Thunder Bay Foundation Inc.

Thunder Bay Foundation Inc. is a private family foundation established in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2007, governed entirely by the Kight family: Teresa J. Kight serves as President-Director, Peter J. Kight as Secretary/Treasurer, and Timothy F. Agnew as Assistant Secretary/Treasurer. All three officers receive zero compensation — a hallmark of a tightly held philanthropic vehicle built for long-term family giving rather than institutional grantmaking. The foundation is classified as a non-operating private foundation (NTEE T22, Philanthropy & Grantmaking) and is explicitly designated `preselected_only` in grant databases, meaning it does not accept or process unsolicited applications.

The giving philosophy is relationship-first and deeply multi-year. Across 34 documented grants totaling $6.74 million, the foundation has consistently returned to the same organizations: Andrew P. Stewart Center received five grants totaling $950,000; Youth Opportunities received four grants totaling $800,000; Literacy Action received three grants totaling $600,000; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin received three grants totaling $750,000. This is not a foundation that funds pilot programs or one-time projects — it funds organizations it trusts, at meaningful scale, over extended periods.

Geographic concentration is the other defining feature of the strategy. Twenty-five of 34 documented grants (74%) flow to Georgia-based organizations, with the Atlanta metropolitan area as the clear center of gravity. Ohio (4 grants) and Wisconsin (3 grants) appear as secondary geographies, almost certainly reflecting personal or professional relationships of the principals rather than a formal geographic expansion strategy.

First-time applicants should approach this foundation with eyes open to its structure. As of June 2026, its website displays only a 'Launching Soon' holding page, there is no grants portal, no published deadlines, and no application guidelines. Contact must be initiated through the foundation's administrative address at Smith & Howard (271 17th Street NW, Suite 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363) or via phone at (404) 874-6244. Entry into the funding portfolio realistically requires either a warm introduction from a current grantee organization, a professional intermediary known to the Kight family, or exceptional mission alignment with a long cultivation horizon. Organizations in Atlanta focused on education access, youth development, literacy, or food security — and able to demonstrate multi-year programmatic durability — are the strongest candidates for relationship initiation.

Thunder Bay Foundation Inc. has distributed an estimated $6.74 million across 34 documented grants, yielding an average grant of $198,118. The foundation's per-grant range — based on IRS 990-PF records — runs from a minimum of $86,000 (Boys and Girls Club of America, 1 grant) to $200,000 for individual annual grants, with multi-year relationships accumulating $380,000 to $950,000 in total giving per grantee. The database-confirmed median grant is $200,000, and the typical grant cluster is $120,000-$200,000 per annual disbursement.

Annual giving has grown steadily across the historical record: $835,500 (FY 2013), $1.04M (FY 2015), $1.25M (FY 2019), $1.25M (FY 2020), $1.07M (FY 2021), $1.45M (FY 2022), $1.52M in grants paid (FY 2023, $1.67M total giving), and an estimated $1.77M (FY 2024). This represents approximately 45% growth in annual giving from 2013 to 2023, closely tracking the asset base expansion from $17.7M to $32.96M. The payout rate is approximately 5% of assets — consistent with private foundation minimum distribution requirements.

By program area, inferred from grantee activity across 34 documented grants: - Education and literacy: Roughly 31% of total giving — Literacy Action ($600,000), Crawford County Board of Education ($700,000), The Kindezi Schools ($580,000 combined), KIPP Metro Schools ($250,000). - Youth development and social services: Approximately 29% — Andrew P. Stewart Center ($950,000), Youth Opportunities ($800,000), Goodwill of North GA ($350,000), Boys & Girls Club ($206,000 combined). - Food security: Approximately 10% — Georgia Community Food Bank ($700,000). - Healthcare: Approximately 11% — Children's Hospital of Wisconsin ($750,000). - Intermediary/pass-through: Remainder — National Christian Foundation ($200,000), Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund ($50,000).

Revenue is predominantly investment-driven. In FY 2023, net investment income was $1.94M against $1.0M in contributions received. FY 2024 total revenue of $4.34M broke down as approximately 40.5% contributions ($1.76M), 37.4% asset sales ($1.62M), and 20.3% dividends ($880,000). The large FY 2021 revenue spike ($14.35M total, driven by $10.0M net investment income) and subsequent asset growth to $31.1M signals a foundation that is meaningfully larger today than it was five years ago — with corresponding capacity to sustain or grow its current giving levels.

