The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust: An Accessible Iowa Funder Interested in Children and Youth
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Based in Muscatine, Iowa, the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust is a locally-focused funder that is transparent and accessible for grantseekers. The founder desired to give back to his home community and donated a significant portion of his estate to benefit Iowa and portions of Illinois. Before he died in 1981, Roy J. Carver was known for his work at a pump company, his success in the tire and transportation industry, and his personal interests in aviation and world travel.
This is one of Iowa's larger private foundations, with assets topping $400 million and annual grant distributions over $16 million. Here's a look at the Carver Charitable Trust's program areas and how to approach this foundation for a grant.
Major topics of interest
There are five significant areas of interest at the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust: elementary and secondary education, higher education, medical and scientific research, youth services and recreation, and community libraries. Education grants focus on literacy, science and math for K-12 students. A statewide scholarship program supports students' studies at Iowa's public and private colleges and universities. Higher education grants support capital and programmatic initiatives to improve instruction and increase access to educational resources. Many higher education grants connect to the natural sciences and support teaching and research in biology, chemistry and technology.
The Carver Charitable Trust supports medical and scientific research to improve human health and advance scientific knowledge. Many grants provide funding for institutional capital needs, and grants often follow personal affiliations of the Carver family. The foundation has a youth program that provides grants to support disadvantaged and disabled children and address the concerns of special needs populations. Furthermore, the foundation is interested in providing safe and affordable recreation opportunities with youth programming in the Iowa counties of Muscatine, Cedar, Louisa and Scott, as well as Rock Island and Mercer counties in Illinois. Another of the funder’s endeavors is the Iowa Public Library Grant Award Program, through which it awards grants to Iowa libraries for construction, renovations, equipment, furnishings and technology.
Beyond these priority areas, the foundation has a "miscellaneous" category for giving and occasionally considers requests outside its main interests. Miscellaneous grants support urgent needs after natural disasters, first responders, law enforcement agencies, and special events and projects connected to the life and interests of Roy Carver. The environment and natural resources around Muscatine and the upper Mississippi River region are special interests.
Recent grantmaking
The foundation publishes lists of its current grants and financial information on its website. In a recent year, it awarded 22 grants totaling over $5 million for education, 14 grants totaling over $8 million for medical and scientific projects, 10 grants totaling over $625,000 for youth services and recreation, and seven grants totaling $492,000 for miscellaneous purposes. Examples of youth-focused grantees in Iowa include First Tee of the Quad Cities, Louisa County Conservation, Orchard Place and Hand-in-Hand.
Applying for a grant
Grantseekers will find a refreshingly accessible application process with the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. The funder requires applicants to submit a cover sheet with all formal funding requests, which applicants should print and mail to the foundation office. Before sending any formal request, however, grantseekers should submit letters of inquiry via email to provide essential background on their organizations and projects. The funder accepts letters of inquiry by email and mail.
The annual submission deadlines are November 15, February 15, May 15 and August 15, and the board makes grant decisions in January, April, July and October. The foundation awards grant payments twice per year, in April and October. The foundation team, comprised of five trustees and six staff members, is available for questions via phone, fax, email, mail and online form.
Read more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, part of our Iowa grantmaking guide.
