The Frost Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 72-0520342 · since 1960frostfoundation.org·Louisiana, New Mexico·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$1.3M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$3,000 to $25,000

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$10,000

Typical grant (median)

69 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

Fixed application deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

If your organisation serves people in New Mexico or Louisiana through human services, education, arts and culture, human rights, animal welfare or environmental conservation, the foundation's Community Impact Fund or Environmental & Animal Welfare Fund is worth a look.
About 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $3,000 and $25,000, and the median grant was $10,000, so a modest request fits, though larger grants have been made and that band is typical rather than a ceiling.
Send a one-page summary by June 1 for the fall review cycle or by December 1 for the spring cycle, and stress creativity, self-reliance, collaboration that reduces duplicated services, or urgent needs with broad community impact.
Because 57% of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had funded before, it appears to be fairly relationship-led, so a first approach may find it harder going, and it encourages organisations to apply no more than once every 18 months.
Individuals, endowments and political activities are not funded, and organisations that are not qualifying 501(c)(3)s or lack a qualified fiscal sponsor are not eligible.

Overview

The Frost Foundation is a US private foundation based in Santa Fe, NM.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The foundation funds organisations serving Louisiana and/or New Mexico through its Community Impact Fund and Environmental & Animal Welfare Fund. Its stated fields include human services, education, arts and culture, human rights, animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Its environmental and animal-welfare funding supports direct, on-the-ground conservation, marine protection and applied research with tangible outcomes, while the community fund covers work outside those areas. It prioritises creative, innovative and self-reliant programmes; pioneering initiatives that can serve as models; responses to urgent or emerging needs with broad community impact; collaboration that reduces duplicated services; and general operating support for exemplary organisations aligned with its mission. Eligible applicants include qualifying 501(c)(3) organisations, organisations with qualified fiscal sponsors, and government and tribal entities.

Themes

Human services
Education
Arts and culture
Animal welfare
Environmental conservation
Human rights

Geographic Focus

New Mexico; Louisiana.

What They Don't Fund

Individuals
Endowments
Political activities

How to apply

Applicants submit a one-page summary giving the organisation’s name, address, phone number, project or executive director, age of the organisation, description of need, objective or goal, and planning and implementation procedures.

Deadlines:

Applications are due by June 1 for the fall review cycle.
Applications are due by December 1 for the spring review cycle.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 57% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 179 grants to organisations were $10,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It prioritises programmes that demonstrate creativity, innovation and self-reliance.
It favours pioneering organisations and initiatives that can serve as models for other communities.
It prioritises projects addressing urgent or emerging needs with potential for broad community impact.
It favours efforts that reduce duplicated services through collaboration and partnership.
It supports general operating costs for exemplary organisations that align with its mission.
For the Environmental & Animal Welfare Fund, clear, measurable outcomes are prioritised, and advocacy or education is most competitive when it complements direct impact.
It encourages organisations to apply no more than once every 18 months and may recommend a break after multiple grants.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

New Mexico80%

Louisiana11%

Indiana2%

Virginia<1%

Arkansas<1%

Vermont<1%

6 other states: 3%

The largest single recipient received 11% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 57% of grant dollars went to organisations The Frost Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
2% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

69 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $10,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 69 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$1k–$2.5k4%

$2.5k–$5k10%

$5k–$10k12%

$10k–$25k61%

$25k–$50k4%

$50k–$100k4%

$100k–$250k3%

$250k–$500k1%

Median $10,000 (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

Espanola Humane · Operating
$260,0002024 tax year
Laboratories Foundation · Operating
$144,0002024 tax year
Saint Vincent Hospital Foundation · Operating
$100,0002024 tax year
Tibetan Association of Santa Fe · Operating
$60,0002024 tax year
Blue Skye Foundation · Operating
$50,0002024 tax year
Community Foundation of Lincoln County · Operating
$50,0002024 tax year
Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary · Operating
$26,0002024 tax year
Horizon Albuquerque · Operating
$25,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Henry Frost Howell — Director
Amelia Reid Howell — Director
Philip Carter Howell — Director
Ann Rogers Gerber — Director
Taylor F Moore — Secretary, Treasurer
Philip B Howell — Vice President
Mary Amelia Whited-Howell — President

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$1,804,727	$829,710	$31,179,732	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$2,043,989	$965,385	$33,531,440	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$2,546,444	$1,326,000	$34,307,771	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.