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Steele-Reese Foundation

Annual Giving
$1.8M
Grant Range
$5K - $0.1M
Decision Time
5mo
Success Rate
15%

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $1,815,600 (2024)
  • Success Rate: Highly competitive (74 awards from hundreds of applications)
  • Decision Time: 5-6 months (applications due March/April, decisions by August 1)
  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $50,000 (rarely exceeds $50,000)
  • Average Grant Size: ~$24,500 (2024)
  • Geographic Focus: Rural Idaho, Montana, and Appalachian Kentucky

Contact Details

Website: https://steele-reese.org

For Idaho and Montana Applicants:

For Kentucky Applicants:

Mailing Address: c/o JP Morgan Chase Bank, 10 S Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603

Overview

The Steele-Reese Foundation was established in 1955 by Eleanor Steele Reese, daughter of financier Charles Steele (a business associate of J.P. Morgan), and her husband Emmet P. Reese. The couple lived on a cattle ranch in Idaho and wanted to support rural communities that reflected their values. With assets exceeding $31 million and annual giving of approximately $1.8 million, the foundation supports projects in rural Idaho, Montana, Native nations in those states, and Appalachian Kentucky. The foundation operates with minimal overhead—no separate office and no full-time staff—ensuring maximum resources go to grantmaking. Trustees include William T. Buice III, Charles U. Buice, and JP Morgan Chase Bank as corporate trustee. The foundation's philosophy emphasizes helping people and organizations help themselves, avoiding simple handouts in favor of capacity-building support.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Idaho and Montana Grant Program

  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $50,000
  • Application Method: Letter of Inquiry (LOI) opens in January, closes after 100 LOIs received (typically 1-3 weeks)
  • Focus: Rural communities and Native nations
  • Full applications by invitation only

Appalachian Kentucky Grant Program

  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $50,000
  • Application Method: Direct application (no LOI required), opens mid-November
  • Deadline: Early March
  • Highest Priority: Ensuring children can read, write, and do math at grade level

Priority Areas

Rural Education (Early childhood through Grade 12)

  • Supplemental programs in early childhood education
  • Programs improving student outcomes
  • Literacy programs and out-of-school-time services
  • Charter schools and model programs
  • School libraries

Rural Human and Social Services

  • Programs for low-income and underrepresented populations
  • Services for elders, homeless individuals, people with disabilities
  • Support for disadvantaged or disconnected youth
  • Programs for survivors of abuse or domestic violence
  • Criminal justice system support
  • Local fire protection services
  • Food banks
  • Small public libraries

Rural Conservation and Preservation

  • Land, wildlife, and ecosystem protection
  • Water projects
  • Historic preservation and restoration
  • All projects must be locally focused

Rural Health

  • Preventive health programs
  • Medical clinics and small hospitals
  • EMS and ambulance units
  • Family planning programs
  • Hospices

Rural Arts and Humanities

  • Local visual arts programs
  • Music and performance arts
  • Creative arts activities
  • Preserving local histories

What They Don't Fund

  • Endowment funds
  • Emergency requests
  • Community fundraising drives
  • Conferences, workshops, or seminars
  • Documentary films
  • Election-related efforts
  • Planning or research projects
  • Competitions or contests
  • Summer camps
  • Projects promoting religious or political agendas
  • Higher education or adult education (in Kentucky)
  • Major medical equipment purchases
  • Urban or suburban areas (Idaho/Montana program)
  • Single or limited-interaction projects

Special Considerations

Capital Improvements: Limited funding available; typically supports late-stage projects with substantial existing funding committed

Native Communities: Foundation evaluates organizational relationships with Native communities, community engagement, and Native leadership representation

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • William T. Buice III (Individual Trustee)
  • Charles U. Buice (Individual Trustee, joined 2001)
  • JP Morgan Chase Bank (Corporate Trustee)

Program Support Staff:

  • Judy Owens - Appalachian Director (Kentucky)
  • Linda Tracy - Western Director (Idaho and Montana)

Governance Structure: The two individual trustees have sole responsibility for making grant decisions, made once annually. They share investment, administrative, and other responsibilities with the corporate trustee.