The following table compares Thunder Bay Foundation Inc. to four peer foundations with nearly identical asset bases (~$32.9-33.0M), all classified under NTEE Philanthropy & Grantmaking (category T), drawn from the foundation's own peer dataset:

All five foundations in this peer group are private, non-operating grantmaking foundations operating without public applications — a defining characteristic of family philanthropic vehicles in the $30-35M asset range. Thunder Bay's documented giving of $1.52-1.77M (2023-2024) places it at the higher end of this peer cohort in actual disclosed giving, reflecting the availability of its 990-PF data.

What distinguishes Thunder Bay from its peers is the intensity of its geographic concentration. While Vattikuti Foundation extends to international healthcare and the Glide Foundation operates across California's social services landscape, Thunder Bay channels 74% of its documented giving into a single metro area — Atlanta, Georgia. This makes the foundation more accessible to Atlanta-area organizations with strong relationship networks than its peer group suggests at first glance, but simultaneously much harder to access for organizations outside that geography.

No press releases, grant announcements, leadership changes, or media coverage specific to Thunder Bay Foundation Inc. (EIN 26-1172656, Atlanta, GA) were surfaced in web research conducted in June 2026. Web searches returned results primarily for the unrelated Thunder Bay Community Foundation (a Canadian entity based in Thunder Bay, Ontario), underscoring the low public profile maintained by this Georgia-based private foundation.

The most recent confirmed financial data (FY 2024, from ProPublica) shows total assets of $32.96M, total revenue of $4.34M, and approximately $1.77M in charitable disbursements — the highest annual giving figure in the foundation's available history and a 16% increase over FY 2023's $1.52M in grants paid. This growth tracks a significant expansion of the asset base: the foundation held $21.5M in assets in FY 2020 and now holds $32.96M, representing a $11.4M net increase over four years fueled in part by $10.0M in net investment income in FY 2021.

Leadership composition has remained stable across all available IRS filings. Teresa J. Kight, Peter J. Kight, and Timothy F. Agnew have served in their respective roles without change or public announcement of succession planning. The foundation's official website has been in a 'Launching Soon' state for an extended period with no indication of an imminent launch.

For the most current grant activity and recipient disclosures, practitioners should monitor IRS Form 990-PF filings directly through ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 26-1172656), which typically reflects data approximately 12-18 months after each fiscal year closes.

Thunder Bay Foundation Inc. does not accept unsolicited proposals and has no published application form, deadline calendar, grants portal, or program guidelines. This is a structural feature, not a temporary gap — the foundation has operated this way since its 2007 incorporation and its website remains a 'Launching Soon' placeholder as of June 2026. Applicants who approach this funder expecting a conventional grant cycle will not find one.

Lead with relationship, not paperwork. The foundation's giving record shows 3-5 repeat grants to the same organizations over many years. Relationship cultivation must come before any funding conversation. Identify whether anyone in your leadership network — board members, major donors, executive directors — has a personal or professional connection to Teresa J. Kight, Peter J. Kight, or Timothy F. Agnew. Peter Kight's background as co-founder of CheckFree Corporation (the electronic payments pioneer acquired by Fiserv) places him in Atlanta's fintech and investor communities; that network is the most likely route to a warm introduction.

Target the right program areas precisely. The documented portfolio clusters around education access and literacy (31% of giving), youth development and social services (29%), food security (10%), and healthcare (11%). Organizations working across two or more of these categories may be better positioned than narrow single-issue groups. All purposes in the grants record are listed as general operating support — the foundation funds organizations, not programs.

Make the Atlanta connection the lead. Even if your work has national reach, frame the Atlanta-area impact layer first. 74% of documented grants are Georgia-based, and the foundation's administrative address is an Atlanta office tower. Out-of-state organizations (like Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, which received $750,000 over three grants) appear to access funding through direct personal relationships with the principals, not through geographic alignment.

Contact the administrative office with a brief letter of interest. If approaching cold, send a 1-page summary to % Smith & Howard, 271 17th Street NW, Suite 2100, Atlanta, GA 30363, or call (404) 874-6244. Frame it as a request for an introductory conversation, not a funding ask. Do not send a full proposal unsolicited.

Demonstrate organizational durability above all else. The foundation's repeat multi-year giving at scale ($200,000/year across multiple years) signals that it prioritizes proven, financially stable organizations. New organizations, those with recent financial distress, or those without a clear long-term operating model are unlikely candidates regardless of mission fit.