Willits Foundation

The Willits Foundation is a private family philanthropy headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, that operates entirely on an invite-only basis. There is no public application process, no published grant guidelines, and no online portal. Founded in January 1965 and originally connected to C.R. Bard, Inc. (the New Jersey-based medical device company acquired by Becton Dickinson), the foundation has evolved into a multi-generational Evans family philanthropy. Chairman and President Laura W. Evans leads the board alongside trustees Christopher W. Jones, Caroline Jones, and Megan Margiotta. John H. Evans has previously served as Chairman. James A. Diack is the foundation's sole paid employee, serving as Chief Operating Officer at $120,000 annually and operating through Holyfield & Thomas LLC at (561) 689-6000.

The foundation's giving philosophy is relationship-driven and institutionally conservative. It favors well-established organizations with long track records over emerging nonprofits, and it does not respond to sector trends or public RFPs. The grantee roster reads as a curated portfolio of personal institutional relationships: a prestigious boarding school in Gladstone, NJ; a women's liberal arts college in rural Virginia; major medical centers in Palm Beach County; and long-serving community organizations in Vero Beach and West Palm Beach.

For first-time applicants, the honest entry point is a personal connection to an Evans family trustee or to COO James Diack. Cold outreach to the registered address (c/o Holyfield & Thomas LLC, 125 Butler Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33407) is unlikely to yield a response, but is the only formal channel available. Organizations that share geographic ties to the Evans family's known spheres — Palm Beach County, Gladstone/Basking Ridge NJ, and coastal South Carolina — have a structural advantage.

The foundation views itself as a supplemental funder, not a cornerstone partner. Even relationships with major institutions like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic produce grants of $50,000–$154,700 per cycle. First-time applicants should frame proposals as targeted, program-specific supplements to existing institutional capacity, never as primary funding. Emphasize concrete deliverables, quantified beneficiaries, and specific equipment or program costs rather than general operating budgets.

Annual grants paid have ranged from $702,500 (FY 2010) to $1.41 million (FY 2022), with total giving — including investment-related charitable disbursements — reaching as high as $1.70 million in FY 2021. Over the most recent five complete fiscal years (FY 2018–2022), grants paid averaged approximately $1.14 million per year. The most recent available data (FY 2024, ending November 2024) shows $1.42 million disbursed across 16 grants, consistent with the foundation's established range.

Total assets have remained remarkably stable, holding between $21.4 million and $22.5 million across the entire 2010–2024 period. The foundation is not a spending-down vehicle; it manages assets to preserve principal while distributing approximately 6–7% of assets annually.

Grant size ranges from $22,000 (MUSC Foundation) to $179,000 (Gill St Bernard's School), with a median of $71,000 and an average of $70,394. Most grants cluster between $50,000 and $100,000. Multi-year relationships generate the largest cumulative totals: Gill St Bernard's School has received $285,780 across 2 grants; Scholarship America has received $249,956 across 2 grants; Cleveland Clinic Foundation has received $242,000 across 2 grants.

By program area, education dominates at approximately 40% of giving: Gill St Bernard's ($285,780), Scholarship America ($249,956), Center for Creative Education ($159,500), Sweet Briar College ($155,000), Cathedral Arts Project ($75,000), Siena College ($40,000), and MUSC Foundation ($22,000). Healthcare accounts for roughly 35%: Cleveland Clinic ($242,000 combined), MD Anderson ($140,000), Mayo Clinic entities ($175,000 combined), Jupiter Medical Center ($142,000), Barrier Islands Free Medical ($86,000), and VNA and Hospice Foundation ($76,828 combined). Youth, social services, and legal aid account for approximately 12%: Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach ($124,500), Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County ($120,000), Alfre Inc./Mrs. Wilson's Halfway House ($120,000), and Mary's Home ($65,000). Religion receives about 8%: Presbyterian Church USA ($110,000), Christ Our King Catholic Church ($50,000), and First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach ($35,000).

Geographic distribution: Florida accounts for 19 of 37 documented grants (51%), New Jersey 8 (22%), South Carolina 4 (11%), Minnesota 3 (8%), Virginia 2 (5%), and New York 1 (3%). The fiscal year ends in November, which is atypical and affects grant timing; budgeting cycles likely peak in August–October.

