Armstrong Mcdonald Foundation

The Armstrong McDonald Foundation is a family-controlled private foundation honoring the legacy of James M. McDonald, Sr., incorporated in Arizona in 1986 and headquartered in Tucson. Its governance is entirely family-driven: President Laurie Bouchard, Secretary/Treasurer Michael J. Bouchard, and Vice Presidents Ryan M. Bouchard, Corby L. Lust, and Todd McDonald all serve without compensation. This zero-overhead structure means virtually all investment income flows directly to grantmaking — a signal of authentic philanthropic intent rather than professional foundation management.

The foundation's most consequential structural feature is its invitation-only grantee model, in place since December 2008. The pre-approved grantee list is not publicly available and is populated solely by trustee invitation. Organizations cannot apply to join the list, and the foundation explicitly ignores any email or postal mail requests to receive an invitation. This is not an administrative technicality — it defines the entire relationship between the foundation and prospective applicants.

Despite this closed model, the foundation is accessible at the trustee level. Prospective applicants are encouraged to call 520-878-9627 or email info@armstrongmcdonaldfoundation.org with a brief project outline to discuss fit directly with a trustee. This phone-first culture signals that the foundation prefers substantive relationship conversations over transactional proposal review — a meaningful distinction from foundations that funnel all inquiries through grant portals.

The grantee portfolio reveals a strong preference for long-term relationships over single-cycle transactions. Most tracked grantees appear in consecutive grant years, and flagship partners like Bellevue University in Omaha have been continuously supported since 1989, over 35 years. Named gifts are on the table for transformational long-term partners: College of the Ozarks received $312,000 to endow the Armstrong McDonald School of Nursing. First-time invitees should expect modest entry grants in the $10,000–$50,000 range with clear potential for growth as relationships deepen over multiple cycles.

Organizations in Arizona and Nebraska form the core grantee base (86% by grant count), consistent with the foundation's dual-geography identity: Tucson headquarters paired with deep Midwestern roots. Education accounts for roughly half of all giving, making it the highest-priority program area, followed by children and youth services, health, and animal welfare.

Armstrong McDonald Foundation has distributed between $1.23M and $1.40M in grants annually in most recent typical fiscal years (2019–2023), with documented spikes to $2.33M in fiscal 2021 (IRS filings) and a website-reported $2.48M in 2025. Assets have grown steadily — from $14.8M in 2014 to $20.6M by 2023 per IRS filings — with the most recent IRS record showing $30.0M in total assets, reflecting significant portfolio appreciation that likely underwrites the 2025 giving surge.

The foundation's published 5-year grant history (2021–2025) shows: - Annual grant count: 19–24 awards per year - Average grant: $55,708 (2022 low) to $118,252 (2025 high) — a near-doubling in three years - Largest single grant in the period: $390,000 (2021) - Smallest grant: $9,600 (2022) - Total annual giving: $1,225,585 (2022) to $2,483,301 (2025)

From individual grantee IRS records, the range of actual awards is broad: - $312,000 — College of the Ozarks (nursing school naming gift, Missouri) - $201,600 — Hastings College Foundation, two grants for facility renovations (Nebraska) - $197,752 — Zoological Society of San Diego, rhinoceros reproductive science (California) - $180,000 — Tu Nidito, family and children's services, two grants (Tucson, AZ) - $179,045 — UA Foundation-Steele Children's Research Center, research equipment (Tucson, AZ) - $151,200 — Tucson Children's Museum, exhibit updates and programming - $135,000 — UA Foundation-Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium - $135,000 — Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, complementary therapies - $9,600 — Arizona's Children Association (smallest tracked grant)

Geographically, Arizona organizations represent approximately 62% of grant count (26 of 42 tracked), Nebraska 24% (10 grants), with California, Minnesota, Missouri, and Washington accounting for the remainder. Multi-year consecutive grants are the norm among established grantees — the majority of tracked recipients appear in two consecutive grant cycles, suggesting annual review cycles with strong continuity for performing grantees. The foundation pays zero officer compensation, so the full payout ratio flows to programs.

