Milo Stip Charitable Remainder Unitrust

The Milo Stip Charitable Remainder Unitrust operates on a fundamentally different model than a discretionary private foundation. Established in October 2010 and administered by CorTrust Bank Trust Department at 300 Cherapa Pl Ste 101, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this is a fixed-beneficiary charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) — a legal structure in which the grantor irrevocably designated two specific charitable organizations to receive equal annual distributions. Those two beneficiaries are The Salvation Army and the Humane Society of Sioux Falls, SD. No other organization can receive funding from this trust under any circumstances.

This distinction is not a procedural technicality — it fundamentally shapes who can benefit and how. Unlike a private foundation where trustees exercise philanthropic discretion, CorTrust Bank's role (compensated $294,818 in fiscal year 2025) is purely administrative: calculate the unitrust distribution based on an annual asset valuation, issue the two equal payments, and file the Form 990-PF. There is no proposal review process, no LOI stage, no concept of a new applicant making a case for funding. The trust document is the sole decision-maker.

For organizations that are not The Salvation Army or the Humane Society of Sioux Falls, there is no legitimate application pathway. The foundation carries an explicit IRS 'preselected only' designation, has accepted zero contributions from outside donors throughout its 14-year history, and has distributed exclusively to these two institutions in every year of available filings. Submitting an unsolicited proposal to CorTrust Bank would be misdirected and would not receive a substantive response.

For The Salvation Army and the Humane Society of Sioux Falls — the actual beneficiaries — this trust represents a highly predictable, annually recurring revenue stream that requires no relationship cultivation or proposal writing. In fiscal year 2025, each organization received $888,109. Effective stewardship for these beneficiaries means maintaining uninterrupted 501(c)(3) public charity eligibility, keeping governance documentation current, and communicating impact clearly to CorTrust Bank's trust officers as a professional courtesy.

Grant researchers and peer funders should note this trust in competitive intelligence files: it concentrates approximately $1.78M annually in two Sioux Falls institutions and is entirely closed to outside applicants. The related Donald Stip Charitable Remainder Unitrust may carry a parallel fixed-beneficiary structure worth researching for additional context on the Stip family's philanthropic legacy.

The Milo Stip Charitable Remainder Unitrust distributes its charitable payments in exactly two equal tranches annually — one to The Salvation Army and one to the Humane Society of Sioux Falls, SD. The 50/50 split is mathematically precise: in fiscal year 2025, each organization received exactly $888,109 out of total grants paid of $1,776,218.

Grant amounts per organization have grown substantially since the trust's inception, tracking asset appreciation over time:

• 2012: $845,650 total grants paid (~$422,825 per organization)
• 2013: $1,266,940 total grants paid (~$633,470 per organization)
• 2014: $1,273,138 total grants paid (~$636,569 per organization)
• 2015: $1,266,814 total grants paid (~$633,407 per organization)
• 2019: $1,440,304 total grants paid (~$720,152 per organization)
• 2020: $1,381,973 total grants paid (~$690,987 per organization)
• 2021: $1,367,559 total grants paid (~$683,780 per organization)
• 2022: $1,359,329 total grants paid (~$679,665 per organization)
• 2023: $1,303,204 total grants paid (~$651,602 per organization)
• 2025: $1,776,218 total grants paid (~$888,109 per organization)

The 36% jump between 2023 and 2025 follows a significant asset appreciation event that pushed total trust assets from $27.5M (2022) to $39.5M (2023). Assets have since stabilized at $38.3M in the 2025 filing, and distributions appear to have rebounded accordingly.

Earlier years show 'total giving' (which may include charitable set-asides and other disbursements beyond direct grants) running $100,000-$400,000 above grants paid — for example, 2019 shows $1,440,304 in grants paid against $1,751,587 in total giving. In fiscal year 2025, grants paid equals total giving at $1,776,218, indicating a cleaner single-vehicle distribution year with no additional charitable expenditure categories.

Net investment income of $1,212,496 in fiscal year 2025 covers approximately 68% of total distributions. In lower-return years such as 2023 (net investment income of $716,258 against $1,303,204 in grants paid), the trust draws down principal to meet distribution obligations. The trust's effective payout rate of approximately 4.6% of assets is consistent with CRUT regulatory minimums and reflects a conservative, preservation-oriented portfolio managed by CorTrust Bank.

