Marriner S. Eccles Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Marriner S. Eccles Foundation supports higher education, health, arts and culture, and social services in Utah.

IP TAKE: Eccles is a prominent name in Utah philanthropy, but this is one of the less accessible foundations for first-time grant seekers.

PROFILE: Established in 1973, the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation is a private foundation based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah banker and economist Marriner Stoddard Eccles (1890-1977) was chairman of the Federal Reserve under President Franklin Roosevelt. He was also the son of Ellen Stoddard and David Eccles, a pioneering industrialist who moved to the Ogden Valley from Scotland and started a prosperous lumber business. The Eccles Foundation funds local higher education, health, arts and culture, and social services efforts.

Grants for Higher Education, Public Health and Access, Arts and Culture, and Community Development

The Marriner S. Eccles Foundation does not have a website to guide grant seekers. However, the funder’s tax records and past news coverage reveal that it supports broad interests close to home. Eccles commonly funds universities, hospitals and medical research. It is a donor for performing arts, fine arts, museums, rehabilitation programs, and drug and alcohol abuse programs. Other interests are youth, women, homeless individuals and disabled individuals. Many of this foundation’s grants are in the form of general operating support.

Past local grantees include the Junior League of Salt Lake City, Moab Music Festival, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, and Ogden Symphony Ballet.

Important Grant Details

Grants range between about $5,000 and $50,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records and via the book A History of Giving: The Marriner S. Eccles Foundation. Grantmaking focuses on the state of Utah and Salt Lake City in particular.

This foundation does accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits and only supports pre-selected organizations. Direct general questions to the staff at 801-532-0934.

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only). 

CONTACT:

79 South Main 13th Floor

Salt Lake City, UT 84111