Trustmark Foundation

Trustmark Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Trustmark Companies, a Lake Forest, Illinois-based employee benefits and insurance holding company headquartered at 400 N Field Dr. Operating as a private non-operating trust (EIN 363330631, ruling date April 1985), the foundation distributes approximately $1.1–1.35 million annually to nonprofits across the geographies where Trustmark Companies maintains offices and a meaningful employee base.

The giving philosophy is relationship-based and employee-centered rather than open-market or competitive. The foundation's 'preselected only' designation aligns precisely with what the grantee record confirms: every organization in the top 50 has received grants across multiple cycles — typically 3 to 9 separate grants per recipient — indicating deep, institutionalized partnerships rather than one-time or new-applicant awards. United Way of Lake County alone has received 13 separate grants totaling $573,409, a relationship spanning well over a decade. Northern Illinois Food Bank (8 grants, $136,688), the Actuarial Foundation (9 grants, $62,758), and Beacon Place (6 grants, $102,024) similarly reflect recurring, annually-budgeted commitments.

The foundation operates at least two distinct giving channels. The first is direct grantmaking to established Lake County and multi-state nonprofit partners in human services, food security, youth development, legal aid, and behavioral health. The second is an employee-directed component, evidenced by the 'Favorite Charities Program' grantee ($99,081) and large Scholarship America awards ($431,525 over 6 grants) — suggesting Trustmark provides employee matching or a company-sponsored scholarship for employees' dependents via a platform like Benevity or YourCause.

First-time applicants face significant structural barriers: no application portal, no published deadlines, no eligibility criteria, and no RFP process. The foundation's contact, Daniel Mandarino (c/o Trustmark Foundation, 400 N Field Dr, Lake Forest, IL 60045), operates through Trustmark Companies' corporate infrastructure, not a standalone foundation office. New relationships appear to begin through Trustmark employee champions — a Trustmark employee who serves on your board, volunteers with your organization, or advocates internally is likely a more reliable pathway than a direct approach to foundation leadership.

Organizations that succeed with Trustmark Foundation are Lake County-rooted, human-services-focused, and able to demonstrate tangible outcomes for working families. Geographic alignment — Lake County, IL primary; southeast Wisconsin, northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Minnesota secondary — is effectively a prerequisite. Even strong proposals from misaligned geographies are unlikely to penetrate this closed, relationship-driven portfolio.

Trustmark Foundation has distributed $5.23 million across 841 recorded grants in the Granted.ai database. The foundation's typical grant size data shows a median of $6,000, an average of $11,026, and a range from $50 to $160,000 (across a 121-grant sample period). This gap between median and average indicates a bimodal distribution: many small employee-directed or matching grants ($50–$2,500) alongside a smaller set of substantial anchor commitments ($25,000–$160,000 per grant cycle).

Annual giving has been remarkably consistent across a 12-year IRS record: - 2011: $1.185M | 2012: $1.107M | 2013: $1.076M | 2014: $1.082M | 2015: $1.054M - 2019: $1.107M | 2020: $1.334M | 2021: $1.296M | 2022: $1.281M | 2023: $1.338M

This stability — less than 20% variance over 12 years — suggests a formulaic annual payout tied to Trustmark Companies' budget cycle rather than investment-return-driven discretion. The modest uptick in 2020 and sustained higher plateau thereafter likely reflects a COVID-era giving response that became the new baseline.

A transformative capital event in fiscal 2022 reshaped the foundation's balance sheet: $9.37 million in contributions received grew total assets from $3.45M to $11.57M in a single year. By fiscal 2023, assets reached $12.37M with net investment income of $804,802 — a near-40x increase over the prior year's $89,579. This endowment growth has not yet produced scaled grantmaking, but the 5% minimum distribution floor on a $12.4M base implies a payout floor of ~$620K, well below current giving levels, giving the board significant headroom to grow.

By geography (689 coded grants): Illinois 55% (377 grants), Wisconsin 12% (80), Ohio 7% (51), Minnesota 6% (38), Pennsylvania 5% (36), Michigan 4% (27), North Carolina 3% (24), Massachusetts 3% (23), New York 3% (18), Texas 2% (15). This mirrors Trustmark Companies' national employee footprint.

By program area (inferred from top-50 grantee purposes): - Human services, shelter, and social safety net: ~38% (United Way, A Safe Place, Lake County Haven, Willow House, Lambs Farm, NICASA) - Youth development and education: ~22% (Scholarship America, Boys and Girls Club, Bernie's Book Bank, Omni Youth, HomePlate) - Food security: ~9% (Northern Illinois Food Bank, Feeding America, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Forgotten Harvest) - Health and behavioral health: ~12% (CommunityHealth, Youth Family Counseling, Children's Heart Foundation, AFSP) - Legal aid and advocacy: ~6% (Legal Aid Chicago, CARPLS, RASE Project, Legal Aid of NC) - Veterans services: ~2% (23rd Veteran) - Specialized/actuarial/other: ~11% (Actuarial Foundation, Highland Park Community Foundation, SEDOL)

Trustmark Foundation is a mid-sized corporate trust concentrated in Lake County, Illinois, with secondary reach tied to Trustmark Companies' national insurance and benefits footprint. The table below compares it to peer funders serving similar geographies or operating in the insurance and financial services sector. Note: peer figures marked 'est.' are approximations drawn from publicly available IRS 990 data and may reflect a prior fiscal year — verify current figures on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer before citing.

