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Specific charities supported by Donald Trump foundation
Executive summary
The Donald J. Trump Foundation — a private foundation created in 1988 and dissolved by court order in 2018 — made thousands of small grants and some larger gifts to charities, with IRS filings and reporting showing about $10.9 million given from 2001–2014 and a mix of recipients including veterans groups, arts organizations, and medical charities [1] [2]. New York’s attorney general forced Trump to pay over $2 million in damages and listed eight charities that were repaid after court findings of misuse, including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and United Negro College Fund [3].
1. A scattershot grantmaking record, not a focused philanthropic agenda
Reporting and analyses of IRS filings show the Trump Foundation gave modest, widely dispersed grants rather than concentrating on a narrow set of causes: Forbes found roughly $10.9 million in grants from 2001–2014 spread across more than 400 charities, and PBS noted the foundation’s giving was “modest” with most recent gifts coming from other people’s donations rather than Trump himself [1] [2]. Foundation filings and third‑party databases (Foundation Directory/Candid) list many recipients but the record of complete grants is incomplete and filings were irregular [4] [5].
2. Some specific, named recipients documented in reporting
Multiple outlets and official filings identify particular beneficiaries. New York’s Attorney General cited eight charities that were repaid after the court found misuse of foundation funds: Army Emergency Relief, Children’s Aid Society, Citymeals‑on‑Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha’s Table, United Negro College Fund, United Way of the National Capital Area, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum [3]. Forbes’ review of IRS documents also singled out donations such as a $325 gift to a state ACLU branch in 2013 and larger, varied payments across arts, veterans, and medical causes [1].
3. Big-ticket items were often non‑cash: land and easements
A substantial portion of what has been reported as Trump’s “giving” consisted of land donations and conservation easements rather than cash grants. Analyses of tax returns and reporting found that most of the charitable value Trump reported on his returns came from easements and land transactions — for example, New York Times and later summaries reported tens of millions in non‑cash donations, and Forbes noted Trump reported high totals that largely reflected easements and land rather than cash [6]. Wikipedia’s overview also emphasizes nearly $90 million attributed to conservation easements or land donations, and thousands of in‑kind gifts like free rounds of golf [7].
4. Legal settlement narrowed and corrected the record
A 2019 settlement with New York’s attorney general settled allegations the foundation was used for political and personal benefit; the settlement required Trump to pay more than $2 million in damages and to make admissions about misuse, and it produced a concrete list of charities that received restitution [3]. This official action strengthens the evidentiary record for certain named recipients and for the conclusion that some foundation funds were improperly disbursed [3].
5. Gaps, caveats, and limits to public lists
Comprehensive, authoritative lists of every recipient are incomplete: Wikipedia’s “List of grants” page is explicitly a partial list and notes that annual IRS Form 990s would normally contain full grant lists — records that are sometimes missing or partial in public repositories [5]. Foundation Directory and Candid house profiles but access and completeness vary [4] [8]. Journalistic reconstructions (Forbes, PBS) derive from available 990s and other documents but acknowledge gaps [1] [2].
6. Conflicting narratives about who funded the foundation’s gifts
The foundation’s funding mix complicates claims about Trump’s personal philanthropy: PBS reported Trump claimed substantial giving but tax filings showed only $6 million in donations from Trump and his companies to the foundation and that much of the foundation’s money came from outside donors [9] [2]. Forbes and other analysts noted the foundation’s grants often reflected other donors’ dollars or non‑cash transactions [1] [6]. Those who emphasize Trump’s charitable impact point to land gifts and large reported totals; critics point to the non‑cash nature of much of that giving and to legal findings about misuse [6] [3].
7. How to verify specific grants going forward
For readers seeking a granular list of every grant: consult the foundation’s IRS Form 990 filings via Candid/Foundation Directory or the partial compiled lists on Wikipedia and in major reporting; for legally confirmed repayments and misuse findings, rely on the New York Attorney General’s press release and settlement documents that name the eight repaid charities [4] [5] [3]. Note that available public compilations remain incomplete and that investigative reporting has filled many but not all gaps [1] [2].
Limitations: Public sources provided here are incomplete and sometimes partial lists; they disagree on framing (cash vs. non‑cash giving) and on how much of the foundation’s money came from Trump personally versus outside donors [1] [2] [6]. Available sources do not mention an exhaustive, single‑source list of every recipient beyond the partial compilations referenced [5] [4].