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Scripps Family Fund For Education And The Arts

Annual Giving
$2.8M
Grant Range
$0K - $0.4M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2,800,000 (approximately)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available (invitation-only)
  • Decision Time: Not publicly available
  • Grant Range: $170 - $438,000
  • Median Grant: $7,000
  • Geographic Focus: Connecticut (primary), with some national grants
  • Total Assets: $18,000,000

Contact Details

Website: https://sffea.org/

Physical Location: Fort Mitchell, KY

Foundation Advisor: Linda Marshall

Overview

The Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts (SFFEA) was created in 2014 as a private family foundation to support the philanthropic vision of its founders, Sebastian and Barbara Scripps. With assets of $18 million and annual giving of approximately $2.8 million, the foundation seeks to improve the prospects of economically disadvantaged populations with a focus on infants through young adults in Connecticut and beyond. The foundation invests in organizations that provide learning, enrichment, and inspiration to promote self-sufficiency and life success. In 2024, SFFEA made 191 grants, demonstrating active and consistent grantmaking. The foundation focuses on supporting new initiatives, program support and expansion, and capacity building, with a particular emphasis on supporting innovative ideas that might be difficult to fund elsewhere.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Standard Grants: $170 - $438,000

  • Focus on new initiatives, program support and expansion, and capacity building
  • Invitation-only basis
  • Support organizations serving a full range of ages
  • Median grant: $7,000

Quick Grants Initiative (launched 2021): Up to $10,000

  • National scope with emphasis on Connecticut
  • General operating, program, and scholarship support
  • Effort to support smaller, grassroots organizations
  • Designed to increase access for economically underserved children and adults

Wheels to Learning Program

  • Transportation funding for K-12 public school field trips in Windham County, Connecticut
  • Covers trips to designated non-profit cultural institutions in arts, sciences, and humanities
  • Since 2018: Over $152,872 provided, benefiting approximately 18,843 students across 310 field trips

Priority Areas

  • Education: Youth leadership programs, school enrichment, college access, scholarship support, cybersecurity education
  • Arts & Culture: Arts education, cultural programming, museum and theatre access
  • Youth Development: Programs for economically disadvantaged youth from infancy through young adulthood
  • Capacity Building: Organizational development that helps increase populations served and broaden effectiveness
  • Access & Equity: Reducing barriers to educational and cultural opportunities
  • Connecticut Focus: Strong emphasis on Connecticut-based programs, particularly in Hartford, Bridgeport, and Eastern Connecticut

What They Don't Fund

  • Endowments (generally)
  • General operating support (with exceptions for Quick Grants program)

Governance and Leadership

Founders

  • Sebastian Scripps: Co-founder with background in design, engineering, development, and manufacturing for companies including Cuisinart, American Tourister, and Kodak. Has served on boards of American Dance Festival of New York, Rectory School in Connecticut, and The Linden Hill School of Massachusetts.
  • Barbara Scripps: Co-founder

Key Staff

  • Linda Marshall: Foundation Advisor

From the Founders: "Every person should have access to quality educational opportunities and learning experiences in order to foster a productive citizenship and healthy democratic society."

Linda Marshall on partnerships: Speaking about the Talladega College grant, Marshall noted the foundation is "pleased to partner with Talladega College" in developing innovative educational programs, reflecting SFFEA's collaborative approach.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

SFFEA operates on an invitation-only basis and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

The foundation identifies funding opportunities through:

  • Trustee and founder connections
  • Strategic partnerships with Connecticut educational organizations
  • Identification of innovative programs addressing educational access for economically disadvantaged populations
  • Collaborative initiatives with other Connecticut funders (e.g., partnership with Newell D. Hale Foundation on Wheels to Learning)

Wheels to Learning Program: This is the one program that accepts applications directly from Windham County, Connecticut public schools for transportation funding.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly available due to invitation-only structure. The foundation appears to make decisions throughout the year rather than on fixed cycles.

Success Rates

Not publicly available. As an invitation-only funder, traditional success rates do not apply. The foundation made 191 grants in 2024 and 175 grants in 2023, indicating consistent and active grantmaking.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable for unsolicited applications. Organizations invited to apply or already in partnership with the foundation may receive multi-year or repeat funding based on relationship and program performance.

Application Success Factors

Since SFFEA operates on an invitation-only basis, traditional application success factors don't apply. However, examining their funded projects reveals clear priorities:

Mission Alignment is Critical

  • Programs must serve economically disadvantaged populations, particularly youth
  • Focus on educational access, enrichment, and cultural opportunities
  • Emphasis on promoting "self-sufficiency and life success"

Types of Projects Funded

  • Major capacity building: $1 million to Talladega College for Cyber Security Center creation
  • Program expansion: $80,000 to Horizons Bridgeport for Notre Dame affiliate and high school program expansion
  • Media/content creation: $150,000 to Connecticut Public Broadcasting for Latino educational programming
  • Infrastructure support: Textbook lending libraries at community colleges
  • Access programs: Transportation funding through Wheels to Learning

Foundation Values Innovation SFFEA explicitly states it aims to "support ideas that might be difficult to fund otherwise" and seeks to "leverage its grant making by focusing on opportunities that help organizations increase the populations they serve, broaden their effectiveness and impact, and improve financial sustainability."

Connecticut Connection Matters While the foundation makes some national grants (like Talladega College in Alabama), the vast majority of funding goes to Connecticut-based organizations or programs serving Connecticut residents.

Range of Grant Sizes The foundation funds both large transformational grants ($438,000) and smaller grassroots support (as low as $170), with a median of $7,000, indicating flexibility in supporting organizations of different sizes and capacities.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • This is an invitation-only funder - they do not accept unsolicited proposals, so traditional grant writing strategies do not apply
  • Strong Connecticut focus - the foundation's roots and primary grantmaking are in Connecticut, particularly supporting economically disadvantaged youth
  • Innovation and risk-taking welcomed - SFFEA explicitly seeks to fund "ideas that might be difficult to fund otherwise," suggesting they're willing to support innovative or experimental programs
  • Capacity building emphasis - the foundation looks for opportunities that help organizations "increase the populations they serve, broaden their effectiveness and impact, and improve financial sustainability"
  • Wide grant range - from $170 to $438,000 with a median of $7,000, indicating the foundation tailors grant sizes to project needs and organizational capacity
  • Education and arts intersection - programs that combine educational access with arts and cultural enrichment align well with the foundation's dual focus
  • Quick Grants for smaller organizations - the up to $10,000 Quick Grants initiative specifically targets smaller, grassroots organizations, though still invitation-only

References

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