St Anthony Foundation

St Anthony Foundation is a private Franciscan-inspired grantmaking vehicle administered by the Schumacher family (Jeffrey, Laura, and Grant Schumacher) and operationally connected to the Franciscan Friars charitable network through the domain ffcharities.org and St. Anthony Shrine in Cincinnati, Ohio (5000 Colerain Avenue, 513-541-2146). Despite its Nebraska registration and PO Box in Lincoln (68501-3246), the foundation's giving philosophy flows directly from the 13th-century Franciscan tradition — poverty, prayer, and active service to those living in poverty. This is not incidental branding; the foundation's stated mission and website both resolve directly to the Franciscan Friars' own operations, meaning the two are deeply intertwined.

Jeffrey Schumacher serves as President, Secretary, and Treasurer without compensation and exercises primary trustee discretion over the grant portfolio. With approximately 39 awards distributed annually across a $2.4–$2.7M total, the foundation works with a carefully curated and relatively stable grantee portfolio. Grant sizes average roughly $62,400, with a documented range from as low as $250 to $1,000,000 for major institutional partners.

There is no application form, no posted deadline, and no grant guidelines — first-time applicants must understand this foundation does not function like a conventional grantmaker. Catholic elementary and secondary schools, parishes, social-service ministries operating under a Franciscan or Catholic identity, religious formation programs, and organizations serving disadvantaged populations through an explicitly faith-based lens represent the clearest organizational fits. Secular nonprofits — regardless of how strong their poverty-relief work is — are effectively outside this foundation's scope.

The most effective posture for a prospective grantee is a long-term relationship-building approach through the Franciscan Friars network or Nebraska's Catholic philanthropic community. Organizations that receive an introduction through an existing grantee, a Franciscan parish, or the Heider family philanthropic network in Lincoln have a meaningfully higher probability of consideration than those arriving through any form of direct outreach.

St Anthony Foundation's grantmaking has grown substantially and steadily over 13 years of available 990-PF data, from $349,900 in FY2011 to approximately $2,685,250 in FY2024 — a 668% increase. The growth arc is instructive: $573,800 (FY2012), $1,202,900 (FY2013), $1,290,800 (FY2014), $1,563,450 (FY2015), $1,935,600 (FY2019), $2,312,300 (FY2020), $2,467,700 (FY2021), $2,442,750 (FY2022), $2,432,500 (FY2023), and ~$2,685,250 (FY2024). The trajectory reflects a foundation actively deploying an expanding endowment, not a static family trust.

In FY2022 — the most recent year with grant-count detail available via Instrumentl — the foundation made approximately 39 individual grants totaling $2.44M, implying a mean award of approximately $62,600. The documented grant range of $250 to $1,000,000 (per Hinchilla funder database) confirms the portfolio spans modest programmatic awards to major multi-year institutional commitments. The $1M ceiling is likely reserved for flagship Catholic educational institutions or sustained Franciscan Friars programs.

Total assets have grown from $10.1M (FY2011) to $32.8M (FY2024) — a 224% increase — even while paying out $2M-plus annually. The foundation operates at a payout rate of approximately 8–9% of assets, well above the federal 5% minimum for private foundations. This aggressive payout philosophy is consistent with Franciscan values that emphasize active charitable deployment over endowment preservation.

The revenue model is distinctive: in FY2023, the foundation received $4.6M in contributions alongside $1.6M in net investment income; in FY2022, $2.9M contributions and $2.9M investment income. The presence of substantial contributed income is unusual for a private family foundation and supports the interpretation that this foundation serves as a charitable vehicle for the Franciscan Friars donor network — pooling major gifts for deployment across Catholic institutions.

Geographically, Nebraska dominates the grantee portfolio, with secondary presence in Virginia, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Catholic and Christian K-12 education and direct faith-based poverty relief represent the two primary programmatic categories. No publicly documented grants to secular organizations exist in available data.

The five NTEE-matched peers below were identified by Granted's database based on comparable asset size (~$32.8M) and Philanthropy & Grantmaking classification. All data is from most recent available 990 filings.

