Redbud Foundation

Redbud Foundation is a small, founder-directed private foundation created in 2007-2008 by Glenn and Claire Swogger of Topeka, Kansas, and run by just four directors (Gerald Lauber, President; Thomas E. Zanecchia, Secretary; JC Bloom, Treasurer; Dave Newbery, Asst. Treasurer/Secretary) with no program staff and no public grants portal. Its IRS classification is Arts & Culture (NTEE A12), but its actual dollars skew heavily toward education and scholarships, with a secondary lane funding free-market policy institutes — a first-time applicant reading only the NTEE code will misjudge fit. The dominant pattern in the foundation's grantee history is deep, repeat funding of a small circle of organizations: Ace Scholarships received 3 grants totaling $860,000, North Topeka Arts District Inc. received 3 grants totaling $509,500, and Kansas State University, Kansas Policy Institute, Pacific Research Institute, and Washburn University Foundation each received 3 grants in the $210,000-$275,000 range. This is a relationship-first funder that renews and grows commitments over multiple years rather than funding one-off proposals broadly. Third-party grant databases (Grantable) confirm Redbud 'does not accept unsolicited applications,' and the foundation's own IRS record shows no application form URL, no published deadline, and no listed grants-cycle information — consistent with an invitation-only model. First-time applicants should not treat this as an open call: the realistic path in is a warm introduction, ideally through a current grantee, a board member, or the Topeka funder community (the foundation was recently honored by the Topeka chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is a known supporter of the TSCPL Library Foundation). Once a relationship exists, expect gradual escalation — an initial modest grant followed by larger, multi-year renewals, mirroring the Ace Scholarships and North Topeka Arts District trajectories. Kansas-based organizations (69% of historical grant count) and, secondarily, Colorado organizations (14%) have by far the best odds; the foundation's rare out-of-state gifts (Hillsdale College in Michigan, Pacific Research Institute in California) appear tied to the founders' personal policy and education interests rather than an open national program.

Redbud's giving has consolidated into fewer, larger grants over time. Our tracked grantee data shows 36 total grants worth $2,808,144 (average $78,004) concentrated in Kansas (25 grants), Colorado (5), California (3), Missouri (2), and Pennsylvania (1). The foundation's own IRS record lists a typical grant range of $5,000-$360,000 with a median of $68,625 and average of $93,025 across 10 recent grants. More current FY2024 filings (via Grantable) show only 11 grants but a much higher average of roughly $161,000, ranging from $3,000 to $615,000 — the foundation's largest recorded single grant, an endowed scholarship gift to Hillsdale College. Other notable FY2024 grants include $500,000 to Ace Scholarships, $200,000 to Kansas Policy Institute, and $114,000 to North Topeka Arts District. By program area, education and scholarships account for the largest share of historical giving — Ace Scholarships ($860,000), Kansas State University ($261,000), Washburn University Foundation ($210,000), and Topeka Collegiate School ($72,000) together total over $1.4 million, roughly half of tracked grant dollars. Arts and culture (North Topeka Arts District $509,500, Topeka Symphony Society $41,000) accounts for about 20%; free-market and civic-policy institutes (Kansas Policy Institute $225,000, Pacific Research Institute $275,000, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education $5,000) account for roughly 18%; and community/human-services organizations (Sent Inc. $100,000, Kansas Children's Discovery Center $182,250, Global Orphan Project $43,394, Topeka Public Schools Foundation $18,000, Friends For Life $6,000) make up the remainder. Total annual giving has swung significantly by year: $2.53M (2019), $992K (2020), $1.40M (2021, the year the foundation received a one-time $14.1M contribution that swelled assets from roughly $1.6M to $13.98M), $1.19M (2022), $4.03M (2023, the largest disbursement year at $3.78M in grants paid), and approximately $1.8M in FY2024 (per Grantable; ProPublica's FY2024 filing shows $1.77M in charitable disbursements against $2.11M total expenses). Total assets have fallen from a 2021 peak of $13.98M to $11.06M in FY2024, a 21% decline, consistent with a deliberate lifetime spend-down rather than perpetual endowment strategy.

Redbud sits among a cluster of similarly-sized Arts & Culture-classified private foundations with assets clustered near $11 million, though most peers disclose far less public grant detail than Redbud.

