OVERVIEW: This Arkansas funder supports art education, K-12 education, higher education, and human services.
IP TAKE: This foundation is narrowly focused on arts education in its home state. It prioritizes craft arts, which is a very rare niche funding area. Unfortunately, it’s not very accessible and does not accept unsolicited applications, but look over the financial records it provides on its website to see what types of organizations have seen funding in the past. You may be able to network here to get on this funder’s radar.
PROFILE: Based in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the Windgate Charitable Foundation is a family foundation established in 1993. Much of the foundation is comprised of donations of Walmart stock acquired by the family over many years. This is a foundation that supports art education projects, K-12 school improvement programs, higher education initiatives, programs to strengthen family relationships, and human service programs. It supports promoting art and craft education and projects that strengthen marriage and family relationships. Some grantmaking also supports programs that serve youth and Christian higher education.
Grants for Community Development and Arts Education
More than anything else, this is an arts and education funder, and its named funding priorities marry the two:
- Advance Contemporary Craft, which supports residencies and career development programs for contemporary craft artists, helps acquire equipment and materials, and funds museum acquisitions of contemporary work;
- Strengthen Visual Arts in Colleges & Universities, which supports artist residencies and fellowships, covers the cost of equipment and materials, and promotes visual arts programming;
- Expand Visual Arts in K-12 Schools, which funds “visual art-integrated training or professional development programs for teachers and school leaders” and helps to create innovative and engaging arts curricula;
- Support Arkansas-Based Organizations Working to Improve Education, Health, and Community funds teacher preparation programs and need-based scholarships for higher education, nursing preparation and programs that increase access to health care, and programs that address food and housing insecurities and provide support to arts-related organizations.
Windgate has given a number of sizeable grants to organizations across the state.
- The foundation awarded a $15.5 million gift to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith for its visual arts facility and $10 million to the Eureka Springs School of Art to create an endowment for ongoing operating support.
- Windgate funded a distance education project with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which developed online high school credit courses and new networks for classroom access through the Arkansas Department of Education and other platforms. This is especially appealing in rural and low-income school districts.
- According to the foundation’s website, the other recipients of large grants in Arkansas are Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Arkansas State University, Hendrix College, University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and University of Central Arkansas.
Overall, this funder maintains a large local focus on Arkansas and seeks to impact higher education and economic development in the state. It has also been a big supporter of arts in public schools and extended its support to schools in North Carolina, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Some other funding efforts have had a more national focus.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between $1,500 and $10 million, although some have gone as high as $30 million. Most grants are around $50,000, however. The foundation awarded over $76 million in grants in a recent year and held more than $450 million in assets.
- Windgate does not accept unsolicited grant proposals or requests for funding.
- Grant seekers can view a list of past grant recipients and financial data here.
- Direct questions to foundation staff via 501.868.6330 or contact@windgatefoundation.org.
PEOPLE:
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