The Clowes Fund

What The Clowes Fund does

The Clowes Fund is a private family foundation incorporated in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1952 by Dr. George H.A. Clowes, his wife Edith Whitehill Clowes, and their two sons. Governed by third- and fourth-generation Clowes family directors supplemented by four non-family civic and professional directors, the foundation awards competitive operating grants to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations in two principal regions: Indianapolis, Indiana and the New England states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont). Seattle grantmaking, which spanned 40 years and totaled nearly $8.7 million, was concluded in 2021.

The foundation's grantmaking is concentrated in three areas: immigrant services, workforce development, and (historically) arts and K-12 education, with introductory applications currently accepted only for the first two. Grant tiers include Introductory Grants of $40,000 over two years for organizations with operating budgets under $2.5 million, and Continuation Grants of $60,000, $90,000, or $150,000 over three years. The foundation applies a two-step competitive process through the GOapply online portal, with board decisions communicated by July 1. In 2024, the Fund distributed over $3 million across 34 new competitive grants in five states, with 74% of grantee organizations led by people of color and 50% of new grants directed to workforce development.

The Clowes Fund's business model is that of a typical private foundation: it derives its distributable capacity from investment returns on an endowment built from the original Clowes family assets. Cumulative grantmaking since inception exceeds $156 million. The professional staff is intentionally lean (4-5 people), with regionally distributed program officers in Indianapolis and Massachusetts. The foundation executed a major strategic shift in 2021, making multi-year operating grants the norm rather than the exception, and completed the multi-decade transfer of the Clowes Collection (valued at nearly $55 million) to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2023, thereby resolving its original art stewardship mandate and refocusing identity on social services and education grantmaking.

Name

The Clowes Fund

Legal name

The Clowes Fund, Inc.

Website

https://clowesfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Clowes Fund is a private family foundation founded in 1952 that awards multi-year operating grants to 501(c)(3) organizations in Indianapolis, Indiana and New England, focused on immigrant services, workforce development, and arts/K-12 education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Family foundation grants
• Nonprofit funding
• Immigrant services funding
• Workforce development grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The Clowes Fund operates as a private foundation with an endowment established by Dr. George H.A. Clowes. The foundation distributes grants from investment returns on its endowment. The foundation has awarded approximately $156 million since its founding in 1952.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Clowes Fund is a private family foundation that awards multi-year operating grants to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations in Indianapolis, Indiana and New England. Its grantmaking focuses on four priority areas: Immigrant Services, Workforce Development, Arts Education, and K-12 Education, supporting organizations that serve socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and communities. Since 1952 the foundation has awarded approximately $156 million in cumulative grants and uses a two-step competitive application process administered through its GOapply online portal.

Product overview

The Clowes Fund is a family foundation focused on grantmaking, not a technology product company. Its primary offering is its grantmaking program, which awards multi-year operating grants to organizations in Indianapolis, Indiana and New England regions. The foundation uses the GOapply online portal as its grant application and reporting platform, but does not offer commercial products, APIs, or technology services. The organization supports three main funding areas: arts education, education, and social services (immigrant services and workforce development).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Introductory Grants
• Continuation Grants
• Matching Grant Program
• GOapply Online Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $156 million awarded since 1952
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Barr Foundation: Barr is a Boston-based private foundation funding climate, arts, and education, with overlapping New England geography and family-foundation governance model. Comparable grant size range and competitive application process make it a strong structural peer to Clowes' New England operations.
• The Skillman Foundation:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Clowes Fund