Allemall Foundation Inc.

Allemall Foundation Inc. is a private operating foundation headquartered at 117 West Patrick Street, Frederick, Maryland, governed by Chairman Edward D. Scott, President Julia Soistman, Secretary Catherine D. Scott, and Director Kristen Procter. Unlike traditional pass-through grantmakers, Allemall deploys the majority of its budget running its own programs: multi-million-dollar land acquisition for conservation (the Gualala River mouth in California; 239.98 acres of former golf course near Burgaw, NC; and 197.61 acres of Ashley River headwaters wetlands near Givhans, SC), plus a smaller aquaponics and organic farming education initiative — the Water to Table/Williams Aquaponics Project — used as a teaching resource for agriculture students.

The foundation's `preselected_only` classification is the single most important fact for grant seekers: Allemall does not operate an open application process. Its website (allemall.org) was in pre-launch "Launching Soon" status as of mid-2026, with no grants portal, application guidelines, or published deadlines. This is typical behavior for a closely-held family foundation where the Scott family (Edward and Catherine D. Scott) control governance.

For potential applicants, the realistic path is direct personal outreach rather than responding to any RFP. Phone — (301) 694-8444 — and physical mail to c/o Edward D. Scott at the Frederick address are the only reliable entry points. A one-page letter of introduction addressed to the Chairman is the correct first step; a full proposal sent cold without prior contact will likely go unanswered.

Organizations should demonstrate alignment with at least one of three pillars: (1) natural land and waterway conservation in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, or California; (2) agricultural education with an aquaponics or sustainability focus; or (3) scholarships for students pursuing conservation, environmental science, or natural resource management. Multi-year scholarship recipients (Cole Torres received $12,000 over 4 grants; Amanda Daly $9,500 over 3 grants; Ashley Luke $9,000 over 2 grants) demonstrate that the foundation rewards demonstrated commitment — position for a multi-year relationship, not a one-time award.

The decision-making circle is small and family-driven. Building one substantive relationship — particularly with Edward D. Scott as Chairman — carries more weight than polished application materials. Given the absence of a formal review calendar, outreach is best timed September–November or February–April to avoid the holiday and summer lulls common to small family foundations.

Allemall Foundation's external grantmaking is deliberately modest relative to its $32.8M asset base. Across 60 documented grant transactions totaling $239,650, the average external grant is $3,994 and the median is $4,000 — a small-grant, relationship-based approach that stands in contrast to the multi-million-dollar conservation property investments the foundation makes in its own programs.

Grant size range: $300 to $17,000. The most common bracket is $1,500–$5,000, where approximately 60% of all awards fall. Awards above $10,000 are rare and concentrated among multi-year conservation partners: Friends of Gualala River ($45,000 over 2 grants, averaging $22,500/year), Teller Wildlife Refuge ($20,000 over 2 grants), and Widecastlast ($17,000 for COVID-19 relief).

By category: Individual scholarships represent the largest slice by count (~25 awards to named students), ranging from $750 to $12,000 per person over multiple years — aggregate scholarship giving totals approximately $85,000 of the $239,650 documented. Conservation organization grants are the highest by dollar concentration: Friends of Gualala River ($45,000), Kiawah Island Conservancy ($10,000), Busch Wildlife Sanctuary ($8,500), Upwell ($4,000), Association Anai Inc ($4,000) — roughly $71,500 combined. Small nonprofit program support rounds out the portfolio at $200–$3,000 per award.

Geographically: Maryland dominates with 21 of 60 grants (35%), consistent with the foundation's Frederick home base. Florida accounts for 8 grants (13%), while California and South Carolina each capture 7 grants (12%) — reflecting the foundation's active conservation properties in those states. Virginia (4 grants, 7%) and West Virginia (4 grants, 7%) are secondary markets.

Trend: Annual external grants paid declined from a peak of $142,503 (FY2012) and $129,500 (FY2013) to $32,500–$32,550 in FY2021–2022, as the foundation shifted capital into directly operating conservation land acquisitions. FY2024 shows $156,378 in total charitable disbursements — a modest recovery from recent lows, suggesting slight acceleration in external activity. Total assets grew from $4.97M (FY2012) to $32.8M (FY2024), a 560% increase, yet external grantmaking has not scaled proportionally, making this foundation a conservative, selective allocator.

