Janice Seagraves Family Foundation Inc.

The Janice Seagraves Family Foundation operates as a community-rooted private foundation with a distinctly local orientation. Established in 2001 after founder Janice Seagraves won the Powerball Lottery on Christmas Day 1996, the foundation has distributed more than $14 million to southern Idaho communities over two decades. Though Ms. Seagraves has since passed away, her legacy continues through a professionally managed Board of Directors that includes attorneys Penny Parker (Parker Law Office, compensated $82,854-$90,000/year) and Larry Braga (LD Braga PLLC, compensated $73,500-$88,320/year) as Directors, alongside family members Judy Seagraves, Justin Seagraves, and Jack G. Seagraves as Associate Directors.

The foundation's service area is precisely defined: ten southern Idaho counties (Blaine, Butte, Custer, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls), with particular emphasis along the Highway 93 and Highway 75 Corridors from the Nevada border to northern Custer County. Of 191 grants tracked in IRS filings, 188 went to Idaho organizations — a 98.4% Idaho concentration rate. This is not a foundation with a broad national or even statewide remit; geographic fit is the single most important eligibility criterion.

The foundation accepts unsolicited proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations, schools, religious entities, and governmental entities. It runs two distinct application tracks: a letter-based fast track for requests under $10,000 (decided at the next bi-monthly board meeting, approximately 60 days), and a formal application process for $10,000+ grants that may culminate in an invitation to present at the Large Grant Meeting, held twice yearly in late spring and late fall.

Giving spans a broad spectrum: college scholarships, senior services, youth programming, public safety equipment, animal welfare, human services, and library infrastructure. Four explicit priority areas anchor the program: education and education-related activities, family and children's benefits, humanitarian principles, and humane treatment of animals. Even organizations outside these categories — public safety, arts, civic infrastructure — have received funding, but proposal language should map clearly to at least one stated priority.

First-time applicants are strongly advised to begin with a modest request under $10,000. The grantee record confirms that multi-year relationships are the norm: the College of Southern Idaho, Interlink Volunteer Caregivers, the Optimist Club Foundation, and more than a dozen other organizations have each received three or more grants. Building a track record of responsible stewardship is the surest path to larger future awards.

The Janice Seagraves Family Foundation has maintained consistent and growing grantmaking output across a decade of IRS filings. Annual grants paid climbed from $563,950 (fiscal year 2012) to a recent high of $1,113,367 (fiscal year 2022) before moderating to $911,561 in 2023. Total assets have grown from $14.0M in 2011 to $23.0M currently — a 64% increase — reflecting disciplined investment management. Net investment income ranged from $818,742 (2020) to $1,283,202 (2021), providing a durable and growing funding base. Third-party aggregators report the foundation made approximately $1.2 million in grants to about 130 grantees in the 2024 grant cycle.

Grant sizing is deliberately modest. The median grant is $5,000; the average is approximately $16,000; the full range documented in IRS filings runs from $250 to $139,985. Large anchor grants are exceptional: only a handful of recipients exceed $100,000 in cumulative awards across multiple years. The Donor Advised Fund received $586,492 across 3 grants for general support and reinvestment purposes. Idaho's public universities collectively received $694,000 — College of Southern Idaho ($230,000), College of Idaho ($164,000), Idaho State University ($150,000), University of Idaho ($150,000), and Boise State University ($100,000).

Education dominates the large-grant tier. Scholarship support to Idaho colleges and universities accounts for roughly 21% of total tracked grantmaking ($694K of $3.24M in top-50 grantee data). Human services and community support represent the broadest category by grant count: senior centers, food assistance, youth development, legal aid, women's services, and holiday giving programs collectively receive the majority of grants in smaller individual amounts. The Optimist Club Foundation ($133,500 across 3 grants), Racing for Charity ($86,500), The Tooth Fairy Inc. for dental care ($79,900), and Interlink Volunteer Caregivers ($71,500) illustrate this tier.

Capital and equipment requests have found a receptive audience. The $126,000 to Magic Valley Public Safety Grant Commission for equipment, $100,000 to the Buhl Public Library for a library upgrade, and $100,000 to the City of Buhl for a baseball building demonstrate willingness to fund tangible community infrastructure. Animal welfare occupies a consistent niche: People for Pets received $66,657 for an animal shelter and Lincoln County received $30,000 for an animal shelter — well above token giving levels.

Geography is the single greatest predictor of grant success. Of 191 tracked grants, 98.4% went to Idaho organizations, predominantly in the Magic Valley region centered on Twin Falls County.

