Quinn Hill Foundation

The Quinn Hill Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in San Francisco, California, recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS in June 2022 under NTEE category "Private Grantmaking Foundations" (T20). Its stated vision is "Promoting a just, healthy, and sustainable world," expressed publicly through three focused initiative areas: (1) Sustainable Food Systems — building and educating communities on diversified local and regional food systems that are healthy, safe, economically sound, and environmentally sustainable; (2) Youth and Family Services — supporting children, youth, and families facing systemic and immediate barriers, working with both local and national nonprofit partners; and (3) Small Towns and Rural Communities — helping rural areas become resilient, connected, and inclusive places where people can live, work, visit, do business, and raise families. The foundation is operated by the Markovich family, with Nathan Markovich as President & CEO, Connie Markovich and Zach Markovich as Directors/VPs, and Brenton Belote as Director/CFO.

Per the FY2024 Form 990-PF (filed November 15, 2025), the foundation reported 984,786 dollars in revenue, 1.33M dollars in total expenses, 1.06M dollars in charitable disbursements, and 18.33M dollars in net assets with zero liabilities. Compensation to officers was 309,905 dollars (23.4 percent of expenses) — an above-average staff cost ratio for a foundation of this size, reflecting that the Markovich family draws salaries (Nathan 139,316 dollars, Brenton Belote 66,589 dollars, Connie Markovich 54,000 dollars, Zach Markovich 50,000 dollars). Charitable disbursements were 79.9 percent of total expenses. The FY2023 filing showed a dramatically different profile — 23.08M dollars revenue and only 781K dollars expenses — indicating a large seeding contribution of 17.6M dollars from related parties in 2023 that capitalized the endowment. The foundation uses "Expenditure Responsibility" procedures per the 990-PF schedule, indicating it funds non-public-charity recipients (e.g., individuals, foreign entities, or for-profits) — a notable capability only a subset of private foundations employ.

Quinn Hill is a small-to-mid family foundation occupying a relatively crowded food-systems/rural niche. Its three-initiative structure resembles GRACE and Panta Rhea, but at much smaller scale. Use of Expenditure Responsibility distinguishes it from most peers and suggests flexibility to fund non-501(c)(3) actors.

The most recent filing is Form 990-PF for fiscal year ending December 2024, filed November 15, 2025. The 2024 figures (985K dollars revenue, 1.33M dollars expenses, 1.06M dollars in charitable disbursements) represent a stabilization following the 2023 endowment seeding year, when contributions of 17.61M dollars received (76.3 percent of revenue) plus 5.02M dollars in sales of assets brought revenue to 23.08M dollars against just 782K dollars in expenses. Assets dipped slightly from 18.88M dollars (FY2023) to 18.33M dollars (FY2024), consistent with payout exceeding investment return. The public website (quinnhillfoundation.org) is live and lists the three initiative areas but does not publish grantee lists, deadline calendars, or detailed guidelines — applications are received via an integrated web form (with a PDF fallback version titled "Quinn Hill Foundation Grant Application_2025") submitted to contact@quinnhillfoundation.org. No news coverage of specific grant commitments has surfaced, consistent with a young, quiet family foundation still establishing its grantmaking cadence.

1) Apply through the integrated web form on quinnhillfoundation.org/grant-applications (preferred) or download the "Quinn Hill Foundation Grant Application_2025" PDF and email to contact@quinnhillfoundation.org. 2) Align your proposal tightly to one of three initiatives: Sustainable Food Systems (diversified local/regional food), Youth and Family Services (children/family support), or Small Towns and Rural Communities (rural resilience, connection, inclusion). Projects bridging two initiatives (e.g., rural youth food access) may resonate particularly well. 3) No published deadlines — expect rolling review, but budget for a decision timeline on the order of 2-6 months given the small staff. 4) The 2024 payout profile (~1M dollars annually across likely 10-30 grantees) suggests individual grant sizes roughly 10K-100K dollars; do not pitch seven-figure asks. 5) The foundation uses Expenditure Responsibility procedures, meaning it can fund non-501(c)(3) recipients (fiscally sponsored projects, LLCs doing charitable work, or individual grantees) — applicants without traditional nonprofit status should mention this as an option. 6) Because the foundation is new (est. 2022), cite alignment with the specific language of the three initiative descriptions and demonstrate measurable community-level outcomes rather than abstract mission-level claims. 7) Geography is not explicitly limited on the website — both "local and national organizations" are mentioned under Youth and Family Services — so non-California applicants appear eligible, but California/West Coast applicants probably have an edge given the SF base.