Is Tunnel to Towers Foundation a registered 501(c)(3) charity in 2025?
Executive summary
Available public records and charity-data services in the provided sources identify the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation as a longstanding tax-exempt nonprofit affiliated with EIN 02-0554654 and listed in nonprofit databases that track 501(c) filers (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Charity Navigator, CauseIQ) [1] [2] [3]. Multiple recent organizational updates and news releases through 2025 show active program operations and fundraising, consistent with continued 501(c) status in these datasets [4] [2].
1. What the databases say: direct listings and EINs
The foundation appears in major nonprofit data aggregators that base their profiles on IRS Form 990 filings: ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer lists the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation under EIN 020554654 and hosts full Form 990 filings [1] [5]. Charity Navigator also maintains a profile tied to that EIN and directs users to search IRS Form 990 records for that organization [2]. CauseIQ similarly lists the organization by name and EIN [3]. These listings are the primary public indicators used to verify a charity’s 501(c) recognition in the absence of a live IRS lookup in the provided sources [1] [2] [3].
2. Contemporary activity consistent with an operating public charity
Recent press releases and organizational announcements through late 2025 describe program activity—mortgage-free homes delivered to veterans, Gold Star families and first responders—and ongoing fundraising campaigns, which align with the operations of an established public charity [4] [2]. Charity Navigator’s profile cites program achievements (over 1,200 mortgage-free homes and more than $500 million committed across programs), underscoring active charitable operations consistent with a 501(c) mission [2].
3. What these sources do not provide: an explicit 2025 IRS determination document
None of the provided sources is an official IRS determination letter explicitly dated 2025 confirming current 501(c) status; ProPublica and Charity Navigator publish data derived from filed Form 990s and other public filings rather than the IRS determination letter itself [1] [2]. Instrumentl and other aggregator entries reference Form 990 data and financial snapshots but are secondary compilations [6]. Therefore, an authoritative IRS letter from 2025 is not contained in the supplied material—available sources do not mention an IRS determination document dated 2025.
4. How independent aggregators infer tax-exempt status
Services like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer and Charity Navigator establish profiles when an entity has filed Form 990s or otherwise appears in IRS datasets; those filings are the working evidence used by researchers and donors to treat an organization as a 501(c) public charity [1] [2]. Instrumentl and CauseIQ similarly synthesize IRS return information to report assets, giving histories and board details [6] [3]. These are standard industry practices but are not substitutes for direct IRS confirmation [1] [6].
5. Competing perspectives and limitations in the record
Most supplied sources present consistent portraits of Tunnel to Towers as a tax-exempt public charity and highlight substantial programmatic claims [2] [4]. Wikipedia’s entry in the results explicitly states the foundation “operates as a tax-exempt 501(c) non-profit organization,” but that page is dated September 2025 in the search result and is a tertiary source that compiles reporting [7]. Note: the search snippets mention controversies in some summaries but the provided sources do not elaborate or supply primary reporting on any IRS challenges or revocations—available sources do not mention any IRS revocation or loss of 501(c) status in 2025 [7] [1] [2].
6. What a reader should do next to confirm beyond doubt
To obtain definitive, primary confirmation of 501(c) status in 2025, consult the IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check or the IRS Business Master File for current tax-exempt determination letters, or retrieve the foundation’s most recent Form 990 from the IRS or an aggregator that hosts the original filing. The sources provided point researchers to those filings (ProPublica and Charity Navigator) but do not include the IRS determination letter itself [1] [2].
Bottom line: all supplied sources indicate that the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation is listed and profiled by major nonprofit databases that rely on 501(c) filings and show ongoing charitable activity through 2025, but the direct IRS determination letter for 2025 is not present among the provided materials [1] [2] [4].