Rapp Family Foundation Inc.

Rapp Family Foundation is a small, all-volunteer private foundation (all seven board officers list $0 compensation) built in 1990 by Howard and Peg Rapp expressly "for the sole benefit" of nonprofits in Ravalli County, Montana. It is a hyper-local funder, not a national or even statewide one: grantee data shows 100% of tracked grants (271 of 271) went to Montana recipients, and the foundation's own application restrictions state funding is "LIMITED TO RAVALLI COUNTY." This is a foundation that favors community institutions it can see the impact of directly — schools, volunteer fire departments, libraries, humane societies, and small human-services nonprofits — over larger regional or national organizations with a Bitterroot Valley chapter.

The board (President Thomas G. Brader, VP/Treasurer John H. Ormiston, Secretary Larry Johnson, and directors including Diane Thomas-Rupert, Jody Parsons, Vicki Motley, Jennifer Bush, and Donna Ralls) runs a low-overhead, relationship-light process: there is no LOI-then-full-proposal ladder and no competitive RFP theater. Organizations request a form by email, submit it by a posted quarterly deadline, and the board decides. Grant sizes lean small and recurring — the top-50 recipient list is dominated by organizations receiving the *same* $5,000-$20,000 gift three years running (Corvallis Schools, Bitterroot Land Trust, Bitterroot Humane Society, Emma's House, Stevensville Public Schools all show 3 grant cycles apiece), suggesting the board renews relationships with proven local partners rather than chasing novelty.

First-time applicants should know three things: (1) eligibility is broad — 501(c)3s, churches, public schools, and government entities can all apply, and public schools don't even need 501(c)3 status; (2) the ask should be modest and concrete (median award $3,430) rather than aspirational; and (3) demonstrating in-kind support and matching funds in the budget narrative is explicitly rewarded. A first grant here is realistically a stepping stone toward a multi-year, low-friction relationship rather than a one-time award.

On its most recent IRS filing, Rapp Family Foundation reports total assets of roughly $8.03 million and income of $755,486. Its prior full fiscal year (FY2023) showed assets of $7,945,708, total giving of $591,923, and grants paid of $483,531 — figures that have been remarkably stable for five years: FY2022 giving was $633,795, FY2021 was $655,589, FY2020 was $523,131, and FY2019 was $590,389. There is no strong growth trend recently; giving tracks investment income more than a deliberate payout strategy (net investment income swung from $221,439 in FY2020 to $1,159,776 in FY2021). The longer arc is a foundation that grew roughly 6x, from $1.3M in assets and $80,873 in grants paid in FY2011 to today's ~$8M / ~$484K-$592K range, aided by contribution inflows of $1.3M-$1.7M/year in 2013-2015 (likely additional gifts from the Rapp estate).

At the grant level, the IRS pf990 data (n=81 recent awards) shows a median grant of $3,430, an average of $4,881, and a range of $165 to $28,500 — well under the $5,000 Regular Quarterly cap, confirming the board funds modest, targeted requests rather than maxing out awards. A broader 271-grant sample totaling $1,515,928 (avg $5,594) shows the top 50 recipients alone account for about $1.19M — roughly 78% of tracked dollars — meaning a relatively small set of repeat community partners captures most of the funding, while the remaining ~220 grants form a long tail of smaller, likely one-time gifts.

By purpose, education and youth development (school districts, libraries, Head Start, scholarships) account for roughly 28% of top-recipient dollars (~$429,000) — the single largest category, consistent with the foundation's IRS-stated mission around school counselor support. Human services (domestic-violence and family support like Emma's House and Safe, senior centers, clothing/laundry assistance) run about 14% (~$213,000). Land/conservation (Bitterroot Land Trust, Bitterroot Water Forum) totals roughly 6% (~$90,000), animal welfare (Bitterroot Humane Society, horse rescue) about 5.5% (~$83,000), and volunteer fire/public safety about 5% (~$74,000). The remainder spans arts, historical preservation, Habitat for Humanity, and dozens of small community organizations. Geographically, funding is exclusively within Ravalli County — no exceptions found in the data.

