Teichert Foundation

The Teichert Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Teichert, Inc., a Sacramento-based construction and aggregates company with operations across California and Nevada. Its giving philosophy is anchored directly to the communities where Teichert does business: the eligibility list of 34 California counties plus Washoe County, Nevada mirrors the company's operational footprint almost exactly. This corporate-community alignment is the foundation's defining characteristic and the most important filter for prospective applicants — before drafting a word of narrative, confirm that both your organization and its specific program fall within an eligible county.

The foundation does not fund one-off, trend-driven campaigns. A review of its top grantees reveals a strong preference for multi-year relationships with established organizations already embedded in Teichert communities. Sacramento Region Community Foundation ($48,669 over 5 grants), Nehemiah Community Foundation ($30,000 over 5 grants), Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento ($23,500 over 5 grants), Women's Empowerment ($22,000 over 5 grants), and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern California ($19,500 over 6 grants) all exemplify this pattern of sustained investment. First-time applicants should treat the initial grant as an audition for an ongoing relationship, not a one-time transaction.

The typical giving range is modest and tightly bounded: $3,000–$7,500 per grant, with an average of $4,085 and a median of $4,000 across 520 documented awards. The annual budget is approximately $450,000, distributed across two application cycles. There is no formal LOI stage — applicants move directly from eligibility confirmation to full application via the GOapply portal.

The foundation favors specificity over breadth. Its guidelines explicitly prefer specific projects over general operating support, and the required four-part application — proposal narrative, board of directors with affiliations, program budget, and operational budget — signals a funder that expects clear financial accountability. Youth and children programs have historically dominated, but food security, housing (multiple Habitat for Humanity chapters), arts and culture, workforce development in the construction trades, and environmental conservation all appear prominently across the grantee list.

First-time applicants should know: (1) both the applying agency and the program must be within eligible counties; (2) GuideStar registration is recommended; and (3) Allegra Pickett, Grants Manager, at [email protected], is the primary relationship contact — a brief introductory email before applying signals genuine community investment.

The Teichert Foundation has grown from approximately $8.7M in assets (2015) to $21.7M currently — nearly a 2.5× increase driven by annual $2M contributions from Teichert, Inc. and strong investment returns ($1.3M net investment income in 2021 alone). Despite this endowment growth, annual grantmaking has remained relatively controlled: grants paid ranged from $380,114 (FY2020) to $534,386 (FY2022), while total giving including other charitable expenditures ranged from $616,198 (FY2021) to $909,335 (FY2022). The publicly stated annual grants budget is $450,000, with $474,230 distributed in 2025.

At the individual grant level, the numbers are modest and tightly clustered. Across 520 documented grants totaling $2,124,031, the average grant is $4,085 and the median is $4,000 — consistent with the published range of $3,000–$7,500. The largest documented single recipient total is $75,000 (an approved future payment reserve), followed by Sacramento Region Community Foundation at $48,669 over 5 grants (~$9,734/grant average) and University Foundation at Sacramento State at $45,000 over 3 grants ($15,000/grant). These outliers suggest that organizations with established multi-year track records can occasionally receive awards above the published ceiling.

Geographically, 94.6% of the 520 grants (492 total) went to California-based organizations, with Sacramento County, the Central Valley (Fresno, Stanislaus, San Joaquin), and the Bay Area all represented. Nevada received 6 grants, Colorado 4, with smaller numbers in Virginia, Maryland, Oregon, and Minnesota.

By program focus, six sectors dominate the grantee list: (1) youth development — Boys & Girls Clubs of Stanislaus County and Lodi, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girl Scouts, City Year Sacramento, Foster Youth Education Fund; (2) food security — Central CA Food Bank, Sacramento Loaves & Fishes, Interfaith Food Ministry, Berkeley Food & Housing Project; (3) housing — Habitat for Humanity chapters in Sacramento, Tulare-Kings, and East Bay/Silicon Valley; (4) arts and culture — Crocker Art Museum, The Crucible, SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity; (5) workforce and construction trades — Northern California Construction Training, Construction Industry Education Foundation; and (6) environment and land — Cache Creek Conservancy, Reimagine Mack Road Foundation. Year-over-year grant totals have been stable, with no dramatic programmatic pivots visible in recent IRS filings.

