Charles A. Frueauff Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Frueauff Foundation broadly funds education, human services, health care initiatives, and community programs in Arkansas and throughout the United States.
IP TAKE: This funder offers a range of grant types, including capital support, endowments, matching grants and collaborative projects. It’s not an accessible funder, but offers solid regional support. While Frueauff has been known to fund organizations across the United States, the majority of its grantmaking centers around Arkansas and the Southeast.
CAFF is not currently accepting letters of inquiry, but first-time grantseekers may submit an Eligibility Questionnaire for future reference. It accepts proposals by invitation only and the board meets twice a year to review them. It makes funding distributions each year in mid-December. The foundation provides a short eligibility survey on the funder’s website for first-time grant seekers. This funder can be a little bureaucratic in its approach.
PROFILE: The Charles A. Frueauff Foundation (CAFF) was established in 1950 and is based in Little Rock, Arkansas. It seeks to “improve the lives of those in need by awarding grants to non-profit organizations in the areas of education, human services, and health and hospitals.” Frueauff was a New York attorney who contributed to many charitable organizations in New York during his lifetime. His namesake foundation is a family affair, and it has been led by the founder’s descendants since the beginning. Today it is led by David A. Frueauff, grandnephew of Charles. David has served as president since 1996. Since its start, the foundation has made over $164 million in grants to over 1,185 organizations. The foundation’s funding priorities include Education, Human Services and Health.
Grants for Housing, Food, and Economic Opportunity
CAFF’s Human Services program has always been central to its grantmaking. Sub-categories of human services funding include Career/Job Services, Community Programs, Disaster Relief Services, Food/Hunger Services, Shelter/Housing Support Services and Youth Services. Recently, the foundation has prioritized “Welfare-to-Work programs, creative approaches to working with at-risk youth, inadequate daycare systems, ever growing hunger issues, and economic development initiatives.” Past grantees include Step Up Savannah, Boys and Girls Club and Capital Area Community Action Agency.
Grants for Early Childhood Education and Higher Education
CAFF’s Education program primarily supports higher education through direct grants to private four-year colleges and universities to fund general operations, special projects, and scholarships. It also gives grants for technology and software updates, as well as infrastructure assistance. On rare occasions, it has also made grants for capital building campaigns and major fund drives.
In addition to its higher education giving, the foundation supports community/arts education programs and early childhood education by making grants to nonprofit organizations whose work may concern “service learning, persons leaving welfare, students preparing for employment in non-profit agencies, and activities for at-risk youth.” The higher institutions that CAFF supports include University of Arkansas, University of the Ozarks, Oglethorpe University, Tallahassee Christian College and Columbia University. Other grantees include the Thea Foundation, Jonestown Family Center, Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and Louisiana Civil Justice Center.
Grants for Public Health
CAFF’s Health program supports groups that work towards “improving access to and raising the quality of healthcare for our citizens.” Grants support private and nonprofit hospitals and health agencies for things such as “equipment, outreach programs, staff positions, screenings, and education materials.” It has also supported nursing school scholarships, as well as programs concerning children’s health education and HIV/AIDS education and awareness. Past grantees include the Brandon Bulsworth Foundation, Camp Aldersgate, Daughters of Charity Services of AR, Methodist Family Health Foundation, International Hearing Dog and Alzheimer’s Project of Tallahassee.
Important Grant Details
Grants generally range from $30,000 to $50,000 for returning grantees, but first time grantseekers typically receive under $10,000. This foundation typically sticks to one-year grants, and the board meets twice per year to review requests. Grantseekers may review the foundation’s past grantees for more information on its grantmaking habits.
The deadlines for proposals are typically September 15 and March 15 each year and must be sent by mail to the Little Rock office.
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