CARLS FOUNDATION

What CARLS FOUNDATION does

The Carls Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 1961 by Bill Carls, the German immigrant founder of Numatics, Inc., originally as The William and Marie Carls Foundation, renamed to The Carls Foundation in 1992. Headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, the foundation operates with only 5 employees and is governed by a board of trustees who meet minimally three times per year; Elizabeth A. Stieg serves as Executive Director & President. Its mission, as defined by the donor-founder, centers on two principal areas: children's welfare (with special emphasis on prevention and treatment of hearing impairment) and preservation of natural areas, open space, and historic buildings. All grants are restricted to organizations holding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and operating primarily in Michigan. Recent and historical data sources for senior management:.

The foundation's product offering is grant capital. It provides capital grants, limited budget support, startup/seed money, and multi-year grants typically ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, with outlier multi-year commitments occasionally reaching $300,000-$500,000.

The foundation's GTM motion is inbound-only — it accepts grant applications year-round and reviews them at Trustee meetings, with no outbound marketing or fundraising apparatus. Its asset base derives from Bill Carls' original endowment, and post-1995 operations have continued under trustee management without parent company, subsidiaries, or external investors. Geographic scope is constrained to Michigan. Public grant listings are archived on the foundation's website from 2010 onward, demonstrating ongoing but bounded annual grantmaking activity.

Name

CARLS FOUNDATION

Legal name

The Carls Foundation

Website

https://carlsfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Carls Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 1961, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that awards grants primarily to Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits focused on children's welfare (particularly pediatric healthcare and hearing impairment) and preservation of natural areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Charitable grants
• Children's welfare
• Nonprofit foundation
• Hearing impairment programs
• Land conservation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomfield Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

The Carls Foundation is a private charitable foundation that provides capital grants, limited budget support, start-up/seed money, and multi-year grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations based in Michigan. Its principal mission is children's welfare (with special emphasis on prevention and treatment of hearing impairment) and preservation of natural areas through land trusts and conservancies. Grant amounts typically range from $5,000 to $50,000 for capital items and new programs.

Product overview

The Carls Foundation is a charitable grant-making organization, not a product or technology company. It does not offer products or services in the traditional sense. The Foundation provides capital grants and program support to non-profit organizations in Michigan focused on children's welfare (particularly healthcare facilities, hearing impairment prevention/treatment, and disadvantaged children) and preservation of natural areas through land trusts and conservancies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Children's Healthcare Grants Capital grants and program support to Michigan-based 501(c)(3) healthcare organizations serving children, with special emphasis on prevention and treatment of hearing impairment. Grants fund neonatal intensive care units, hearing screening equipment, cochlear implant programs, audiology services, and pediatric care for disadvantaged children.
• Children's Human Services Grants

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Hudson-Webber Foundation: A Detroit-based private foundation supporting nonprofits in southeast Michigan with a focus on community vitality, arts and culture, and human services. Closely comparable in scale, structure, and Michigan-only grantmaking.
• McGregor Fund: A Detroit-based private foundation providing grants to Michigan nonprofits across human services, education, health, and arts. Directly comparable size, geographic focus, and thematic spread to The Carls Foundation.
• William Davidson Foundation: A Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based private foundation (same HQ city) supporting education, Jewish life, and community transformation initiatives. Comparable Michigan private foundation model and governance structure.
• The Children's Foundation of Michigan: A Michigan-based private foundation funding pediatric health and child welfare programs statewide. Highly comparable in primary mission focus on children's healthcare and welfare.

Broad incumbents

• The Kresge Foundation: A Troy, Michigan-based private foundation supporting nonprofits across arts/culture, education, environment, health, and human services. Comparable as a Michigan-headquartered industrial legacy foundation, though much larger in assets and scope.
• Michigan Health Endowment Fund: A Michigan-based health-focused philanthropy supporting behavioral health, healthy aging, and maternal/child health statewide. Comparable Michigan geographic focus and overlapping children's health mission, though significantly larger and more thematically focused.
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation: A Flint, Michigan-based private foundation among the largest in the U.S., funding education, community development, and civil society globally. Comparable in being a Michigan-founded industrial legacy private foundation, but materially larger in scope.

Regional players

• Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan: Southeast Michigan's largest community foundation serving metro Detroit. Comparable geographic focus but operates as a community foundation rather than a private family foundation.
• Grand Rapids Community Foundation: A Michigan-based community foundation serving Kent County and broader West Michigan with grants across education, health, and human services. Comparable regional giving model with similar social-issue focus.

Others

• Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy: A Traverse City, Michigan-based land conservancy receiving Carls Foundation grants for natural area preservation. A grantee/ecosystem partner rather than a peer funder, but the closest comparable on the conservation side of Carls' mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carls-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 CARLS FOUNDATION