The Teichert Foundation occupies a distinct niche: mid-sized, operationally tethered, and geographically precise. The table below compares it to relevant peers — other California-region corporate and community foundations that overlap with its service counties.

Note: CalPortland and Granite Construction figures are estimates derived from public IRS filings and may vary; Teichert and Sacramento Region Community Foundation figures are from confirmed sources.

Relative to comparable construction-industry corporate foundations, Teichert is notably larger in assets and more structured. Its two-cycle open application process is more accessible than many corporate foundations that operate by invitation only. The Sacramento Region Community Foundation — itself a Teichert grantee — offers a much broader funding pool for organizations needing larger awards. A smart multi-funder strategy treats Teichert as an accessible entry-level community funder, then uses the relationship to strengthen proposals to the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and other regional grantmakers.

The most significant recent development at the Teichert Foundation is a leadership transition. The July 2025 DRI grant announcement identified Heather Riggs as Executive Director, replacing or succeeding Frederick A. Teichert, who held the ED role in IRS filings through at least FY2022. Judson T. Riggs (likely a family connection to Heather Riggs) continues as a Director, and Ronald L. Gatto remains Vice President. Allegra Pickett serves as Grants Manager and handles all applicant-facing communication at [email protected].

The most recently publicized grant, dated July 15, 2025, went to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) for bilingual STEM education kits targeting PreK–3rd grade students and parents in Washoe County, Nevada — covering electricity, energy, and ecosystems topics. This award signals a growing emphasis on early childhood STEM and a continued commitment to the foundation's Nevada service area.

For 2026, the foundation established its standard two-cycle calendar. The first cycle (deadline February 6, 2026) announced decisions on June 1, 2026. The second cycle is currently open through July 31, 2026, with decisions on December 1, 2026. The annual grants budget remains $450,000, with $474,230 distributed in 2025.

Asset growth has been substantial: from $13.7M in FY2020 to $21.7M currently, driven by Teichert, Inc. contributions of approximately $2M per year and positive investment returns. The current payout rate of roughly 2.1% of assets against the $450K grants budget suggests conservative distribution relative to the 5% private foundation minimum — total giving including program-related expenditures is higher when factored in.

Confirm geographic eligibility first. The Teichert Foundation's county restriction is both its most distinctive feature and its most common disqualifier. Eligible California counties include Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba — plus Washoe County, NV. Both your agency's base of operations and the program being funded must fall within this list. An out-of-area agency operating a local program is explicitly ineligible.

Align to Teichert's industry identity. The funder is a construction and aggregates company. Proposals touching workforce development, construction-trades training, environmental stewardship of land and water bodies, or community infrastructure resonate most directly with the board's professional identity. The Construction Industry Education Foundation and Northern California Construction Training both appear as repeat grantees — you don't need to be a trades organization, but framing community impact in terms of resilience and tangible community assets strengthens any proposal.

Stay within the grant range. The published range is $3,000–$7,500. The database average is $4,085 and median is $4,000. First-time applicants should request between $3,500 and $6,000 — a disciplined ask signals fiscal realism and improves the chance of a full award rather than a scaled-down one.

Time your cycle strategically. The February 6 deadline (June 1 decision) is well-suited for summer programs, academic-year-end initiatives, and social services that peak in spring. The July 31 deadline (December 1 decision) works well for fall school-year programs, after-school programming, or winter food and shelter needs.

Make budgets specific. Reviewers from a construction company are financially literate. Vague line items like 'program supplies — $2,000' invite doubt. Write '$1,800 for 60 science kits at $30/unit' instead. Program budget and operational budget are separate required documents — do not conflate them.

Returning grantees: report before you apply. Your Grant Report must be submitted through GOapply and accepted before you are eligible to begin a new application. File the report as soon as you complete the funded program, not at the next deadline. Use the report as an impact narrative — reviewers who see documented outcomes are more likely to renew support.

Make a pre-submission contact. Email Allegra Pickett at [email protected] with a one-paragraph introduction: organization name, county, program description, and one sentence of prior community impact. This is not required but signals genuine investment and gives you a chance to confirm eligibility before investing in a full application.