The Dillon Fund
The organization is a private foundation dedicated to supporting a diverse range of causes, including environmental conservation, disease research, and human services. Its mission reflects a commitment to enhancing community well-being and advancing knowledge through educational initiatives and health-related research. The foundation provides funding to various organizations, with a notable focus on conservation efforts and medical research, particularly related to mitochondrial diseases. It serves a broad spectrum of recipients, including educational institutions, conservation groups, and organizations providing humanitarian aid. The foundation's activities are primarily based in the United States, with a significant number of grants directed towards initiatives in New York and Maryland.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
A mission-aligned nonprofit (often in conservation, disease research, education, or community services) with an established track record and connections or visibility to the foundation’s network; requests that match past purposes such as general operating support or program funding.
Good Fit
- • Work in conservation, mitochondrial disease research, education, or community services (areas repeatedly funded).
- • Request framed as general operating support or an institutional-level program need.
- • Existing relationship, introduction, or prior visibility to trustees or current grantees.
- • Project scale consistent with observed grant sizes (from mid-thousands up to several hundred thousand).
Geography
Observed giving in the latest year reached 20 different states (and some international recipients), with about 35% of dollars to New York and the remainder widely distributed, indicating a national (not local) footprint.
Recipient Variety
The foundation funded 54 distinct recipients in the latest year with multiple sectors represented (conservation, disease research, education, human services) and added about 20 new grantees that year, showing a broad and diverse recipient set for its size.
New Applicants
Behavior shows meaningful turnover (about 37% new grantees in the latest year and repeated additions over three years), so new organizations do enter the portfolio; however the foundation’s stated 'preselected only' practice and absence of a public application path make unsolicited entry unlikely without referral or a relationship.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
