Marquardt Foundation

The Marquardt Foundation operates as a deeply community-rooted private foundation with an absolute mandate to serve Sedgwick County, Colorado — a rural agricultural region of roughly 2,500 residents facing economic stagnation and population decline. The foundation was established in 2022 from the estates of Delbert Marquardt and Sharon Marquardt Soper, making it a memorial endowment tied directly to the community its founders called home. This origin story shapes everything: the board is composed of local residents, not professional philanthropists, and giving priorities reflect lived community knowledge rather than national trends.

The giving philosophy follows a clear, codified priority hierarchy. Youth-oriented programming holds the highest standing — the board's governing policy states it "will always be youth oriented in making grants, with the design of promoting the lives, the environment, and the education being paramount." Second priority is given to individuals facing identified handicaps or life challenges, who are to be "considered preferentially." Agricultural education — reflecting the county's dominant economic sector — ranks third, followed by broader economic development initiatives addressing the region's low-growth trends. The board is also explicitly open to collaborative funding arrangements requiring coordination among multiple nonprofits, suggesting appetite for multi-funder projects tackling larger community challenges.

The foundation's grantmaking scale in 2023 — 31 awards averaging approximately $13,000 per grant, totaling $416,000 — signals a deliberate preference for broad community distribution rather than concentrating resources in a few large awards. Only two of 31 grants exceeded $50,000. First-time applicants should frame requests in the $5,000–$25,000 range as well-calibrated to the foundation's operational model.

The foundation is run out of the Sedgwick County Community Center in Julesburg, with Executive Secretary Tammy Schneider (tammy@marquardtfoundation.com) serving as the primary contact. The office operates Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with Monday and Friday appointments available on request. The foundation requires a Completion Report after grants are awarded, indicating an outcomes-accountability culture that applicants should embrace from the outset of the proposal process.

In 2023 — the Marquardt Foundation's earliest documented full year of grantmaking — the foundation awarded 31 grants totaling approximately $416,000, against a calculated IRS distributable minimum of $423,000. With $16.03 million in total assets and $1.4 million in annual income, the foundation distributed roughly 2.6% of assets in 2023, well below the 5% private-foundation minimum required on average asset value. This gap likely reflects the foundation's start-up phase, with board members and staff building operational infrastructure while maintaining IRS compliance.

Grant sizes cluster heavily at the lower end of the spectrum. Of 31 recorded grants, 29 (94%) fell below $50,000. The three largest awards document the board's priorities clearly: Sedgwick County Treasurer received $75,000 (the largest single grant), Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital received $54,680, and Sedgwick Organization Recreation received $45,000. These anchor investments in core county infrastructure — government services, healthcare, and recreation — account for approximately 41% of all 2023 giving. The remaining 28 grants averaged approximately $8,700, suggesting a broad range of awards from roughly $1,000 to $35,000 across civic, educational, and community organizations.

Geographically, 100% of 2023 grants went to Colorado recipients serving Sedgwick County's primary communities: Julesburg (the county seat), Ovid, and Sedgwick. No cross-county or statewide giving has been documented. This geographic exclusivity is an absolute requirement, not a preference.

By sector, the 2023 portfolio reflects the foundation's four stated giving categories: Public/Community (hospital, recreation, county government), Education (consistent with youth mandate), Religious (faith-based community organizations), and Facilitators for Others (organizations coordinating resources for multiple nonprofits). No breakout of giving by sector percentage is publicly available for 2023.

With $1.4 million in annual income against $416,000 in distributions, the foundation retains significant internal capacity. As the board gains grantmaking confidence and potentially increases its distributable amount toward a 5% rate, annual giving could grow to approximately $800,000 — nearly doubling current grant totals. No 2024 or 2025 IRS filings are yet publicly available.

The following table compares the Marquardt Foundation to four asset-comparable peer foundations identified in public databases, all operating in the Philanthropy & Grantmaking sector with approximately $16 million in assets:

Among peer foundations at this asset level, the Marquardt Foundation stands out for transparency and accessibility. It maintains a public website with direct grant application access, publishes staff contact information including email and phone, and documents its priority hierarchy explicitly. Most peer foundations in this asset tier operate with minimal public presence and no open application processes.

