Ortner Family Foundation

The Ortner Family Foundation operates as a closely-held, relationship-based private foundation anchored in a singular Catholic mission. Michael Ortner (President) and Elizabeth Ortner (Secretary) founded the organization in 2016 with a $17.5M founding contribution and serve without compensation, signaling deeply personal philanthropic convictions rather than institutional grantmaking machinery. Day-to-day program management belongs to Program Director Kimberly Begg ($160,000 annual compensation as of FY 2023), who is the primary relationship point for prospective and current grantees.

The foundation's mission — "to promote human flourishing by leveraging opportunities for formation and fellowship consistent with Catholic teaching" — is precise and non-negotiable. This is not a general education or civic funder that occasionally supports faith-based work. It is specifically and exclusively a Catholic institution-builder. Their theory of change holds that the breakdown of churches, families, and schools is the root cause of social dysfunction, and that renewing Catholic schools is the most leveraged path to cultural restoration.

One critical reality all applicants must internalize: this foundation is preselected-only. There is no published RFP cycle, no grants portal, and no stated application deadline. The website contact form invites inquiry — "We would love to hear from you; a real person will read it and respond" — but the foundation initiates most grantee relationships proactively rather than responding to unsolicited proposals. Expecting to compete through an open process will lead to frustration.

The typical relationship arc, based on grantee history, unfolds in three stages: initial introduction and brief inquiry, program officer evaluation by Kimberly Begg, and — if alignment is confirmed — a modest entry-level grant ($15,000–$50,000) that seeds a longer relationship. Seven of the foundation's top grantees have received four consecutive grants each, indicating that once trust is established, the foundation commits for the long term and increases grant size over time. Cana Academy averages approximately $469,000 per grant across four cycles; St. Jerome Institute averages $295,000.

First-time applicants should approach the Ortner Foundation as one approaches a sophisticated patron rather than a competitive grant-maker: demonstrate deep mission alignment, reference their existing portfolio investments, and position your work as complementary to — or extending the reach of — their known priorities including Catholic education renewal, religious freedom, and community formation programs.

The Ortner Family Foundation has distributed $6,111,667 across 47 recorded grant transactions in IRS data, with an average grant of $130,035 and a median of $75,000. The practical range extends from $7,200 (Trinity School at Meadow View) to approximately $469,000 for established flagship grantees — the stated maximum is $500,000, though it has not been reached in visible data.

Annual grants paid have declined from a peak of $2,278,094 (FY 2019) to $1,505,823 (FY 2023), with total giving falling from $2,374,187 to $1,932,157 over the same period. This tracks the intentional drawdown of the asset base — from $25,855,519 (FY 2019) to $19,462,478 (FY 2024), a reduction of approximately $6.4M over five years. The foundation receives minimal new contributions ($0 in FY 2023; $141,215 in FY 2019) and relies primarily on net investment income ($617,261 in FY 2023) to sustain grantmaking. Total available capital is finite and slowly declining — grantees should factor this trajectory into multi-year budget planning.

Breaking down by program area from the grantee portfolio:

• Catholic education and school renewal (~70% of dollars): Cana Academy ($1,875,000 across 4 grants), St. Jerome Institute ($1,181,250/4 grants), Catholic University of America ($350,000/4), Institute for Catholic Liberal Education ($350,000/4), Catholic Education Partners ($260,000/4), Cornerstone Schools of Washington DC ($50,000/1), Thomas Aquinas College ($50,000/1), New England Classical Academy ($15,000/1), Trinity School at Meadow View ($7,200/1)
• Religious freedom and public policy (~20%): Religious Freedom Institute ($928,500/4 grants), Ethics and Public Policy Center ($125,000/3), International Dominical Foundation ($20,000/1)
• Community formation and parish support (~10%): Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church ($100,000/1), A Simple House ($45,117/1), Catholic Information Center ($40,000/4), Evangelical Catholic Inc ($30,600/2)

Geographically, DC-based organizations dominate at 46.8% of grant transactions (22 of 47). Virginia accounts for 14.9% (7 grants), reflecting the McLean home base. Minnesota receives 10.6% of grants — driven entirely by Cana Academy — while California and Maryland each account for 8.5%. The foundation funds organizations across 9 states but has clear gravitational pull toward the DC metro region.

