Chase Foundation

The Chase Foundation is a deeply place-rooted private family foundation anchored in Artesia, New Mexico, established in 2006 by energy entrepreneur Mack Chase and his wife Marilyn to benefit their home community and southeastern New Mexico. With $36.2 million in assets and a consistent annual giving range of $2.3–$3.3 million, the foundation operates with essentially no public-facing competitive grant process. Its giving philosophy is rooted in personal relationships, community loyalty, and a multigenerational commitment to educational access.

The foundation runs two distinct giving channels. Scholarships — the primary vehicle — go almost exclusively to graduating seniors from Artesia High School (AHS) or children of employees of family-owned Mack Energy Corporation, Chase Farms, and Deerhorn Aviation. Selection is merit-based (3.0+ GPA, ACT/SAT scores, honors coursework) with demonstrated "community connection" to Artesia, and awards are renewable through programs at partner universities including NMSU and UNM. Organizational grants support Artesia-area civic groups, schools, churches, recreational facilities, arts organizations, and literacy programs, with approximately 93% staying within southeastern New Mexico.

The organizational grant channel operates through personal relationships rather than open RFPs. Top organizational grantees — Artesia Recreational Center Foundation ($333,000), Artesia Classical Academy ($250,000), Artesia Public Schools ($165,055), Catalyst Church ($75,000), and Artesia Chamber of Commerce ($73,428) — share deep institutional ties to the Chase family's civic and business life in Artesia. Multi-year repeat grants are the norm: 23 of the top 50 grantees received awards in each of three consecutive tracked database years.

Following the 2023 death of founder Mack Chase, the family established a $10.5 million Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico (CFSNM). This emerging vehicle may create a more structured application pathway for southeastern New Mexico nonprofits. Governance now rests with a large family advisory board — Robert Chase, Chance Chase, Karla Chase, Kortney Chase, Derek Chase, Deb Chase, and associates Brad Bartek, Johnny Knorr, and Geren Ferguson — with Richard Price as the sole paid Executive Director. First-time organizational applicants should contact Price directly at info@chasefoundation.com rather than waiting for a public solicitation.

The Chase Foundation has maintained asset stability in the $32–$41 million range over the past decade, with annual total giving consistently between $2.3 million and $3.3 million. IRS 990 filings reveal that reported "total giving" (which includes direct scholarship disbursements) consistently runs $600,000–$1.2 million higher than "grants paid" to external organizations, reflecting the foundation's hybrid model of in-house scholarship administration alongside external grantmaking.

Specific annual totals: FY2023 saw $2,932,803 total giving and $1,685,540 in grants paid (80 awards); FY2022 recorded $2,327,934 total giving and $1,229,164 in grants paid; FY2021 logged $2,461,189 and $1,364,250; FY2020 showed $2,652,176 and $1,728,875; and FY2019 — the peak year — produced $3,279,080 total giving and $2,173,104 in grants paid. A trough at FY2022 has largely recovered by FY2023, with FY2024 assets reaching $36.2M and revenue of $4.45M (final giving figures await the 990 filing).

Grant size varies dramatically by type. Individual scholarship awards range from $500 to $6,000 per student per year. University-level aggregate payments (tracking where AHS graduates enroll) range from $11,250 (University of Nebraska, three-year span) to $873,250 (New Mexico State University, five grants). For the overall portfolio: median grant $5,500, average $25,264, full range $500–$389,750 across 54 grants in the database. The largest single organizational grant on record is $333,000 to the Artesia Recreational Center Foundation.

By program area, education dominates. Approximately 60% of tracked giving flows to scholarship disbursements at colleges and universities across New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Indiana, and Michigan — the states where AHS graduates enroll. The remaining 40% supports community organizations, civic groups, faith institutions, and recreational and arts organizations concentrated in Artesia.

Revenue is primarily investment-driven: FY2019 generated $4.6 million in net investment income; FY2022 produced $1.67 million and FY2023 $1.41 million. Annual contributions received are modest — $136,350 (FY2022) to $344,631 (FY2023) — consistent with a family-funded endowment model rather than a publicly fundraising institution.

