Steele-Reese Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Steele-Reese Foundation supports rural Idaho, Montana, and Appalachian Kentucky communities in the areas of rural education, health, human and social services, the arts and humanities, land, water, and wildlife conservation, and historic preservation.
IP TAKE: This accessible and approachable foundation seeks organizations with projects that have a measurable and sustainable benefit to the populations they are serving. This funder works regionally and prioritizes rural Kentucky, Montana and Idaho. It’s also responsive, so don’t hesitate to contact them with questions.
PROFILE: The Steele-Reese Foundation was founded in 1955 by Eleanor Steele Reese, daughter of JP Morgan associate Charles Steele. She and her husband, Emmet P. Reese, operated a ranch in Idaho and used her inheritance to launch the foundation. JPMorgan Chase Bank acts as the foundation’s corporate trustee since the foundation does not have its own office or full-time staff. The foundation was established to reflect the Steele-Reese family’s “lasting commitment to their rural values.” The Steele-Reese Foundation focuses its grantmaking on rural regions in Montana, Idaho and Appalachian Kentucky. Its grantmaking supports education, health, human/social services, arts and humanities, conservation (land, water, and wildlife), and historic preservation.
Grants for Criminal Justice Reform and Violence Prevention
The Steele-Reese Foundation’s Rural Human/Social Services program awards grants to organizations offering related service to low-income and underserved communities. Areas of interest include but are not limited to, survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, homeless individuals, disadvantaged and disconnected youth, and people living with disabilities, and criminal justice reform.
Grants for Public Health
The Steele-Reese Foundation’s The Rural Human/Social Services program broadly funds organizations serving low-income and underserved communities. The program prioritizes funding work that benefits and assists survivors of domestic violence, homeless individuals, disadvantaged and disconnected youth, and people living with disabilities, among other concerns. Steele-Reese’s Health program awards grants to diverse programs and organizations. It funds preventative health programs, clinics, small hospitals, emergency services, and hospice programs.
Grants for K-12 Education
Rural education is a big part of the Steele-Reese Foundation’s strategy across all of its geographic regions. It awards grants to K-12 education programs for literacy, after-school programs, small public libraries, charter schools, model school programs, and scholarships in Idaho. Its Rural Education grantmaking supports initiatives like “supplemental programs in early childhood education settings,” “elementary, middle, and high school programs that improve outcomes for students,” “literacy programs and out-of-school-time services,” and “charter schools and other model school programs that provide quality educational options for students and families.” It prioritizes projects that “demonstrate a comprehensive level of engagement with participants that result in clear and measurable outcomes.” The majority of its grantees are public and charter school systems.
Grants for Environmental Conservation
The Steele-Reese Foundation’s Rural Conservation and Protection grantmaking supports “land, water, and wildlife conservation,” “historic preservation and restoration projects,” and “ecosystem protection programs.” It strongly prioritizes community-based efforts that focus on local rural landscapes, and rarely funds larger national organizations unless their work touches on Steele-Reese’s giving regions in Idaho and Montana. Grantees include Western Sustainability Exchange, Montana Preservation Alliance, and Indian Nations Conservation Alliance.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Steele-Reese Foundation funds “local arts programs,” as well as various “creative arts activities and efforts to maintain the rich histories of the Foundation’s funding geographies.” Grantees include Appalachian Arts Alliance and Native American Community Development Corporation.
Important Grant Details:
The minimum grant amount is $5,000 and the foundation rarely awards grants that exceed $50,000. Most grants come in at between $10,000 and $30,000. The foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications and a letter of inquiry is not required. The submission deadline for those applying to the Appalachian Kentucky program is March 1 and the deadline for the Idaho and Montana programs is December 1.
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