OVERVIEW: This funder primarily supports nonprofits in Arkansas but some funding supports the Dallas, Texas, area. Funding priorities include arts, culture, humanities, education, health, and human services.
IP TAKE: This is one of quite a few foundations in the region for which Bank of America serves as trustee. This means you won’t be able to network or develop a longterm relationship here, but it also means that local nonprofits have an excellent chance at seeing modest support. Transparency is limited here as well.
PROFILE: The Roy & Christine Sturgis Charitable Trust was established in 1981 in Arkansas. It seeks “to support and promote quality educational, cultural, human services and health care programming for all people.” Roy Sturgis was the son of an Arkansas farmer and homemaker, joined the U.S. Navy during World War I, and came back to Southern Arkansas to work in a local sawmill. He and his wife became successful in the sawmill, timber, and lumber industries and had no children. They lived in both Arkansas and Dallas, Texas, where they focused their philanthropy on education, human services, and the arts. Today, the trust supports and promotes quality educational, cultural, human services, and health care programming for all people.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
The trust supports both institutions of higher learning and primary and secondary schools in its education giving. Grantees include Crowleys Ridge College, Philander Smith College, Mount St Mary Academy, and Immaculate Conception Church & School.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts grants primarily support museums and cultural centers. Grantees include Clark County Historical Association, Mid America Science Museum, Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance, Low Key Arts, and Garland County Historical Society.
Grants for Community Development and Human Services
Human services grantees are often rehabilitation and community healthcare organizations. Grantees include Easterseals Arkansas, Jackson House Crisis Intervention, American Heart Association, and Grant County Unified Community Resource Council.
Important Grant Details
Grant amounts typically range between $1,500 and $100,000, and the most common amount is around $10,000. The foundation awarded over $642,000 in grants in a recent year and held more than $11.7 million in assets.
- Grant seekers can download the application from their website, and the annual deadline is always March 1. Grant procedures and a PDF with online application tips are also available for download.
- Most grants here are one year, although multiyear support is occasionally granted. New grant seekers can apply for capital, project, medical research, and endowment campaign grants. General operating support and start-up program support are rarer, but not out of the question.
- Sturgis relies on Bank of America to handle grant administration. Bank of America serves as a trustee, co-trustee, or agent to many private foundations without full-time staff.
- The address for the Roy & Christine Sturgis Charitable Trust is 901 Main Street, 19th Floor, Dallas, Texas, 75202.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
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