Sundt Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Sundt Foundation is a corporate funder that makes grants in Arizona, Texas, and California to address homeless, hunger, basic needs, youth development, and diseases such as ALS. It is the philanthropic arm of the Sundt construction company.
IP TAKE: The Sundt Foundation is a modest corporate funder primarily serving Arizona, California, and Texas. Its grants are small and it doesn’t award many each year, but small and medium-sized nonprofits have a good shot at funding with Sundt if their programs benefit disadvantaged residents, especially youth, in some way. Its funding priorities for quarterly grants are broadly stated, but it mainly makes project-specific grants rather than funding general operating expenses, so as long as your organization meets the eligibility requirements and has a specific project to fund in line with the company’s giving strategy, it is worth applying.
Like many corporate funders, Sundt is not the most transparent about its grantmaking. It does not have a comprehensive grants database on its website, but does post press releases and news articles about select grants it wants to highlight. Overall, this is an accessible corporate funder and a good source of small grants for Arizona nonprofits. Its quarterly grants program accepts applications, but giving is very tied to the company’s business regions, so you must make sure that your organization is both based in and primarily serving one of the specified giving regions. You should also note that Sundt is an employee-owned company and regional employees play a significant role in the foundation’s decision-making, so finding a way to network with Sundt staff in your area will be very helpful here.
PROFILE: Established in 1999, the Sundt Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Sundt, a construction company based in Tucson, Arizona that specializes in heavy civil, federal, industrial, building, and concrete contracting. It prides itself on being a “different” kind of construction company: 100 percent employee-owned, collaborative, and innovative. The Sundt Foundation operates in eleven giving areas where the company has offices or significant business operations: In Arizona, it makes grants in Phoenix/Tempe and Tucson; in Texas it gives in El Paso, North Texas, and Central Texas; in California it makes grants in Sacramento, Irvine, and San Diego. It also makes select grants around Salt Lake City, Charlotte, the Pacific Northwest, and Florida. The foundation’s mission is to “reflect our employee-owners’ passion for giving back to the places where we live and work.” Its open grant program is primarily funded through employee gift-matching program and focuses on youth development, hunger, basic needs, social services, and veterans. It also makes grants to support the research and treatment of ALS.
Grants for Hunger, Homelessness, and Economic Opportunity
The Sundt Foundation’s Quarterly Grant program makes grants in its giving areas to support programs and organizations addressing “youth development, hunger & nutrition, basic needs & social services, and military & veterans.” The funding for these grants comes from the company’s dollar-for-dollar employee donation-matching program. The foundation reviews applications quarterly and decisions are made by the board of directors and “local committees of employee-owners” in each giving area. Much of the funding from quarterly grants goes to local human services organizations for basic needs such as shelters, food banks, and other resources for homelessness, hunger, and health care access. Sundt has also given to educational and therapeutic programs for children with disabilities and care for burn victims, as well as programs addressing health care and economic opportunity for veterans. Other local projects supported include Thirst Air, which provides water in the summer to Phoenix’s homeless population and fundraising events like Race for the Cure. Past grantees include Arizona Helping Hands, Furnishing Dignity, Nourish Phoenix, and St. Mary’s Food Bank of Phoenix.
Grants for Diseases
In honor of a long-time Sundt employee named Mike Gaines who passed away from ALS, the Sundt Foundation is committed to funding research into the diagnosis and treatment of this by raising money for the ALS Association and Muscular Dystrophy Association. Since 2001, the foundation has hosted annual golf and skeet shooting fundraising tournaments in Tucson, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, and Sacramento. To date, the foundation has raised over $2 million to combat the disease. Sundt generally does not accept applications for regional grants relating to ALS, instead focusing its giving on the two major national organizations.
Grants for Disaster Relief
The Sundt Foundation makes grants for disaster relief in its giving areas on a discretionary basis following major events such as hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and mass shootings. These grants generally go to support food aid, temporary shelters, clean-up and relief efforts, front-line responders, and victims’ funds. In the past, Sundt has used this discretionary funding to respond to Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Yarnell Hill wildfire in Arizona, the 2019 El Paso Walmart Shooting, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
IMPORTANT GRANT DETAILS:
The Sundt Foundation’s quarterly grants generally range from $1,000 to $10,000, while invitation-only grants can go much larger. The foundation does not maintain a comprehensive grants database on its website, but grantseekers may review its press releases, annual reports, or tax filings for a better idea of its grantmaking habits and strategy.
The Sundt Foundation’s grantmaking primarily serves select regions in Arizona, Texas, and California where its parent company has a business presence.
The foundation accepts applications for its Quarterly Grants program. Deadlines to apply are March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. Proposals are reviewed by a committee of employees working in the giving area, who then make their recommendations to the board of directors.
Applicant organizations must have been in operation for at least one year, with an operating budget of at least $100,000, administrative expenses less than 30% of budget, and a physical office in the giving area.
Grants for disaster relief and ALS are given on a discretionary basis and do not accept applications.
The Sundt Foundation does not award funding for multi-year projects, fundraising, construction, event sponsorship, political campaigns, or projects that promote a specific religious faith.
For questions about applying for a grant, reach out to the foundation administrator at 855-714-4365 or at foundation@sundt.com.
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