Open Foundations · Alabama

Ben May Charitable Trust

Mobile, Alabama · EIN 237145009. Its Form 990-PF says giving is not restricted to organizations picked in advance, which is how a private foundation files that it accepts unsolicited requests. It paid $1.4M across 57 grants in 2025, a median of $10K each.

All Alabama foundations · All states

$1.4M
paid in 2025
57
grants paid
$10K
median grant
11%
to first-time recipients
$38.9M
assets on file

How to apply, as filed

Straight off Part XV of the return. Where the foundation left a line blank, this says so rather than guessing.

Send requests to
THE BEN MAY CHARITABLE TRUST
Address
HANCOCK WHITNEY BANK 25 W I-65, MOBILE, AL, 36608
Phone
2288224365
Email
Not stated in the filing
Form the request should take
LETTER APPLICATION ALONG WITH COPY OF THE IRS TAX EXEMPTION LETTER
Submission deadline
NONE
Restrictions on awards
NONE

As filed on the Form 990-PF for tax year 2025, IRS filing object id 202601359349101945. Printed word for word, including the entries that only say to see a website or an attachment.

What it funds, in its own words

The words that come up most often across the purposes it wrote on its 2025 grants. These are the foundation's own words, not a category we assigned.

research

Biggest grants in 2025

The 15 largest of the 57 grants paid in 2025, with the purpose the foundation wrote for each.

#RecipientStateAmountPurpose as filed
1American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of ScienceNY$250,000BEN MAY CENTER FOR CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION
2The University of ChicagoIL$250,000CANCER RESEARCH FUNDING
3Order of St JohnDC$75,000RESEARCH GENETIC EYE DISEASE
4Azalea Center for the ArtsAL$55,000TICKETS FOR TEACHERS PROGRAM
5American Friends of the Peres Institute for PeaceFL$50,000GENERAL PURPOSES
6Museum of the Southern Jewish ExperienceLA$50,000RESEARCH LIBRARY AND READING ROOM
7Fuse ProjectAL$40,000GENERAL PURPOSES
8Anti-defamation LeagueNY$36,000GENERAL PURPOSES
9Mcgill Toolen Catholic High SchoolAL$35,000ST AUGUSTINE SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND BASEBALL FIELD RESURFACING
10St Ignatius Catholic SchoolAL$35,000PLAYGROUND AT EARLY LEARNING CENTER
11Mobile BaykeeperAL$30,000OYSTER RESTORATION PROGRAMS
12Alabama Shakespeare FestivalAL$25,0002026 PRODUCTION OF MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
13Children of the WorldAL$25,000DOMESTIC ADOPTION COORDINATOR AND ADMINSTRATIVE SUPPORT
14Congregation B'nai JeshurunNY$25,000GENERAL PURPOSES
15Congregation Orach ChaimNY$25,000GENERAL PURPOSES

Giving by year, and who received it

Grants paid by year

Every year of this foundation's grants that Civly holds
Tax yearGrantsPaid
202066$1.4M
202165$1.4M
202259$1.5M
202361$1.3M
202449$1.3M
2025 (partial year)57$1.4M

Where the money went

Share of 2025 grant dollars by recipient state
Alabama60%
New York25%
District of Columbia4%
Florida4%
Illinois2%

Who decides

Officers, directors and trustees as filed, with the year of the return they appeared on.

Hancock Whitney BankTRUSTEE · 2025
John D PeeblesDIST. COMMITTEE MEMBER · 2025
Ken NiemeyerSECRETARY · 2025
Lynette P KoppelDIST. COMMITTEE MEMBER · 2025
Steven KoppelDIST. COMMITTEE MEMBER · 2025
Vivian G Johnston IiiDIST. COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN · 2025
Vivian G Johnston VDIST. COMMITTEE MEMBER · 2025
William B PeeblesDIST. COMMITTEE MEMBER · 2025

Every figure on this page is that foundation's own latest filed year, which is 2022 or later. This foundation is listed because its Form 990-PF says it does not restrict giving to preselected organizations and it paid at least 5 grants totaling $100K or more that year. Latest-year grants and terms per foundation from IRS 990-PF e-file returns; the newest tax year is partial until the IRS finishes releasing it. Grants are de-duplicated on funder, year, recipient and amount, so identical repeat grants collapse into one and totals can run low. Full method.

Source: IRS Form 990-PF e-file releases (public domain). Analysis: Civly.

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