family Foundation

The Kullman Family Foundation is a closely held private family foundation established in June 2016 and operating from 1100 N Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware — a professional trust services address that indicates reliance on institutional administration rather than dedicated philanthropic staff. All five board members serve without compensation: President David Kullman, Treasurer Margaret Kullman, Secretary Stephen Kullman, and Class A Directors Ellen J. Kullman and Michael E. Kullman. This fully volunteer board signals deeply personal rather than institutional philanthropy.

The most prominent board member is Ellen J. Kullman, former CEO of DuPont (2009–2015), current CEO of Carbon (the 3D printing company), and former director of Goldman Sachs, General Motors, and Dell Technologies. Her professional trajectory shapes the foundation's giving signature: emphasis on elite research universities, gender equity in corporate leadership (Paradigm for Parity), and science-based innovation. Organizations that can credibly connect to her corporate legacy or professional networks hold a meaningful first-mover advantage over unknown applicants.

The foundation's stated eligibility policy is open but informal: any qualified IRC Section 501(c)(3) organization may submit an application supported by budget detail as the board requires. There is no online portal, no published deadline cycle, and no LOI template — and the foundation's website (kullman.com) is currently inactive, with the domain listed for sale as of mid-2026. All contact must come by phone at (302) 651-8300 or by postal mail. A cold application submitted without prior context or a relationship anchor is unlikely to receive board attention.

The giving history reveals strong loyalty to existing grantees — Tower Hill School, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern Kellogg, and Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health have each received multiple grants across several fiscal years. First-time applicants should not expect immediate success; the most effective strategy is a modest opening ask ($25,000–$50,000) to establish a relationship, followed by a deeper multi-year engagement once the board recognizes the organization.

For applicants without a Delaware connection, alignment language must focus precisely on the family's documented passion causes: Native American community health, elite STEM and business education, Wilmington-area youth development, Delaware arts and cultural preservation, or corporate gender equity. Generic language about community impact will not differentiate a cold application at a foundation of this type.

Over the five fiscal years from FY2019 through FY2023, the Kullman Family Foundation paid out grants ranging from $552,500 to $817,500 annually, averaging approximately $627,000 per year. Total giving including administrative expenses ranged from $626,257 (FY2019) to $963,677 (FY2022). FY2025 charitable disbursements reached $832,225 — consistent with the historical range despite a significant jump in foundation assets.

Median individual grant: $50,000. Documented range: $20,000–$182,500. Mean grant: $78,929. The most recent grantmakers.io data reports a lower median of $33,000 and a maximum of $200,000 across a broader grant set, suggesting some smaller one-time grants that may not appear in the top-50 database sample. The practical floor for new grantee relationships appears to be $20,000–$25,000.

Education dominates the portfolio by dollar value. The three largest cumulative recipients are all educational institutions: Tower Hill School (K-12 independent, Wilmington) received $450,000 across 3 grants; University of Pennsylvania received $400,000 across 2 grants; and Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management received $300,000 across 3 grants. Together, these three account for approximately 52% of the $2.19M in tracked historical grantmaking, establishing education as the undisputed primary giving vehicle.

Health — specifically Native American health — is the foundation's second major focus. Johns Hopkins University Center for American Indian Health received approximately $392,500 across 4 grants in public 990 data, plus a separately documented $1 million pledge to the Native Vision initiative. When the multi-year pledge is included, Johns Hopkins may represent the largest single cumulative beneficiary by total committed dollars.

Arts and cultural institutions in Delaware constitute a meaningful secondary cluster: Delaware Art Museum received $150,000 across 3 grants; Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum received $100,000 across 2 grants. Community and youth programming — Teen Warehouse ($150,000), Boys & Girls Club of Delaware ($150,000 in FY2025), Paradigm for Parity ($50,000), Food Bank of Delaware ($25,000), Serviam Girls Academy ($20,000) — reflects a consistent but smaller allocation to direct-service organizations.

Geographically, Delaware accounts for 14 of 25 tracked grants, with Maryland (4, Johns Hopkins-related), Illinois (3, Northwestern), Connecticut (2, Darien-area), and Pennsylvania (2, UPenn) rounding out the portfolio. The foundation's assets grew from $11.3M in FY2019 to $18.5M in FY2025, creating meaningful headroom for increased giving in the near term.