The Marquardt Foundation's 2023 distribution rate of approximately 2.6% of assets is below the private-foundation standard of 5%, which is common for newly established foundations still building operational systems. As it matures and IRS distributable amount calculations normalize across a five-year average, annual giving is likely to converge toward $800,000 — roughly double current levels. Eligible Sedgwick County organizations should apply sooner rather than later, before competition increases alongside growing grant availability.

Web searches conducted in July 2026 returned no press coverage, grant announcements, or public news about the Marquardt Foundation (Julesburg, CO) from 2025 or 2026. This absence is expected: the foundation serves a rural county of approximately 2,500 residents and operates entirely through community relationships. It does not issue press releases, maintain social media accounts, or publish grant recipient lists publicly.

The most significant recent milestone is the foundation's formal IRS 501(c)(3) ruling date of December 2024 — recorded more than two years after the foundation's 2022 establishment. This lag reflects typical IRS review timelines for newly formed private foundations and does not indicate any compliance issues. The December 2024 ruling formally confirms the foundation's status as a private non-operating grantmaking foundation (foundation code 04).

The earliest documented comprehensive grantmaking record is the 2023 cycle: 31 grants totaling $416,000. The largest recipients — Sedgwick County Treasurer ($75,000), Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital ($54,680), and Sedgwick Organization Recreation ($45,000) — represent anchor investments in core county infrastructure that likely reflect the board's initial priorities as it deployed its first full year of distributions. No leadership changes, new program announcements, or significant awards beyond 2023 have been publicly documented for 2024–2026.

The foundation's website carries a 2026 copyright date, confirming active operations. Applicants seeking the most current information about open grant cycles, current priorities, and any program updates should contact Tammy Schneider directly at tammy@marquardtfoundation.com or (970) 474-3636.

The Marquardt Foundation's small, community-embedded structure means relationships and contextual fit matter as much as proposal quality. With a board of three local community members and a part-time executive secretary, this is not a foundation where grant applications disappear into an anonymous portal. Direct contact is both appropriate and expected.

Start with a phone call or email. Contact Tammy Schneider at tammy@marquardtfoundation.com or (970) 474-3636 before submitting a formal application. Confirm the current grant cycle is open (no public deadlines are posted), ask whether any application requirements have changed since the website was last updated, and introduce your organization briefly. Office hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Monday and Friday appointments are available on request.

Lead every narrative with youth. The board's governing policy is unambiguous: it "will always be youth oriented in making grants." Your opening paragraph should establish how your program directly serves young people in Sedgwick County. If youth are not your primary beneficiary, you must clearly establish your connection to a secondary priority — individuals with disabilities or life challenges, agricultural education, or economic development — and do so specifically, not generically.

Anchor every detail in Sedgwick County. Cite local communities by name: Julesburg, Ovid, Sedgwick. Reference local schools, the county hospital, local employers, or farming operations. The board members are residents who will notice if a proposal reads as if it were written for a different geography. Applicants serving adjacent counties who occasionally reach Sedgwick County residents are unlikely to qualify.

Use agricultural language intentionally. Even if your program is not farm-focused, board policy directs members to be "cognitively aware of the Agricultural Environment." Reference rural economic sustainability, family farm communities, or agricultural workforce development if you can do so authentically.

Right-size your request. The 2023 average grant was approximately $13,000. Requesting $5,000–$25,000 is well-calibrated for a first application. The two grants over $50,000 went to county-level institutional grantees — the hospital and county treasurer — likely reflecting established relationships and multi-year trust.

Write for neighbors, not a program officer. The board members know Sedgwick County personally. Avoid sector jargon, acronyms, and national framing. Write clearly, concisely, and in language that would make sense to a thoughtful community member reading your proposal for the first time.

Plan for outcome reporting. The foundation's website includes a dedicated Completion Report page. Frame proposals with specific, measurable deliverables: number of youth served, programs completed, community members reached, or economic outcomes generated.