Trustmark Foundation currently underperforms its peer group in annual giving relative to its new $12.4M asset base — a potential signal of near-term grantmaking growth as the board establishes endowment policy. For Lake County organizations, the Lake County Community Foundation offers the most accessible open-application alternative across comparable program areas. W.W. Grainger Foundation, headquartered at the same Lake Forest address, is a larger but similarly closed vehicle; both organizations frequently co-fund the same Lake County anchors (United Way, food banks, youth services), making Grainger relationship-building a complementary strategy to any Trustmark cultivation effort.

Web research was unavailable during this session due to persistent API errors (529 Overloaded), so the following is based entirely on IRS 990 financial records and analytical inference.

The most significant recent development in the data record is the fiscal year 2022 endowment expansion: Trustmark Foundation received $9.37 million in contributions from Trustmark Companies — approximately 3.7 times the prior year's contribution of $2.52 million. This event grew total assets from $3.45 million to $11.57 million and marks a deliberate decision by Trustmark Companies' leadership to capitalize their foundation as a long-term, investment-driven vehicle rather than a simple annual pass-through. By fiscal year 2023, assets had grown further to $12.37 million.

The investment portfolio has also matured significantly: net investment income of $804,802 in fiscal 2023 compared to $89,579 in 2022 and $21,665 in 2021. The foundation is now earning enough from investments to cover more than half its annual grantmaking from returns alone — a meaningful structural transition.

Annual grantmaking held steady at $1.338 million in 2023, consistent with the 2019–2022 range. The foundation has not yet signaled a payout increase commensurate with the larger asset base. This suggests either a transitional governance review or a deliberate conservative draw-down strategy.

The Actuarial Foundation (9 grants, $62,758 total) is a recurring grantee that clearly reflects Trustmark Companies' industry identity as an insurance and actuarial services firm — a distinctive signal of corporate DNA in the giving portfolio. Grantees seeking current news, leadership updates, or program announcements should monitor Trustmark Companies' press room at trustmark.org and their LinkedIn page directly, as the foundation itself does not appear to publish standalone communications.

Daniel Mandarino remains the identified foundation contact in IRS records. No leadership changes, new program announcements, or public grant award lists were discoverable without web access.

Because Trustmark Foundation operates as an invitation-only, preselected grantmaker with no published application process, traditional grant-writing tactics — submitting a cold letter of inquiry, finding their portal, or responding to an RFP — will not work here. The following tips are specific to this foundation's closed, relationship-driven operating model.

Lead with your Trustmark employee connection. The single highest-probability pathway into this foundation is through a current or former Trustmark Companies employee who already knows your organization. The 'Favorite Charities Program' grantee in the IRS record signals an employee-designation giving mechanism. If you can identify a Trustmark employee on your board, in your volunteer corps, or in your donor base, that person is your most effective first contact — not the foundation directly. Search LinkedIn for 'Trustmark Companies' employees in your city.

Anchor your case in Lake County, Illinois populations. Even if you serve multiple regions, lead your inquiry with Lake County impact: beneficiaries in Waukegan, North Chicago, Gurnee, Libertyville, Zion, or Winthrop Harbor. The foundation's giving is 55% Illinois by grant count, and within Illinois, Lake County organizations dominate. Chicago-based organizations without a Lake County program face steep headwinds.

Align your program narrative to the human services and social safety net cluster. The portfolio is not a broad community development fund — it concentrates on specific safety-net services: domestic violence shelter, housing, food security, behavioral health, youth counseling, and legal aid. If your work touches financial stability, family services, or basic needs, foreground those elements in any outreach.

Contact Daniel Mandarino via Trustmark Companies' corporate channels — once. Mandarino is the named foundation contact at 400 N Field Dr, Lake Forest, IL 60045 (phone and email not publicly listed). Locate contact information via trustmark.org's corporate directory or main switchboard. Send a single brief letter of interest (under one page) describing your Lake County impact, the specific program and dollar amount you would request, and your connection to the Trustmark community. Do not follow up more than once without a response.

Time outreach to the corporate budget cycle. Trustmark Companies likely finalizes philanthropy allocations in Q4 (October–December) for the following year, or Q1 for current-year discretionary grants. Initiating contact in July–September positions you for a year-end decision window.

Frame your ask as a multi-year partnership, not a one-time project. Every top-50 grantee in the portfolio has received 2–13 separate grants. The foundation rewards sustained relationships. Present your ask as the beginning of an ongoing partnership, reference comparable long-term commitments in the portfolio (United Way, food banks), and clearly articulate what year-over-year partnership would look like.