The Kullman Family Foundation sits within a cohort of mid-size private family grantmakers each holding approximately $18.5M in assets and classified under NTEE code T20 (Philanthropy, Voluntarism and Grantmaking). All share the structural hallmarks of this asset class — family-controlled boards, no professional staff, informal application processes — but their geographic reach and focus areas diverge considerably.

Among these asset-equivalent peers, Kullman is notably the most transparent and accessible: their Form 990 consistently names specific grantees and dollar amounts, their phone number is publicly listed, and their stated policy explicitly welcomes applications from any qualified 501(c)(3). Most family foundations at this size operate exclusively by invitation, making Kullman a relatively more accessible entry point for well-aligned organizations willing to make direct contact.

What distinguishes Kullman most sharply from its peers is the documented commitment to a specific passion cause — Native American community health via Johns Hopkins — which is unusual for a general-purpose private family foundation and provides a clear, navigable channel for organizations working in Indigenous health and wellness that would find no comparable entry point at the other foundations listed.

No new press releases or formal grant announcements from the Kullman Family Foundation have been publicly documented in 2025 or 2026. The foundation's website (kullman.com) was listed for sale at $51,000 as of June 2026, indicating the foundation is not maintaining an active public communications presence.

The most significant documented philanthropic activity remains the Kullman family's multi-year commitment to Johns Hopkins University Center for American Indian Health. Ellen and Michael Kullman and family pledged $1 million to the NativeVision American Indian Youth Initiative — one of the country's largest health and fitness programs for Native American children, projected to reach over 10,000 children from dozens of tribes over five years. A separate collaborative initiative with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community ($250,000) and the Walmart Foundation ($150,000) supported a Johns Hopkins pilot project on nutrition and food access in tribal communities.

In FY2025, the foundation recorded its largest single-year financial change since founding: net assets climbed to $18.5M (up from $12.7M in FY2023), driven by $2.9M in new contributions and $5.9M in proceeds from investment asset sales. This capital influx — more than double the typical annual revenue in prior years — suggests the Kullman family recapitalized the foundation substantially, potentially in anticipation of increased grantmaking activity.

New to the documented grantee roster in FY2025 is the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware ($150,000 combined), indicating an expanded interest in youth programming beyond the foundation's previous Teen Warehouse relationship. Board composition is unchanged across all reported years.

Because the Kullman Family Foundation has no active website, no dedicated grants staff, and no published application cycle, a successful approach requires direct outreach, concise documentation, and — ideally — a prior personal connection to the board.

Establish relevance before submitting. A cold letter to an unfamiliar family board is unlikely to surface during review. Identify any connection to Ellen J. Kullman's corporate networks — DuPont alumni associations, the Goldman Sachs or General Motors or Dell Technologies director community, the Carbon (3D printing) sector, or the professional networks of the Wilmington, Delaware corporate and civic community. A second-degree introduction conveyed in an opening paragraph materially improves your chances of a response.

Call before mailing. Phone (302) 651-8300 to introduce your organization, confirm the current mailing contact, and verify whether the foundation is reviewing applications in your focus area. Do not reference the foundation's website — it is inactive. Note the name of anyone you speak with for follow-up.

Lead with Delaware geography and explicit mission alignment. In your letter of inquiry (one page maximum), state your 501(c)(3) status and EIN in the opening paragraph. Name your geographic service area explicitly — Delaware organizations, particularly those serving Wilmington-area youth, arts institutions, faith-based communities, or K-12 education, have a demonstrated funded relationship track record. Organizations outside Delaware must make an unusually specific case for alignment: Native American health, elite research university partnerships, or gender equity in corporate leadership are the documented passion areas.

Request amounts between $25,000 and $150,000. The minimum documented grant is $20,000 (Serviam Girls Academy); the maximum single documented grant is approximately $182,500. A first-time ask of $25,000–$50,000 is most likely to succeed. Do not open with a six-figure request from an unfamiliar organization.

Attach a line-item program budget with your inquiry. The foundation's 990 states the board may require supporting budgetary detail — providing this proactively signals organizational maturity and saves a follow-up exchange.

Target September–October for submission. With no published deadlines, the foundation almost certainly reviews applications at year-end family board sessions. A fall submission allows adequate review time before December. Allow 60–90 days for a response; one polite phone follow-up at the 60-day mark is appropriate.