The database peers are matched algorithmically by asset size (~$36.2 million) and NTEE category T20 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking). They share only financial scale — not geography, mission, or application structure — so this comparison contextualizes Chase Foundation's operational approach rather than identifying grant strategy competitors.

Among private foundations at this asset level, Chase Foundation stands out for its unusual transparency — a functioning public website, published scholarship deadlines, a decade of consistent 990 filings, and an active social media presence. Most private foundations of comparable size publish little or nothing externally. The Harman Family Foundation (California, $36.3M assets) is the only peer with a confirmed digital footprint, though its geographic and programmatic focus differs entirely from Chase's hyperlocal Artesia-centered model.

The Chase Foundation's defining characteristic — routing nearly all programmatic giving through pre-existing community relationships and an in-house AHS scholarship pipeline — is atypical for T20 foundations at this asset level, where broader geographic mandates and formal application processes are more common. Its closest functional analogues are oil-patch community foundations in rural Texas and New Mexico rather than national family foundations of similar size.

The most significant recent development is the death of founder Mack Chase in September 2023, announced via the foundation's Instagram account (@chase_foundation_artesia). His passing triggered both a governance transition and a major philanthropic restructuring that will shape the foundation's direction for the coming decade.

In the months following Chase's death, the foundation and Chase family formalized a $10.5 million Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, managed by CFSNM President and CEO Terra V. Winter. Chase Foundation Executive Director Richard Price and family representatives — including sons Robert Chase (CEO, Mack Energy Corp.) and Chance Chase (VP, Mack Energy Corp.), plus trustees Brad Bartek and Crissa Carter — are guiding the transition. Estate attorney Alan Brown, who maintained a 20+ year relationship with the family, advised the gift structure. As of June 2026, no formal grant application guidelines for the DAF have been published.

Grantmaking activity remains consistent: 80 grants totaling $1,685,540 in grants paid for FY2023, with total giving of $2,932,803 — a meaningful recovery from the FY2022 trough. Assets reached $36,226,049 in fiscal 2024 with $4,449,826 in total revenue, though final FY2024 giving figures await the 990 filing.

On the scholarship side, the 2026 cycle launched February 25, 2026, with a March 4 close date and awards up to $6,000 per recipient — a ceiling increase from the historical $5,500 maximum. No new program areas or major public announcements beyond the DAF partnership were identified in 2025–2026 web searches. The foundation appears to be in a measured consolidation phase as the family advisory board stabilizes post-founder governance.

For Scholarship Applicants (Artesia High School Graduating Seniors):

The application window is unusually narrow — in 2026, the portal opened February 25 and closed March 4, giving applicants just 8 days. Missing this window means waiting a full year. Set calendar reminders for February 20 and apply on the first day at chasefoundation.com. Late applications are not accepted.

Selection is merit-based with no essay required. The foundation evaluates GPA (minimum 3.0 across first seven semesters), ACT/SAT scores, and enrollment in honors or advanced placement classes. The "community connection to Artesia" criterion is assessed through documented community service, extracurricular activity, and work experience — be specific and quantitative: number of hours, specific organizations, roles held, and measurable outcomes. Generic statements about "giving back" will not differentiate your application.

Awards are renewable; sustaining them requires maintaining a 3.0+ GPA each semester and completing community service requirements. Participation in the Chase Foundation Mentor Program at NMSU or the Chase Foundation Scholars program at UNM signals ongoing alignment with foundation values and may reinforce renewal decisions.

For Organizational Grant Applicants (SE NM Nonprofits):

There is no open RFP. The pathway is relationship-first. Contact Executive Director Richard Price at info@chasefoundation.com or (575) 746-4610 to introduce your organization before preparing any written materials. Describe your specific role in Artesia or southeastern New Mexico — the foundation rewards institutional depth and civic embeddedness, not programmatic novelty.

Align proposal language with the foundation's stated mission: "investing in lasting change to improve the lives of our fellow citizens and the future of our communities." Frame impact in hyperlocal terms — Artesia residents served, youth opportunities created, civic infrastructure strengthened. Avoid national metrics or abstract outcomes language.

Monitor cfsnm.org for eligibility announcements on the new $10.5M Chase estate Donor Advised Fund. This may become a second, more accessible gateway for SE NM nonprofits that lack pre-existing Chase family relationships.