The Janice Seagraves Family Foundation's five closest asset peers — selected by comparable asset size (~$22.7M-$23.1M) and Education NTEE classification — represent a geographically dispersed group of private family foundations.

The Janice Seagraves Family Foundation offers a defining structural advantage over its peer group: it explicitly accepts unsolicited proposals and operates a publicly documented, accessible dual-track application system — a website with eligibility criteria, submission instructions, and separate portals for small and large requests. None of the five peer foundations maintain public-facing grant application websites or publish application processes, indicating they operate by invitation only or direct family direction. This openness makes the Seagraves Foundation an unusually accessible entry point for qualified Idaho nonprofits of any size.

The tradeoff is extreme geographic concentration: the foundation's 10-county southern Idaho footprint makes it irrelevant to organizations outside that corridor, while peer foundations with broader state or national mandates may offer wider accessibility in their respective regions. For organizations within the Magic Valley area, the Seagraves Foundation is likely the most accessible private foundation of its asset class in the region.

No press releases, leadership announcements, or new program launches have been publicly posted by the Janice Seagraves Family Foundation for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its regional, family foundation character — a GrantAdvisor profile had zero grantee reviews as of June 2026.

The most recent publicly available IRS data (fiscal year 2023) shows $911,561 in grants paid, down from a peak of $1,113,367 in 2022. Third-party aggregator Instrumentl reports approximately $1.2 million distributed to about 130 grantees during the 2024 grant cycle — suggesting that while total dollars remained consistent with recent years, the number of funded organizations increased significantly. This aligns with the foundation's historical preference for broad community distribution across smaller grant amounts.

Foundation assets have grown from $14.0M in 2011 to $23.0M currently — 64% growth over 12 years — driven by steady investment income (net investment income: $932,293 in 2023, $1,062,142 in 2022, $1,283,202 in 2021). Annual contributions received from outside sources have ranged from $474,964 (2023) to over $1M in earlier years.

Governance appears stable based on multi-year IRS filings. Core leadership has remained consistent: attorneys Penny Parker (Parker Law Office) and Larry Braga (LD Braga PLLC) as Directors, Cindy Crow as Director, and family members Justin Seagraves, Jack G. Seagraves, and Judy Seagraves in Associate Director and Director roles. Penny Parker, who receives the highest director compensation ($82,854-$90,000/year) and manages the large grant submission email inbox (plparkerlawoffices@gmail.com), is effectively the operational point of contact for the foundation.

Start small and build a relationship. The foundation's grantee record is the clearest signal of how to succeed here: the College of Southern Idaho, Interlink Volunteer Caregivers, the Optimist Club Foundation, and over a dozen other organizations have each received 3 grants over multiple years. Large grants almost always follow established relationships. If your organization is new to the foundation, request under $10,000 in your first application — the fast-track process delivers a decision within approximately 60 days, and a successful small grant opens the door to larger requests.

Use the exact required subject line. For requests under $10,000, the subject line "Seagraves Grant" is a stated requirement for email submissions per the foundation's website. Omitting it risks your request being overlooked.

Know who reviews large grants. Requests of $10,000 or more must be submitted via the formal application at seagravesfamilyfoundation.org/grants/ and returned to plparkerlawoffices@gmail.com — the inbox of Penny Parker at Parker Law Office, who earns $82,854-$90,000/year managing foundation operations. Treat this correspondence with the professionalism of a legal and philanthropic institution, not a casual community grant.

Prepare a presentation for large grant requests. Applicants for $10,000+ may be invited to present at the semi-annual Large Grant Meeting (late spring and late fall). Prepare a concise 10-15 minute presentation in advance covering: your mission and geographic service area, the proposed use of funds, measurable community outcomes, and organizational financial health. Being invited is a strong positive signal — treat it accordingly.

Frame proposals around the four stated priorities. Even if your work crosses multiple areas, anchor your request to at least one: education and education-related activities, family and children's benefits, humanitarian principles, or humane treatment of animals. The foundation has funded public safety equipment, arts sponsorships, and civic infrastructure — but those grants succeed when framed within humanitarian or community-benefit rationales.

Time your submission strategically. For large grants targeting the spring Large Grant Meeting, aim to submit by early April. For the fall cycle, target September. Small grants are reviewed at the next bi-monthly board meeting, making them viable year-round with roughly 60-day turnaround.

Be explicit about geography. Name which of the 10 designated counties your organization serves (Blaine, Butte, Custer, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, or Twin Falls). Client zip codes, service maps, or county-level demographic data are useful attachments that demonstrate alignment with the Highway 93 and Highway 75 Corridor focus.