Clark And Christine Ivory Foundation

The Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation is a preselected-only private foundation — it explicitly does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. This is the single most important fact for any prospective partner. Founded in 2004 by Clark D. Ivory (CEO of Ivory Homes, Utah's largest homebuilder for 30+ years) and Christine C. Ivory, the foundation is family-controlled with Clark, Christine, daughter Abby Ivory, and trustee Mary Kathryn Bertha serving as unpaid trustees. CFO Charles Porter Openshaw ($157,901 in FY2024) is the sole compensated employee — confirming this is a lean, relationship-driven operation where all meaningful decisions flow through the Ivory family.

The foundation's giving philosophy centers on economic empowerment at the individual level. Its stated mission is to "amplify an individual's capacity to advance economically" through four pillars: Lift & Educate, Housing Affordability, Sustainable Communities, and Economic & Social Needs. Every organizational narrative presented to this funder must connect explicitly to individual economic mobility outcomes — not purely to institutional capacity or systemic change.

Geography is a structural filter: 80% of all grants go to Utah organizations. The foundation has cemented institutional ties with six Utah universities (University of Utah, Utah State, Weber State, UVU, SLCC, Southern Utah University), several Salt Lake City civic organizations, and the state's affordable housing infrastructure. Organizations based outside Utah must demonstrate a direct Utah presence, a partnership with a Utah institution, or research with documented Utah applicability before any relationship-building will gain traction.

Relationship progression follows an informal but consistent pattern. The foundation's top grantees — Ivory Innovations, University of Utah, Utah Community Builders, This Is The Place Foundation, Weber State, Utah State — all share multi-grant, multi-year histories averaging 2–4 grant cycles. There is no public LOI process, no grant portal, and no open application window. First contact flows through university development offices, through Ivory Innovations' programming, or through Clark Ivory's professional networks in Utah homebuilding, real estate, and civic leadership. Investing in 18–24 months of authentic relationship-building before any funding conversation is strongly advisable.

The Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation has undergone extraordinary growth. Annual giving rose from $852,695 in FY2012 to a peak of $25,493,327 in FY2023 — nearly a 30x increase in 11 years — tracking closely with asset expansion from $14.2M to $332.8M over the same period. The foundation received consistent capital infusions from Clark Ivory's business interests: $39.5M in contributions in FY2020, $29.4M in FY2022, $16.1M in FY2023, and $16.1M in FY2019, driving this asset base expansion.

Grant size distribution: Across 253 total recorded grants totaling $25.6M, the average grant is $101,148. However, the typical_grant_size dataset (57 grants) shows a median of $15,000 and a range from $1,000 to $1,000,000 — indicating a highly skewed distribution. A small number of very large commitments (notably $7.44M to Ivory Innovations in a single grant and a cumulative $7.26M to the University of Utah across 4 grants) sit alongside many smaller grants in the $15,000–$75,000 range for community organizations.

By program focus: Higher education accounts for approximately $8.9M across six Utah universities plus Cornell, Harvard, and Oklahoma University. Housing and community development (Ivory Innovations, Utah Community Builders, Community Foundation of Utah, Terner Housing Innovation Labs, Intermountain Foundation, Urban Institute, Joint Center for Housing Studies) totals approximately $9.8M. Arts and culture (This Is The Place Foundation at $910K, Curtis Center at $853K, Salt Lake Tribune at $200K) accounts for roughly $2M. Social services organizations (Neighborhood House Association, The Road Home, Friends of the Children, Catholic Community Services) total approximately $1.35M. LDS-affiliated organizations received approximately $810K.

Annual trend: FY2024 giving moderated to an estimated $9M based on available filings — sharply down from the $25.5M FY2023 peak — consistent with a major project-based distribution cycle concluding. Organizations should model for high variability: the foundation's annual giving has swung from $4.2M (FY2020) to $25.5M (FY2023) within a single three-year span.

The Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation sits in a $323–327M asset tier alongside several other family foundations classified under NTEE code T20 (Philanthropy & Grantmaking). The comparison below illustrates how the Ivory Foundation differs from peers of similar financial scale.

The Ivory Foundation stands out among asset-class peers for its unusually concentrated geographic focus (Utah-first) and deep programmatic coherence around its founders' professional expertise in homebuilding and real estate. Peer foundations in the same asset range are predominantly East Coast, general-purpose family foundations with less publicly documented programmatic strategy. The Ivory Foundation is further distinguished by operating its own affiliated nonprofit, Ivory Innovations, as a research and policy vehicle — an uncommon hybrid model for a comparably sized private foundation. Prospective partners should study Ivory Innovations' published housing research closely, as it defines the intellectual framework within which the foundation evaluates housing-related proposals.

The foundation's most consequential recent project was the Ivory University House initiative, launched in 2023 as a three-way partnership between the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation, the University of Utah, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The project created 600+ units of privately owned student housing adjacent to the U of U campus to address a post-pandemic housing shortage — a landmark transaction that blended philanthropy, real estate, and institutional partnership in a model now cited nationally. The $7.44M single grant to Ivory Innovations in the grantee data is linked to this project's capitalization and research infrastructure.

FY2023 was the peak giving year at $25,493,327 total giving and $13,836,419 in direct grants paid, funded in part by $16,130,000 in contributions received that year. Foundation assets peaked at $332,763,252 in FY2023 before settling to $326,524,507 in FY2024.

Looking forward to 2026, Clark Ivory will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Utah at the April 30 General Commencement ceremony — cementing three decades of institutional partnership. Separately, 2026 Ivory Community Leadership Award nominations are currently open, offering $2,000 to a student leader plus $10,000 for their community initiative.

All four trustees — Clark D. Ivory, Christine C. Ivory, Abby Ivory, and Mary Kathryn Bertha — serve without compensation. Abby Ivory's presence as a trustee signals active next-generation involvement in philanthropic direction.

Because this foundation is invitation-only, effective "application strategy" is relationship strategy. The following guidance is specific to how the Ivory Foundation actually makes decisions.

Enter through university development offices. The foundation routes significant scholarship dollars through six Utah universities. Contact advancement or development offices at U of U, Utah State, Weber State, UVU, SLCC, or Southern Utah University and ask specifically about foundation-administered scholarship programs. These institutions are your most reliable entry point into the Ivory funding ecosystem.

Engage Ivory Innovations before approaching the foundation. Ivory Innovations (a $7.44M grantee) is the foundation's research and thought leadership vehicle for housing. Organizations working on housing affordability, policy reform, or innovative construction models should seek to present data, research, or case studies to Ivory Innovations' team. A relationship there translates directly to foundation visibility.

Lead with individual economic outcomes. The mission explicitly centers "amplifying an individual's capacity to advance economically." Every narrative should quantify individual-level results — number of students completing degrees, households moving into affordable housing, workers gaining employment — not just programmatic reach or systems change.

Demonstrate Utah roots or documented Utah impact. Out-of-state organizations (Terner Housing Innovation Labs and Urban Institute are among the few non-Utah grantees) must have concrete Utah research, partnerships, or program activity before any approach. A national reputation alone is insufficient.

Apply to the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability. The annual Ivory Prize ($100,000 per winner across Construction & Design, Finance, and Policy & Regulatory Reform categories) is the foundation's most public engagement mechanism. Applying — and particularly finaling — creates direct visibility with the Ivory family and trustees. Housing organizations should treat a Prize application as a relationship-building investment regardless of outcome.

Use patience as a strategy. The foundation's top grantees average 3–4 grant cycles with no evidence of cold-outreach success. Plan for an 18–24 month relationship cultivation period before any funding discussion.