Outcalt Foundation

The Outcalt Foundation is a deeply place-based funder whose every grantmaking decision flows from its commitment to the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. Named for Ralph Outcalt — a local businessman, U.S. Veteran, and community builder — the foundation exists to 'strengthen our community by supporting those committed to the betterment of the San Luis Valley.' This geographic identity is not rhetorical: 124 of 135 documented grants went to Colorado organizations, virtually all within the SLV region. The foundation's own mission phrase — 'sustainable communities that embrace our future, our present and our past' — is the clearest signal of what it funds: early childhood and education programs (the future), workforce and human services (the present), and senior care and veterans services (the past).

First-time applicants must understand and honor the mandatory two-step gating structure. The foundation requires a Letter of Inquiry before any full proposal is considered, and it is explicit that 'grant applications that were not requested by the Outcalt Foundation in response to a Letter of Inquiry will not be considered.' Submitting a polished full proposal without an LOI invitation results in automatic disqualification — there are no exceptions.

The giving philosophy rewards depth and sustained relationships over single-cycle transactions. La Puente Home Inc. has received 7 grants totaling $943,000. Care and Share Inc. has received 4 grants totaling $418,750. Alamosa Senior Citizens Inc. has received 4 grants totaling $146,650. Repeat funding is the norm, meaning new entrants face a higher bar for demonstrating credible community roots. Organizations with years of SLV operational history, local board representation, and documented community impact have a structural advantage over those approaching the foundation for a first-time relationship.

Two trustees govern the foundation actively: President Karla L. Shriver and Secretary Carolyn M. Kawanabe. Both are compensated ($110,000 each in FY2024), indicating professional and engaged management rather than a passive vehicle. Relationship-building with these two individuals — through consistent progress reporting, site visit openness, and demonstrated multi-year impact — is the most durable path to long-term funding support.

The Outcalt Foundation has distributed between $1.234M and $2.197M annually in grants paid over the 2019–2023 period, with a five-year average of approximately $1.722M per year. FY2024 came in at $1.617M across 37 awards. Annual variability is significant and is driven primarily by whether major capital project grants are in an active payment year — the $2.0M Ski Hi Park Regional Events Center grant to the City of Monte Vista, paid across four tranches, single-handedly elevated multi-year giving totals.

Across 135 documented grants, the average grant size is $47,893 and the median per-recipient relationship is in the $10,000–$30,000 range for recurring operating support grantees. Individual scholarships are typically $5,000 per student per year. The foundation's own 990 data shows typical single-year grant sizes ranging from $250 (small pass-throughs) to $1,430,000, with an average of $65,456 and median of $5,000 — both figures skewed by the volume of small scholarship awards. For organizational applicants seeking operating support, realistic award expectations fall between $10,000 and $200,000 annually, with capital project grants potentially reaching $500,000 or more over multiple grant cycles.

By program area, human services and senior care command the largest share: La Puente Home Inc. ($943,000 cumulative), Tri County Senior Citizens and Housing ($375,740), Salida Senior Daycare ($200,000), Alamosa Senior Citizens Inc. ($146,650), and multiple smaller senior-serving associations. Healthcare follows with a single $500,000 grant to Rio Grande Hospital. Education is represented through the Ralph Outcalt Scholars Program at Adams State University ($350,000+ cumulative) and individual student scholarships. Food security (Care and Share Inc., $418,750), veterans services (Veterans Coalition of the SLV, $160,000+), and youth development (Boys and Girls Club of the SLV, $105,000) round out the portfolio.

Geographically, 92% of all grants go to Colorado recipients. The handful of out-of-state grants — to Shriners Hospital for Children and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — appear to reflect founder legacy charitable preferences rather than competitive program funding, each receiving approximately $5,000 annually. The foundation's assets have declined from $25.3M (2019) to $21.4M (2024) as giving consistently exceeds investment income of approximately $940,000–$1.0M per year.

At $21.4M in assets, the Outcalt Foundation is situated within a peer cluster of comparably sized private foundations classified under NTEE code T20 (Philanthropy, Voluntarism and Grantmaking). Peer annual giving estimates are extrapolated from the standard 5% private foundation payout requirement — Outcalt's actual payout of 7–10% is notably above this floor, reflecting a more aggressive local investment posture. What most distinguishes Outcalt from peers is its singular geographic concentration: virtually all dollars stay within one rural region of one state, making it unusually accessible to well-aligned SLV organizations and entirely out of reach for applicants outside that footprint regardless of mission strength.

The most significant development in 2025–2026 is the temporary suspension of the scholarship program for the 2026–2027 academic year, announced on the foundation's website as of November 4, 2025. The foundation previously operated two named scholarship tracks — the San Luis Valley Student Achievement Scholarship and the San Luis Valley Workforce Development Scholarship — both with a March 15 annual deadline and individual awards typically at $5,000 per student per year. The announcement states the foundation 'may reconsider availability for SLV HS graduates and some college students in future cycles,' leaving the timeline for resumption open. Students who had previously received awards are not affected by the pause.

FY2024 (the most recent publicly available data via ProPublica) shows $1,617,447 in charitable disbursements across 37 awards — a pullback from the FY2023 high of $2,197,250 in grants paid. The FY2023 spike appears linked to completion of major capital project payment cycles, particularly the City of Monte Vista Ski Hi Park Regional Events Center project ($2.0M across four grants) and Rio Grande Hospital ($500,000).

Both trustees received $110,000 in FY2024 compensation (up from $105,833 in FY2023 and $100,000 in FY2022), tracking modest annual increases with no leadership transitions reported. The foundation maintains no public social media presence and issues no press releases through conventional philanthropy channels, making 990 filings and direct website monitoring the primary intelligence sources for current priorities and grantee activity.

The single most critical procedural step is submitting a Letter of Inquiry before any other materials. The foundation's own grants page states that 'grant applications that were not requested by the Outcalt Foundation in response to a Letter of Inquiry will not be considered.' This is an absolute gatekeeping requirement — no matter how strong the organization or project, a full proposal sent without an LOI invitation will be disqualified.

LOIs may be submitted at any time of year, with review beginning upon receipt. However, given the March 15 deadline associated with the scholarship program and the likely alignment of organizational grant review cycles around the same period, target LOI submission between October and January. This window gives the foundation adequate review time and allows you to prepare a full application if invited before any spring funding decisions.

Localize everything. Reference specific San Luis Valley communities by name — Alamosa, Monte Vista, Creede, Antonito, Salida, La Jara. Name specific population groups the foundation has demonstrated commitment to: seniors, food-insecure families, veterans, youth, and students from SLV high schools. Generic language about rural Colorado or the mountain West will not differentiate your application.

Use the foundation's own vocabulary. The phrase 'sustainable communities that embrace our future, our present and our past' is the clearest signal of the funding worldview. Explicitly map your program to this framework: describe how your work serves youth (future), working families or job-seekers (present), and elders or veterans (past). Organizations spanning multiple generations in this way — as La Puente Home, Tri County Senior Citizens, and the Boys and Girls Club have demonstrated — attract the deepest ongoing support.

Study the grantee record before applying. The foundation's core grantees are deeply established SLV institutions. New organizations without a multi-year community track record should invest in relationship-building first — attend public events, build a local board, and demonstrate community legitimacy before approaching the foundation. A first grant is rarely the foundation's largest; build toward capital support only after several cycles of operating grants have established trust.

For pre-LOI questions, contact the foundation at (719) 589-0155 or via Carolyn Kawanabe (listed primary contact, 402 Edison Ave, Alamosa, CO 81101). A brief, respectful phone call confirming project fit before submitting an LOI is a sound investment of time.