Sexauer Foundation

Sexauer Foundation is a small, closely held family foundation (EIN 13-6156256, ruled 1963) now mailing from Ocala, FL but funding almost entirely in New York, Connecticut, and Florida — its 140 tracked grants break down 55 to NY, 45 to CT, and 25 to FL, with only 15 scattered across five other states. The single most important fact for any prospective applicant: the foundation states outright that it 'does not accept any unsolicited requests for funding' and that 'all applications are by invitation only.' This is not a competitive open-RFP funder; it is a loyalty-based, relationship-driven giving vehicle tied to the Sexauer family's historical connections in Westchester County, NY (its grantee list is dense with Westchester-based groups such as Westchester Jewish Community Services, Child Care Council of Westchester, and Ossining's First Steps program) and Fairfield County, CT (Homes With Hope, Caroline House). Every recorded grant purpose in the data is coded 'General Operating' or 'General Operating Purposes' — the foundation does not fund restricted programs, capital campaigns, or research; it backs organizations' core missions, full stop. Its favored grantees are mid-size, direct-service human-services nonprofits serving children and families in crisis (Kids in Crisis, Arnette House, Marion Therapeutic Riding Association), not large institutions or national organizations. The typical relationship arc visible in the data is long and loyal rather than transactional: top recipients like Kids in Crisis ($244,000 across 6 grants) and Marion Therapeutic Riding Association ($232,000 across 6 grants) show near-annual renewal over roughly six consecutive fiscal years, suggesting once a grantee is invited in, it tends to stay funded for years at a stable or gradually increasing amount. First-time 'applicants' in the traditional sense do not really exist here — the realistic path in is an existing relationship with a trustee, a warm introduction through the Westchester/Fairfield nonprofit and family-office network, or being identified proactively by the foundation itself. Cold outreach through the website contact form is the only documented entry point, and even that is explicitly discouraged for funding requests.

Total giving has ranged from $549,728 (FY2018) to $701,815 (FY2021) over the most recent five years in the data, settling at $593,639 in FY2022 — the latest year on file. Actual grants paid (a narrower measure than total giving, which also includes administrative and qualifying distributions) were $415,250 in FY2022, $509,000 in FY2021, $488,500 in FY2020, $444,750 in FY2019, and $387,500 in FY2018 — a fairly steady $390K-$510K/year range with no dramatic swings. Assets have declined gradually from $10.13M (FY2010) to $8.96M (FY2022), a roughly 12% drawdown over 12 years, while giving-to-assets ratio in FY2022 was about 6.6% — modestly above the IRS-mandated 5% minimum payout, typical of a legacy foundation in steady-state distribution rather than active growth mode. The foundation's own stated 'typical grant size' data shows a median of $25,000, an average of $22,130, and a range of $2,500 to $45,000 across 23 tracked individual grants — smaller than the cumulative multi-year totals in the top-grantee list would suggest (those totals, like Kids in Crisis's $244,000, represent 6 separate annual gifts rather than one award). By dollar volume, New York and Connecticut dominate: NY grantees received the largest count (55 of 140 grants) and CT close behind (45 of 140), with Florida a growing third leg (25 of 140) reflecting the foundation's administrative relocation to Ocala. Program focus is overwhelmingly human services and child welfare: crisis intervention (Kids in Crisis, $244K), therapeutic/disability services (Marion Therapeutic Riding Association, $232K), homelessness and family shelter (Homes With Hope, $215K; Quantum House, $185K), juvenile justice/at-risk youth (Arnette House, $190K), early childhood and childcare (Child Care Council of Westchester, $173,750; Ossining First Steps, $160,000), immigrant/family services (Caroline House, $155,000), and hospice/health (Hospice and Palliative Care of Westchester, combined roughly $135,000 across name variants). Smaller, single-year grants of $1,500-$5,000 (Ymca, St. Peter's Child Care Center, food banks) appear to function as modest, likely one-time or trial gifts rather than core program grants.

The platform's database did not return a matched peer set for Sexauer Foundation, and no comparable named foundations of verified, current financial detail surfaced in web research. The table below instead benchmarks Sexauer against sector-level categories for similarly sized, similarly structured funders (based on Council on Foundations / Candid family-foundation benchmarking norms), which is the most defensible comparison available without fabricating specific peer figures.

Sexauer sits at the small end of the family-foundation spectrum by assets but pays out proportionally more of its asset base annually (roughly 6.6%) than many peers holding closer to the 5% floor, and it is notably more closed than the median small foundation, which more often runs at least a lightweight open LOI process. Its unusually narrow, three-state geographic footprint (NY/CT/FL) and single-purpose general-operating grant style also distinguish it from broader regional funders that spread smaller amounts across program-restricted grants.

No 2025-2026 news coverage, press releases, or grant announcements for Sexauer Foundation surfaced in web search — this is consistent with a foundation that has no communications program and does not publicize its giving. The most concrete, current information available is the foundation's own website (About Us, Contact Us) and IRS filings, the latest of which reflected in this dataset is fiscal year 2022 (grants paid $415,250; total giving $593,639; assets $8,958,495). The foundation's site (sexauerfoundation.org) describes a board of five active trustees — Wesley G. Cawley, Eileen Hoffman, Thomas J. Abbamont, Gil V. Silva, and James R. Walsh — with backgrounds in accounting, architecture/historic preservation, financial services, law/nonprofit management, and construction. Thomas Abbamont has served as a trusted advisor to the Sexauer family for over 40 years and joined the board in 1986, while James (Jamie) Walsh is identified as the last Sexauer family member to serve as trustee — signaling the foundation has fully transitioned to non-family, advisor-led governance, a common late-life-stage pattern for legacy single-family foundations. The Sexauer family's original wealth traces to J.A. Sexauer, Inc., a national distributor of plumbing and maintenance products. Trustee compensation in the historical financial data trended downward over time (from $30,000 to as low as $7,500 per trustee in various years), which combined with flat-to-declining assets suggests a foundation in steady, disciplined maintenance mode rather than one expanding its program or staff.

Do not submit an unsolicited grant proposal, letter of inquiry, or funding request — the foundation states directly it 'does not accept any unsolicited requests for funding' and that all applications are 'by invitation only.' Sending one is very unlikely to result in funding and risks no response at all. The realistic path to consideration is relationship-based: Sexauer's grantee list is heavily concentrated among human-services and child-welfare organizations in Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT, so organizations serving those specific communities — or connected to nonprofit boards, family offices, or philanthropic advisors active in that corridor — are the most plausible candidates to eventually be invited in. Given every tracked grant purpose is coded 'General Operating' or 'General Operating Purposes,' if your organization is ever invited to apply, position the ask as unrestricted operating support for your core mission rather than a specific program or capital project — that is the only grant type this funder appears to make. Expect a long-term, multi-year relationship if selected: most top grantees in the data received the same or similar amount across five to six consecutive years, suggesting the foundation values continuity and is unlikely to fund one-off projects from unfamiliar organizations. Median individual grant size is $25,000 (range $2,500-$45,000), so calibrate expectations to modest, sustaining-level support rather than transformational gifts. Because there is no public deadline, no application portal, and no listed program officer, the only documented touchpoint is the contact form at sexauerfoundation.org/contact-us — appropriate for a brief, professional inquiry (e.g., confirming current invitation-only status or asking a factual question), not for pitching a program. Common mistakes to avoid: treating this like a competitive RFP funder, requesting restricted or capital funding, or following up repeatedly after a non-response — the foundation's structure and messaging both signal a closed, low-volume, relationship-first funder that actively discourages cold outreach.