The following peer foundations were matched by asset size (all approximately $32.8M in assets), providing context for Allemall's relative scale and grantmaking intensity within its cohort.

All five peer foundations are private (most family-founded), and none operates a publicly advertised open application process — a consistent characteristic of foundations in the $30–35M asset tier. What distinguishes Allemall from its peers is its operating foundation structure: most of its capital goes into directly-run conservation programs rather than distributing to outside organizations. This lowers Allemall's effective external grantmaking ratio (roughly 0.5% of assets disbursed externally) compared to a typical family foundation, which might disburse 3–5% of assets annually. For conservation-focused applicants, Allemall's explicit land, wildlife, and aquaponics programs make it a better thematic fit than the other peer foundations in this asset bracket, which have more generic philanthropy classifications.

Allemall Foundation's most recent publicly available financial data (FY2024, per ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer) shows total assets of $32.8M, net assets of $30.7M, and total revenue of $8.9M. Charitable disbursements reached $156,378 — representing 32% of total operating expenses of $488,822. Revenue in FY2024 was driven primarily by asset sales (69.7%), followed by contributions (19.3%), other income (4.2%), dividends (2.8%), and interest (1.4%), confirming a portfolio-managed endowment model.

The foundation's total assets have grown significantly year-over-year: $11.7M (FY2018), $14.3M (FY2020), $19.7M (FY2021), $24.7M (FY2022), and $32.8M (FY2024) — adding roughly $8M in net asset value between FY2022 and FY2024 alone.

President Julia Soistman began receiving $6,000 in annual officer compensation as of FY2022 — the first documented compensation in any year on record — suggesting increased administrative engagement in recent filings. All other officers (Chairman Edward D. Scott, Secretary Catherine D. Scott, Director Kristen Procter) remain uncompensated.

The foundation's website (allemall.org) is in pre-launch "Launching Soon" status as of June 2026, with a contact form and email signup available. No social media presence has been identified. No leadership changes, program eliminations, or new grant announcements appeared in web searches. The Scott family-led governance structure appears stable and unchanged from at least FY2018 through the most recent filings.

Given Allemall's preselected-only status, family-controlled governance, and absence of any published application process, the following tips are specific to how this foundation actually operates — not generic grant-writing advice.

1. Phone first, mail second. With a pre-launch website and no application email address publicly listed, your only reliable entry points are: phone (301) 694-8444 and physical mail to c/o Edward D. Scott, 117 West Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701-4133. Call during business hours to ask whether the foundation is currently accepting new inquiries and who to address correspondence to.

2. Lead with conservation specificity. Generic environmental mission statements will not resonate. Reference the foundation's actual work: the steelhead trout and coho salmon restoration effort at the mouth of the Gualala River; the wetland/wildlife corridor reconnection project on the former golf course near Burgaw, NC; the Ashley River headwaters conservation easement near Givhans, SC. Show that you know what they're building — not just that you care about the environment.

3. The scholarship channel is underutilized. The foundation maintains an active, multi-year individual scholarship program in conservation fields. Educational institutions or community foundations that administer conservation-related scholarships for Maryland, Florida, or South Carolina students have documented precedent here. Framing an ask as a scholarship fund contribution rather than a general operating grant may find a more receptive audience.

4. Keep the ask small the first time. The median external grant in the documented record is $4,000. The maximum single award is $17,000. A first-time ask of $3,000–$6,000 is calibrated correctly; asking for $20,000 before any relationship exists will almost certainly be declined without response.

5. Avoid mail-merge language. With a four-person board and no grants staff, the decision-makers read what arrives. Personalized language referencing Allemall's specific conservation properties, the Scott family's geographic interests, and the aquaponics project demonstrates genuine due diligence.

6. Plan for a multi-year relationship. Multiple scholarship recipients and conservation partners have received repeated, multi-year support. Position your first ask as the beginning of an ongoing partnership — include a sentence about what a year-2 relationship could look like. This framing matches how the foundation actually deploys capital.