All five peers share Redbud's NTEE Arts & Culture classification and sit within roughly $200,000 of its $11.06M asset base, but Redbud is the only one of the group with substantial, publicly documented grantmaking activity (36+ tracked grants, active 990-PF filings through FY2024). The peer set is otherwise a mix of operating entities (a museum, a gallery, a media nonprofit) rather than pure grantmaking foundations, which likely explains the absence of published giving data — grant seekers should treat Redbud as a genuine funding prospect within this peer tier and the others as lower-priority or non-grantmaking despite similar asset size.

The most concrete recent signal is Redbud's FY2024 Form 990-PF, which shows a $615,000 grant to Hillsdale College for an endowed scholarship — the largest single grant in the foundation's recorded history and a departure from its historically Kansas/Colorado-centered geography. The same filing shows $500,000 to Ace Scholarships and $200,000 to Kansas Policy Institute, both continuations of long-standing relationships, alongside $114,000 to North Topeka Arts District. Total assets declined to $11.06 million in FY2024 from $12.52 million in FY2023, continuing a post-2021 drawdown from the $13.98 million peak reached after the foundation received a one-time $14.1 million contribution in 2021. Officer compensation for the foundation's four directors rose from $50,000 each in FY2023 to $60,000 each (with Dave Newbery at $48,000) in FY2024, a roughly 20% increase. Leadership has been stable across at least the FY2022-FY2024 filings, with no reported turnover among Gerald Lauber (President), Thomas Zanecchia (Secretary), JC Bloom (Treasurer), and Dave Newbery (Assistant Treasurer/Secretary). Locally, the foundation was recognized by the Topeka Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as an outstanding local philanthropic foundation, and its most recently cited community program funds the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's 'History Neighborhood' collection reorganization. Note: our data bundle lists redbud.org as the foundation's website, but that domain in fact belongs to 'Redbud Classic,' an unrelated Oklahoma City fitness-and-philanthropy fun run — no verified official website exists for this Topeka private foundation, and outreach should not be directed there.

Redbud Foundation does not run an open application process — treat any generic 'apply now' guidance as inapplicable. Third-party grant trackers explicitly state the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications, and its own IRS record lists no application form URL, no published deadline, and no funding cycle, all consistent with a closed, invitation-only model run directly by its four directors. The single highest-leverage move for a prospective applicant is securing a warm introduction — through a current grantee (Ace Scholarships, Washburn University Foundation, Kansas State University, North Topeka Arts District, or Kansas Policy Institute), through the Topeka AFP chapter that recently honored the foundation, or through the TSCPL Library Foundation network the founders are known to support. Because there is no portal, initial contact is more likely to succeed as a phone call to (785) 272-1939 or a letter to the foundation's Topeka office (3601 SW 29th St, Ste 126, Topeka, KS 66614) than a cold digital submission. When you do get a hearing, model your ask on how the foundation actually gives: grants are consistently 'earmarked' for a specific, named initiative rather than general operating support — for example, Washburn University Foundation's grant was earmarked for the Ichabod Success Institute scholarships, and Kansas Children's Discovery Center's was earmarked for its Foster Care Project. Education and scholarship asks should mirror the Ace Scholarships and Washburn relationships (named scholarship funds, renewable multi-year commitments); arts and culture asks should mirror North Topeka Arts District's community-building, place-based framing rather than general programming support. Geography matters: 69% of historical grants by count went to Kansas organizations and 14% to Colorado, so Kansas-based groups — especially those in Topeka/Shawnee County — have a meaningfully better shot than out-of-state applicants, with the Hillsdale College gift standing as a rare, ideology-driven exception rather than a signal of a broadening national program. If your mission touches free-market economics, limited government, or classical/school-choice education, note the foundation's demonstrated affinity for Kansas Policy Institute, Pacific Research Institute, and FIRE — but this lane represents under a fifth of total giving, so lead with local Kansas ties rather than policy alignment alone. The clearest mistake to avoid is approaching Redbud purely as an arts funder based on its NTEE code; roughly half of its tracked dollars actually go to education and scholarships, so an arts-only pitch likely undersells the strongest point of alignment.