Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation

NEW YORK, NY EIN: 13-3798973

The Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation is a private foundation based in New York, NY, established in 1994. It operates as a corporate foundation affiliated with Mars, Incorporated and maintains tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status since May 1995.

Financial Overview

From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$16.9M

+2.8% YoY

Annual Giving

$1.1M

+10.9% YoY

Grant Count

37

+5.7% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$29K

+4.9% YoY

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated April 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation's giving priorities include:

  • Education, with particular emphasis on literacy
  • Philanthropy, voluntarism, and grantmaking
  • Human services
  • Arts and culture, including literary arts
  • Children and youth
  • Environmental conservation

Grantmaking

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation primarily funds organizations in:

  • Pennsylvania
  • District of Columbia
  • New York
  • Baltimore, Maryland
  • New Hampshire
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Washington, D.C.

Grant Distribution by State

7states

Cities

BaltimoreBlue BellBrooklynConcordDevonEdgewaterGreenfieldLong Island CityMediaNew LondonNew YorkNewburyOlneyPhiladelphiaPhoenixPhoenixvilleSunapeeWashingtonWest ChesterWhitestone

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

As of Fiscal Year 2024:

  • Total assets: $16,885,262
  • Total giving: $1,081,498
  • Revenue: $1,748,764
  • Expenses: $1,289,796
  • Total liabilities: $0

As of Fiscal Year 2023:

  • Total assets: $16,426,401
  • Total revenues: $535,496
  • Total expenses: $1,156,810
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$697K$1M$2M$3M20202021202220232024
Metric202420232022
Total Assets$16,885,262$16,426,401$17,117,715
Revenue$1,748,764$535,496$931,239
Expenses$1,289,796$1,156,810$1,125,801
Qualifying Distributions$1,098,012$986,515$970,137
Net Investment Income$1,205,233$280,348$369,743
Distributable Amount$1,029,696$939,262$956,428

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$274K$548K$821K$1M43 grants202027 grants202132 grants202235 grants202337 grants2024

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2024

AUSBON SARGENT LAND PRES…$50KCHILDREN'S ART GUILD$50KEVERYBODY MATTERS$50KFRENCH & PICKERING CREEK…$50KHEALTHY HUMOR$50KMIGHTY WRITERS$50KNEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN TRUST$50KREADING TEAM$50KJENKINS ARBORETUM & GARD…$41KINSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF…$40K

Grant Size Distribution

174 grants across all recorded years

144<$50K30$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for .

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Compensation Overview

From 2024 IRS filing

From 2024 filing

NameTitleHoursCompensation
VALERIE A MARSDIRECTOR1
PAMELA D MARS-WRIGHTDIRECTOR1
MARIJKE E MARSDIRECTOR1
VICTORIA B MARSDIRECTOR1
STEPHANIE J SCHUETZTREASURER1
BERNADETTE RUSSELLPRESIDENT1
KIMBERLY-PACIFIC WISEVICE-PRESIDENT1
CHRISTOPHER M WHITEDIRECTOR1
JUSTIN F WHITEDIRECTOR1
CHARLOTTE A ROSSETTERSECRETARY1
ANDREW D SPINADIRECTOR1
KYRA M DOYLEDIRECTOR1
CHANCE J WRIGHTDIRECTOR1

Contact Information

  • Location: 140 Broadway, New York, NY 10005
  • Telephone: 212-493-8851

Subject Areas

Focus areas based on grantmaking activity

Related Funders

Similar funders by location and focus area

Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.

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