The five peer foundations in the dataset are matched by asset size — all hold approximately $19.4–$19.5M — not by mission, geography, or grantmaking model. None shares the Ortner Foundation's explicitly Catholic identity, DC-regional concentration, or preselected relationship-based approach. For thematic comparison, more relevant peers would include the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities (Wilmington, DE) or the Catholic Community Foundation. The asset-size comparison below contextualizes Ortner among its financial cohort:

Among foundations in this $15–25M asset tier, Ortner is distinctive for two characteristics that set it apart from typical family foundations of comparable size: an unusually narrow mission focus (exclusively Catholic institution-building) and an extraordinary concentration of capital in a small trusted portfolio. Its top seven grantees have collectively received $5,544,750 across 27 grant transactions — an average lifetime relationship value of $792,000 per organization. This is not a diversified portfolio foundation; it is a high-conviction, long-term patron model.

The most substantive recent development in the Ortner Foundation's portfolio is a new grantee category in FY 2024: a $250,000 grant to the Catholic Institute of Technology, an organization not previously visible in the IRS data. This suggests a potential broadening of the education portfolio from classical humanities (Latin, philosophy, great books — represented by the Thomistic Institute, Cana Academy, and St. Jerome Institute) toward STEM disciplines framed within a Catholic intellectual tradition. If this investment is sustained across multiple years, it would mark a meaningful strategic evolution worth monitoring closely.

Established flagship grantees continued receiving major support in FY 2024: Cana Academy ($385,000) and Religious Freedom Institute ($349,000) both confirm sustained priority status. Based on prior-year patterns, St. Jerome Institute, Thomistic Institute, and Catholic Education Partners likely received comparable awards in FY 2024, though precise FY 2024 990 data was not yet fully available in public databases as of the research date.

On the communications and programmatic side, the foundation published two news items in January 2025: an announcement that a fundraising drive exceeded 1,000 individual donations, and a donor guidance article titled "How to Choose the Perfect Charity." These communications suggest an increasingly active public-facing role beyond institutional grantmaking — educating the Catholic donor community at large.

The foundation's two direct programs remain active: the Catholic School Playbook (best-practice resource for Catholic educators and parents) and Run With Saints (platform helping Catholics discover local faith communities and schools). No leadership changes have been announced; Michael Ortner (President) and Elizabeth Ortner (Secretary) remain founding officers, and Kimberly Begg continues as Program Director based on compensation data through FY 2023.

Securing support from the Ortner Family Foundation requires a fundamentally different posture than competitive grant applications. There is no portal, no published RFP, and no defined review cycle. The approach is relational, faith-aligned, and patient. Here is how to position your organization for success:

Establish Catholic identity as the first sentence. Every organization in the foundation's portfolio is explicitly and institutionally Catholic — Catholic schools, Catholic universities, Catholic freedom organizations, Catholic parishes, and Catholic formation programs. If your organization is faith-adjacent, ecumenical, or secular with a Catholic-sympathetic audience, do not apply. The foundation funds Catholic institutions, not Catholic-friendly ones. This is a hard filter, not a preference.

Use their formation language precisely. The Ortner Foundation's core vocabulary centers on "formation" (of students, families, communities in Catholic virtue and tradition) and "fellowship" (structured peer community and mentorship). In any inquiry, use these exact terms and describe how your program forms people — not just educates or serves them — and what fellowship structures sustain that formation over time.

Quantify school impact with specific metrics. If your organization touches Catholic school operations, curriculum design, or teacher development, provide concrete numbers: schools served, students enrolled, teachers trained, enrollment growth year-over-year. The foundation's theory of change treats Catholic schools as the primary lever for cultural renewal, so program outcomes framed as school vitality carry maximum weight.

Lead with DC geographic presence. Nearly half of all recorded grants flow to DC-based organizations. If your work has a DC footprint — a DC office, DC-area schools served, DC policy engagement — mention it in the first paragraph of your inquiry.

Reference portfolio grantees explicitly. Demonstrating familiarity with Cana Academy's classical school model, the Thomistic Institute's campus ministry philosophy, or Religious Freedom Institute's international framework shows genuine alignment rather than grant-seeking. Positioning your work as complementary to — not duplicative of — existing investments is especially persuasive.

Time your contact thoughtfully. While no application cycle is published, January through March appears to be an active period based on the foundation's own published communications. Avoid summer if possible, as staff capacity may be reduced.

Be realistic about first-grant size. Entry-level grants in the portfolio range from $7,200 to $50,000. A first-time grantee requesting $200,000 in an initial inquiry will signal misalignment with the foundation's relationship-building model.