The Willits Foundation occupies a distinctive niche as a mid-sized, entirely private family foundation in Palm Beach County — large enough to write meaningful grants to major medical institutions, yet small enough to operate without staff beyond a single COO. The table below compares it to three Florida-region foundations that serve overlapping geographies or focus areas (figures for peers are approximate based on available public data).

The comparison highlights several strategic realities. Quantum Foundation and the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties are dramatically better capitalized and accept open applications — organizations with Palm Beach County health or civic programs should apply to both before targeting Willits. The Lost Tree Village Charitable Foundation is the most analogous structurally (board-preselected, family-adjacent, small staff), confirming that Palm Beach County has a cluster of relationship-driven, invitation-only funders. Willits is unusual in that it consistently funds organizations outside Palm Beach County — particularly in New Jersey and South Carolina — while most comparable local foundations restrict giving geographically. This makes Willits potentially valuable to NJ and SC organizations that lack access to local private philanthropy of this scale.

The most recent Form 990-PF, filed May 8, 2025 and covering the fiscal year ending November 30, 2024, confirms the foundation's continued operational stability. Total assets of $21,878,548 reflect 14 consecutive years of asset preservation at the $21–$22 million level. The foundation made 16 grants in FY 2024 totaling $1,419,235 — essentially flat with the prior year's 17 grants at $1,267,255.

The most notable development in FY 2024 is the addition of MD Anderson Cancer Center as a grantee ($140,000 for cell therapy research). This is the foundation's most prestigious new institutional relationship in the recent record and the largest single healthcare grant in the documented data. It suggests either a personal connection to MD Anderson leadership or a deliberate strategic shift toward research medicine.

Sweet Briar College's $175,000 fellowship grant (FY 2024) represents the foundation's largest recent commitment to higher education and continues what appears to be a multi-year relationship with this Virginia women's college.

No leadership changes are apparent in recent filings. Laura W. Evans continues as Chairman and President; James A. Diack continues as the sole compensated COO. The Evans family trustees (Christopher W. Jones, Caroline Jones, Megan Margiotta) remain in place. No public announcements, press releases, or new program launches were found in web research — consistent with the foundation's extremely low public profile. No social media presence, no foundation website, and no grants database participation were identified.

Because the Willits Foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited applications, the conventional grant-writing playbook does not apply here. The following tips are specific to navigating a preselected, relationship-driven private foundation.

Map the trustee network before any outreach. Laura W. Evans (Chairman/President), Christopher W. Jones (Treasurer/Trustee), Caroline Jones (Trustee/Secretary), and Megan Margiotta (Secretary) are the decision-making core. Research whether any of these individuals sit on your organization's advisory board, attend your events, or have personal connections to your leadership. A board member who knows a Willits trustee is more valuable than any written proposal.

Use James Diack as a professional first contact. If no trustee connection exists, a brief, professional letter to James A. Diack, COO, c/o Holyfield & Thomas LLC, 125 Butler Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33407, is the appropriate channel. Keep it to one page: who you are, what you do, your geographic footprint, and a single compelling outcome metric. Do not attach a full proposal unsolicited.

Align geographically. The foundation's giving history is anchored in Palm Beach County, FL; the Basking Ridge/Gladstone, NJ corridor; and coastal South Carolina. Organizations outside these geographies face a significant structural disadvantage.

Mirror the grant purpose language used in 990 filings. Successful grants have been described in precise, quantified terms: '10 Nurse Externships and 14 Wheelchairs,' '65 Summer Camp Sponsorships,' 'ER Mental Health Section,' 'Agricultural fellowship.' Proposals should lead with specific programmatic deliverables and unit costs, not narrative mission statements.

Respect the November fiscal year. The foundation's fiscal year ends in November, which is unusual. Budget deliberations likely occur in August through October. Outreach or concept submissions in late spring or early summer give the COO time to present options before the annual planning cycle concludes.

Frame your ask as supplemental. Even Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic receive $50,000–$88,000 from this foundation. Position your request as a targeted supplement — a specific piece of equipment, a defined cohort of scholarship recipients, a named clinical program — rather than as core operating support.

Demonstrate institutional longevity and stability. Every grantee in the foundation's top-25 list is an established, well-recognized institution. Startups, pilot programs, and organizations under five years old are unlikely to receive consideration. Lead with your organization's history and financial stability.