_Peer asset and giving figures are estimates from publicly available IRS 990 filings and sector databases._

Armstrong McDonald occupies a distinct niche in the Arizona philanthropy landscape: a small, family-controlled foundation with a deliberately closed grantee model. While Arizona's larger funders maintain professional program staff and open application portals, Armstrong McDonald relies entirely on trustee relationships — making it simultaneously harder to access and potentially more valuable once a relationship is established. Trustees who serve without compensation and manage a $30M portfolio personally tend to be highly committed long-term partners rather than transactional grant reviewers. For Tucson-based organizations, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona's open competitive grant cycles offer a complementary pathway to pursue while the Armstrong McDonald trustee relationship is being cultivated.

The foundation launched a redesigned website on April 11, 2024, its most visible public action in recent years. The most significant financial development is a 2025 giving surge: the foundation's own published 5-year grant history reports $2,483,301 in total grants for 2025, the highest on record — roughly double the $1,225,585 distributed in 2022. The average grant size climbed from $55,708 (2022) to $118,252 (2025), while the annual grant count remained in the stable 19–24 range. This suggests the foundation is writing larger checks to existing trusted grantees rather than opening the grantee pool.

No press releases, new program announcements, or leadership changes were identified from 2025 or 2026 public searches. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its closed-invitation model, with no social media presence and no public press activity beyond the website. The most recent publicly reported notable grant was the Armstrong McDonald School of Nursing naming commitment at College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri — a transformational gift confirming the foundation's capacity for large, mission-aligning investments.

Long-term grantee relationships remain the defining operational pattern. Bellevue University (Bellevue, NE) has received support continuously since 1989. Tucson-area organizations including Tu Nidito, Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse, Mobile Meals of Southern Arizona, Casa de los Niños, and Tucson Children's Museum have each received consecutive-year grants. Total assets grew from $14.8M in 2014 to a reported $30.0M in the most recent IRS filings — portfolio appreciation that plausibly sustains or grows the elevated 2025 giving pace in future years.

The most critical fact: you cannot apply without being invited. Since December 2008, the foundation accepts applications exclusively from organizations on its pre-approved list, assembled and maintained entirely at trustee discretion. No public path to the list exists — and the foundation explicitly ignores any email or postal mail requests for an invitation. This is the defining feature of the foundation's grantmaking model, not an administrative technicality.

Given this constraint, relationship-building is the only viable strategy. The foundation explicitly encourages prospective applicants to call 520-878-9627 or email info@armstrongmcdonaldfoundation.org with a brief project outline. Trustees serve without compensation and handle inquiries directly — this is substantively different from contacting a professional program officer at a large foundation. Treat the first phone call as a cultivation call: ask questions about their priorities, describe your organization's mission concisely, and let the trustee guide whether fit exists. Do not lead with a grant request.

When framing your organization for trustee outreach, emphasize alignment with the six approved categories: Animal Welfare, Children and Youth, Education, Health, Relief and Social Services, or Special Needs. Education proposals carry the strongest track record (~50% of total giving). Arizona-incorporated nonprofits with offices and program delivery in Arizona are the core eligible cohort; Nebraska nonprofits are the second-strongest group. Out-of-state organizations occasionally receive grants (San Diego Zoo, NW School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Washington) but appear to rely on pre-existing trustee relationships.

If invited to apply formally: - Download the official application exclusively from armstrongmcdonaldfoundation.org — the foundation updated its website in April 2024, so confirm you have the current version - Complete every field and attach all required materials; the form's space limits are intentional and cannot be expanded - Submit before the firm annual deadline posted on the foundation website — the FAQ states explicitly that the deadline is not flexible except for foundation computer failure - Do not follow up requesting denial explanation; the foundation published policy declines all such requests

Pace your relationship for the long term. Multi-year grants are the norm; named gift conversations open only after multiple successful cycles. First-time invitees should calibrate entry requests modestly ($15,000–$45,000) with a clearly articulated vision for program growth that warrants deeper partnership.