Teton Springs Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder was formed by resort owners and developers and supports arts and culture, education, health and human services, sports and recreation, and natural resource conservation and environment. It only considers groups that serve Teton Valley, Idaho.
IP TAKE: Over 70 percent of local groups that apply for grants receive funding. Keep requests under $5,000, but get on this funder’s radar ASAP.
PROFILE: The Teton Springs Foundation is based in Driggs, Idaho, and has been supporting nonprofits through charitable giving since 2001. It seeks to “improve the quality of life in Teton Valley Idaho.” The foundation was created by the owners and developers of the Teton Springs Resort and through contributions equal to one percent of the land value on residential real estate sales. Since 2016, the foundation has been a separate entity from the resort and has funds in an endowment with the Community Foundation of Teton Valley.
Interests include arts and culture, education, health and human services, sports and recreation, and natural resource conservation and environment. Grants have supported Friends of the Teton River, Teton Valley Search and Rescue, Teton Valley Community School, Teton Valley Trails and Pathways, and Teton Christian Academy. Support has gone to Teton Valley Food Pantry, Teton Valley Community Recycling, and the Targhee Animal Shelter.
In a recent grant cycle, the foundation made grants totalling $37,000 to 13 local groups. This commitment brought the funder’s overall grantmaking to over $1 million. For this annual cycle, TSF received applications from 18 nonprofits, suggesting that local organizations have good odds of success here.
It reviews grant applications in December. All grants are made exclusively for efforts in Teton Valley, Idaho. The board is made up of local community members. Doug Gemmel is foundation president, and there are seven other board members.
The deadline for grant applications is the first Friday in November, at 5:00 pm. All applications should be submitted by email; the foundation no longer accepts paper applications. Submit the electronic applications to grants@tetonspringsfoundation.org. Current grant applications are available in PDF and Word formats on the funder’s website. The maximum request per organization is $5,000.
Since TSF’s founding in 2001, more than $1 million has supported over 30 organizations. In a recent year, the foundation had total net assets of $702,384. View recent Form 990s here.
The address is P.O. Box 244, Driggs, Idaho 83422. Phone is 208-227-3524. But email is the best way to get in touch with grant questions, at grants@tetonspringsfoundation.org. Keep up with the funder on its Facebook page. Grantmaking news is also posted here.
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