St Anthony Foundation stands apart from its asset-matched peers in two material ways. First, its documented payout rate of 8–9% annually is significantly more aggressive than the typical 5% minimum maintained by peer family foundations, reflecting an active distribution philosophy rather than endowment accumulation. Second, while all five peers are classified under the same NTEE Philanthropy & Grantmaking umbrella, St Anthony Foundation is the only one with an explicit religious doctrine as its organizing principle. Grant seekers evaluating this peer group should treat St Anthony Foundation as mission-restricted (Catholic/Franciscan only) and largely inaccessible to new applicants, while approaching the secular peer foundations with more standard relationship-building and LOI strategies.

Public news coverage of this specific St Anthony Foundation (EIN 202055887, Lincoln NE) is minimal — web research for 2025 and 2026 surfaces results for unrelated organizations sharing the name, particularly an Iowa hospital scholarship foundation and a San Francisco social-services nonprofit. This absence of press coverage is deliberate and consistent with the foundation's invitation-only, low-profile grantmaking model.

The most current IRS 990-PF data (FY2024, per ProPublica and CauseIQ) shows total assets of $32,795,509 and annual giving of approximately $2,685,250 — both the highest figures in the foundation's recorded history. Revenue for FY2024 reached $8.3M, with $4.0M from contributions and $2.95M from asset sales, indicating continued endowment capitalization and active portfolio management.

One individually traceable FY2024 grant was identified in CauseIQ's database: $10,000 to The Charles and Mary Heider Family Foundation, a prominent Lincoln, Nebraska philanthropy. This peer-to-peer foundation grant is unusual relative to typical portfolio patterns and may represent a one-time charitable alignment.

On the governance front, no leadership changes were documented in FY2023–2024 filings. Jeffrey, Laura, and Grant Schumacher continue their uncompensated leadership roles. Notably, Laura Provorse — who received director compensation of $14,000–$20,000 annually from FY2013 through FY2021 — no longer appears in the most recent officer lists, suggesting a quiet board restructuring. The all-Schumacher governing structure now in place implies even more concentrated trustee discretion.

The most important fact for any prospective grantee is that St Anthony Foundation accepts no unsolicited proposals and does not acknowledge cold inquiries. Jeffrey Schumacher and the board exercise complete discretion, and no application form, portal, or grant cycle exists. Organizations that have received funding have done so through personal relationships within Nebraska's Catholic community or the Franciscan Friars charitable network — not through formal grant-seeking processes.

For organizations with genuine mission alignment, the strategy must begin with an honest audit: is your organization explicitly Catholic or Franciscan in identity? Do you serve disadvantaged populations through a faith-based lens? Are you based in Nebraska or operating programs in Virginia, Missouri, or Wisconsin? If the answer to these questions is yes, a relationship-cultivation approach is viable. If not, this foundation is not a realistic prospect regardless of proposal quality.

The most effective entry point is through the Franciscan Friars network. Contact info@ffcharities.org or reach the St. Anthony Shrine development office in Cincinnati (5000 Colerain Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45223; 513-541-2146). A warm introduction through an existing St Anthony grantee, a Franciscan friar, a Nebraska Catholic philanthropic figure, or the Heider family network carries far more weight than any written outreach. The Lincoln, Nebraska Catholic community is small and well-networked — identifying mutual connections is feasible with deliberate effort.

If initial contact yields positive engagement, prepare a concise (one to two page) program summary that leads with mission alignment rather than organizational credentials or financial need. Franciscan sensibility values humility, directness, and clarity about impact on people living in poverty. Avoid institutional prestige framing. Budget documentation should be simple and transparent, reflecting stewardship rather than sophistication.

Do not attempt to force alignment where none exists, and do not cite the foundation's own growth trajectory as justification for an outsized ask. Grant size at this foundation is determined by trustee judgment about the relationship and fit, not by applicant articulation of need. With an average award of ~$62,400 and a range extending to $1M for anchor institutional partners, first-time applicants should anchor expectations in the $25,000–$75,000 range unless a specific major program warrants otherwise.