Founding Philosophy: "They wanted to help people and organizations help themselves, and they knew that simply giving handouts often weakened rather than helped the recipients." - Foundation's statement on Eleanor and Emmet Reese's philanthropic approach

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Idaho and Montana:

  1. Letter of Inquiry (LOI) process opens in January (typically mid-January)
  2. LOI portal closes after receiving 100 submissions (can close within days to 3 weeks)
  3. Foundation recommends contacting Linda Tracy before applying
  4. Foundation hosts Zoom open house sessions in December for questions
  5. All submissions through online portal: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=steelereese
  6. Download and review LOI Information Packet before applying
  7. Recommended: Prepare answers offline before online submission

Appalachian Kentucky:

  1. Online application form available mid-November
  2. No Letter of Inquiry required
  3. Recommended to discuss funding ideas with Judy Owens beforehand
  4. Two separate application forms: one for public schools, another for nonprofits
  5. Submit via online grant portal
  6. Review Checklist for Kentucky Applicants before applying

Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations and governmental entities (schools, fire departments, libraries) serving rural areas. No grants to individuals.

Decision Timeline

Idaho and Montana:

  • LOI opens: Mid-January
  • LOI closes: After 100 received (1-3 weeks typically)
  • Response to LOIs: Early March
  • Full applications due: Early April (if invited)
  • Grant decisions: By August 1
  • Funds distributed: Late August

Kentucky:

  • Application opens: Mid-November
  • Application deadline: Early March
  • Grant decisions: By August 1
  • Funds distributed: Late August or early September

Success Rates

The foundation is highly competitive. In 2024, 74 grants were awarded from hundreds of applications. The foundation acknowledges receiving "many more worthy requests than we have funds to support" and "has no choice but to reject scores of proposals each year."

For Idaho and Montana, the LOI process closes after just 100 submissions, indicating extremely high demand. Not all LOIs receive invitations for full applications, and not all full applications receive funding.

Reapplication Policy

The foundation does not explicitly publish a reapplication policy. They emphasize that "an LOI that does not result in an invitation for a full application, or an application that does not receive funding, is in no way a reflection of the value of an organization or its work" and that "the Foundation's inability to fund a project is not a judgment of the value of an applicant's mission or an entity's effectiveness."

Organizations are encouraged to contact program directors for guidance on reapplying.

Application Success Factors

Foundation's Stated Project Criteria (from their guidelines):

  1. Self-Sufficiency Focus: Projects should help people become self-sufficient rather than creating dependency
  2. Modest and Direct Aims: Foundation prefers projects with clear, achievable goals
  3. Narrow Function: Focused projects rather than broad initiatives
  4. Experience-Based: Organizations should demonstrate relevant experience
  5. Community Support: Must demonstrate meaningful community backing
  6. Essential vs. Desirable: Projects should address essential needs, not just nice-to-have additions
  7. Measurable Direct Benefits: Clear, quantifiable outcomes required
  8. Strong Leadership: Demonstrated organizational capacity and leadership strength

For Education Projects (especially Kentucky):

  • Foundation's highest priority: "Ensuring children can read, write, and do math at grade level"
  • Successful projects show comprehensive engagement with participants
  • Must articulate clear and measurable outcomes
  • Should outline specific execution steps with funding rationale

For All Applications:

  • Foundation thoughtfully considers every LOI and application with care
  • Proposals must identify clear funding rationale
  • Need to outline specific execution steps
  • Must articulate measurable outcomes
  • Typically single-year grants (multi-year grants rare)

Recent Funded Example: Kentucky Educational Television received $30,000 to expand access to hands-on learning experiences for students in Appalachian counties by implementing transportable Media Lab workshops, offsetting transportation costs and lost instructional time for rural students.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Act Fast for Idaho/Montana: The LOI window can close within days when 100 submissions are reached—prepare materials in advance and submit immediately when the portal opens in January
  • Pre-Application Contact Recommended: Both program directors welcome discussions before submission; use this opportunity to gauge fit and refine your proposal
  • Rural-Only Focus is Strict: Urban and suburban areas (including immediate suburbs) are excluded; ensure your community qualifies as truly rural
  • Self-Sufficiency Over Dependency: Frame proposals around capacity-building and sustainability, not ongoing support needs
  • Measurable Outcomes Required: Vague goals won't succeed; provide specific, quantifiable outcomes you'll achieve
  • Single-Year Grants Standard: Don't expect multi-year commitments; demonstrate what you can accomplish in one funding cycle
  • Competition is Intense: With 74 awards from hundreds of applications, only the most compelling, well-aligned proposals succeed—be strategic about applying

References

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