Rapp is the largest of the county-restricted funders by assets and total giving, but it awards more, smaller grants than Stock Farm Greater Ravalli Foundation, which concentrates on fewer, larger education-specific awards (median ~$12,000 versus Rapp's ~$3,430). Headwaters Foundation and Montana Community Foundation operate at a different scale entirely — regional or statewide reach with more formal, often invitation- or LOI-gated processes — making Rapp and Stock Farm the more accessible, direct-application peers for a small Ravalli County nonprofit. Organizations serving overlapping needs (e.g., youth programs) may reasonably apply to both Rapp and Stock Farm in the same cycle, since neither appears to require exclusivity.

The clearest recent signal is procedural: for the 2026 grant cycles, the foundation introduced a revised application (form #06122026) with changed questions and centralized intake through a new address, rappapps2024@gmail.com, replacing the older paper-pickup arrangement at Ravalli County Bank branches in Hamilton and Stevensville and at a Raymond James Financial Services office. Bitterroot Star coverage in June 2026 described the foundation as being in its 35th year of operation and confirmed the Regular Quarterly Grant's $5,000 cap remains unchanged, with a June 19, 2026 deadline for that cycle (the standard cadence is the 2nd Friday of March, June, and September). The Ravalli Republic separately ran a deadline-reminder piece for the same cycle, though its full text is paywalled.

No leadership changes, large single-grant announcements, or new program launches beyond the Community Focus Multi-Organizational Grant and Community Impact Grant (both introduced for third-quarter/September consideration, requiring at least four partnering nonprofits) turned up in available web coverage. The board roster shows continuity — Thomas G. Brader has served as President across the filings reviewed, alongside a stable long-tenured slate of directors, with Donna Ralls appearing as a newer addition in the most recent filing. Absent a large capital event, the foundation's activity level should be read as steady and cyclical rather than trending up or down: three quarterly grant rounds per year, funded out of investment income on a roughly $8M asset base, sustaining the same category mix (schools, fire departments, libraries, human services, animal welfare) it has funded for over a decade.

Apply in the quarter that fits your timeline, not whichever is soonest: deadlines fall the 2nd Friday of March, June, and September, and Regular Quarterly Grant applications are capped at $5,000. If your project needs more than that, don't inflate a Regular Quarterly ask — instead build a coalition of at least four nonprofit partners and apply to the Community Focus Multi-Organizational Grant or Community Impact Grant, both September-only and both explicitly judged on collaborative effort and community need.

Use the current form. The foundation called out for 2026 that questions changed and applicants must use form #06122026 — request it fresh by emailing rappapps2024@gmail.com rather than reusing a saved copy or a version found on a third-party grant-database site (several list stale or generic instructions). Confirm you're looking at the foundation's actual site, rappfamilyfoundation.org — not rapp.org, which is an unrelated personal blog that occasionally surfaces in search results and directories.

Budget narrative matters more than polish here: the foundation's own instructions recommend showing evidence of in-kind contributions (volunteer hours, donated materials) and matching funds in the project budget. Given a median award of $3,430 against a stated $5,000 cap, right-size the ask — a specific, itemized request (e.g., "radio equipment," "library books," "plumbing and electrical renovation") appears to fare at least as well as an open-ended general-support request, and many top recipients mix both across their multi-year relationship with the foundation.

Eligibility is broader than many small funders: 501(c)3s, IRS-recognized churches, public schools (no 501(c)3 required), and government entities can all apply — so fire districts, school districts, and county programs are legitimate applicants, not just traditional nonprofits. The one hard boundary is geographic: funding is restricted to Ravalli County, and 100% of the grants in the available data went to Montana recipients. A common mistake for out-of-area or statewide organizations is assuming a Bitterroot Valley program office qualifies; it needs to be a genuinely Ravalli County-serving entity. Building a track record matters — most top recipients show three consecutive grant cycles, so treat a first award as the start of an annual relationship, and consider a brief thank-you/impact update between cycles even though it isn't formally required.