The five peer foundations identified by asset proximity are all classified under NTEE code T (Philanthropy & Grantmaking) with assets in the $38.2M-$38.3M range. None maintain public websites, limiting comparative data, but the structural contrast with the Milo Stip trust is instructive for grant seekers evaluating similar-sized funders.

At a standard 5% private foundation payout rate, peers in this asset tier would each distribute approximately $1.9M-$2.0M annually — comparable to the Milo Stip trust's $1.78M (4.6% payout). The most important distinction is structural: the Milo Stip CRUT has irrevocable, fixed beneficiaries, while several peer foundations in this tier may operate as discretionary private foundations that accept applications. The Anna And John J Sie Foundation (CO), Clementine Fund (WA), and Ronald W Naito MD Foundation (OR) are particularly worth researching given their regional diversity and potential for open application cycles; verify each foundation's Part XV status on their Form 990-PF before investing proposal development resources.

No public news announcements, press releases, or media coverage of the Milo Stip Charitable Remainder Unitrust were found in searches covering 2025-2026. This is consistent with the trust's operating profile: as a bank-administered CRUT with fixed beneficiaries, it has no need for public communications, program announcements, or leadership transitions in the traditional sense.

The most recent datable activity is the April 2, 2026 filing of the fiscal year 2025 Form 990-PF with the IRS, which confirmed continued distributions of $888,109 to each of the two designated beneficiaries. Total assets are reported at $38,256,952 as of the 2025 filing — down slightly from the $39,538,477 peak in 2023 — reflecting market fluctuations and the structural reality that annual distributions modestly exceed net investment income in average market years.

CorTrust Bank Trust Department has served as sole trustee since the trust's establishment in October 2010, with no recorded trustee changes, court proceedings, or trust amendments visible in any public filing. Trustee compensation increased modestly from $274,651 in fiscal year 2023 to $294,818 in fiscal year 2025.

The most significant event in the trust's recent history is the unexplained asset jump from $27.5M (2022) to $39.5M (2023) — a $12M increase in a single year — which has driven the subsequent increase in per-organization distributions from approximately $651,602 (2023) to $888,109 (2025). No public documentation explains this gain; it most likely reflects a portfolio restructuring or large realized capital gain during the 2022-2023 period that has since been reinvested.

For organizations that are NOT The Salvation Army or the Humane Society of Sioux Falls SD: this trust cannot fund you under any circumstances, and no strategic positioning will change that. The two charitable beneficiaries are fixed by the legal instrument of the trust itself, not by trustee preference or merit review. There is no back channel, no relationship with CorTrust Bank that would result in receiving a distribution, and no advocacy effort that would influence the outcome. Redirect your research time to discretionary funders operating in South Dakota and Nebraska.

For The Salvation Army (Sioux Falls division): your annual distribution ($888,109 in fiscal year 2025, up from $651,602 in 2023) arrives without any application renewal required. Strategic priorities with this trust are maintenance-focused, not acquisition-focused:

• Ensure your organization's 501(c)(3) public charity status remains uninterrupted and current with the IRS.
• Respond promptly to any correspondence from CorTrust Bank's trust department and provide an updated W-9 or acknowledgment letter when requested.
• Prepare a brief annual stewardship summary (one to two pages) showing how prior distributions were used. While not legally required by the trust, this is professional practice and maintains goodwill with the institutional trustee.
• Budget this revenue with a 10-15% variance buffer in each direction: per-organization distributions have ranged from $651,602 (2023) to $888,109 (2025) depending on annual trust asset valuations.

For the Humane Society of Sioux Falls SD: identical stewardship guidance applies. Additionally, engage legal counsel to understand the trust's termination provisions — as a CRUT, it will eventually cease distributions when the trust term ends or the non-charitable beneficiary interest concludes. Long-range financial planning should model for this endpoint.

For peer funders and capacity assessors in Sioux Falls: factor this trust's $888,109 annual contribution into your assessment of each recipient organization's financial capacity and funding diversification before making co-funding decisions or requesting matching commitments.