Fred & Christine Armstrong Foundation
Tucson, AZ · EIN 86-0779817. Reported 201 grants totalling $2,102,000 to 50 recipients across tax years 2020-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Fred & Christine Armstrong Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $9,800. Half of everything it gave fell between $6,800 and $13,800; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $30,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Az Foundationarthritis Research Program | Tucson, AZ | $114,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| St Luke's in the Desert Inc | Tucson, AZ | $106,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Community Food Bank Inc | Tucson, AZ | $103,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Mobile Meals of Tucson Inc | Tucson, AZ | $95,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Youth on Their Own (yoto) | Tucson, AZ | $85,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Arizona's Children Association | Tucson, AZ | $74,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| American National Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter | Tucson, AZ | $69,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Tucson Symphony Society | Tucson, AZ | $68,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Primavera Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | $66,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $62,500 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Tu Niditio Children & Family Services | Tucson, AZ | $62,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| CASA De Los Ninos Inc | Tucson, AZ | $55,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Square & Compass Children's Clinic | Tucson, AZ | $52,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $49,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Candelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Az | Tucson, AZ | $49,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Educational Enrichment Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $49,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Marshall Symphony Society | Marshall, TX | $47,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Courtney's Courage | Tucson, AZ | $45,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | Tucson, AZ | $43,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Tucson Children's Museum Inc | Tucson, AZ | $43,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $42,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Our Family Services Incnew Beginnings Program | Tucson, AZ | $42,600 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Gospel Rescue Mission | Tucson, AZ | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Humane Society of Sothern Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $38,100 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Marshall Regional Arts Council | Marshall, TX | $37,600 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Ballet Arts Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $34,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (trot) | Tucson, AZ | $34,100 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Arizona Opera Company | Phoenix, AZ | $34,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Interfaith Community Services | Tucson, AZ | $32,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Camp Fern Legacy Foundation | Marshall, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| University of Maryland Foundation Inc | Adelphi, MD | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $29,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Literacy Connects | Tucson, AZ | $29,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Handi-Dogs Inc | Tucson, AZ | $29,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Harrison County Historical Society Inc | Marshall, TX | $29,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Our Family Services Inc New Beginnings Program | Tucson, AZ | $29,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Project String Power Inc | Carthage, TX | $27,400 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Marshall Depot Inc | Marshall, TX | $24,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Izi Azi Foundation Felicia's Farm | Tucson, AZ | $22,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Beads of Courage | Tucson, AZ | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| CASA of Harrison County | Marshall, TX | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Springboard Home Dba Teen Challenge | Tucson, AZ | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Teen Challenge | Tucson, AZ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Sonoran Art Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | $19,000 | 5 | 5 | 2024 |
| Izi Azi Foundation Dba Felicia's Farm | Tucson, AZ | $13,600 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Angel Heart Pajama Project | Tucson, AZ | $11,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Catalina High School Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Civic Orchestra of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Imago Dei Middle School | Tucson, AZ | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Family Housing Resources | Tucson, AZ | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
44 of 50 (88%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 95%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- University of Maryland Foundation Inc
TREATMENT DELIVERY AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH ON ADDICTION - St Luke's in the Desert Inc
SENIOR HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME ELDERLY - University of Az Foundationarthritis Research Program
ARTHRITIS RESEARCH, TREATMENT - Community Food Bank Inc
FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR THE HUNGRY IN PIMA COUNTY - Camp Fern Legacy Foundation
PROMOTE YOUTH HEALTH AND WELLNESS - Mobile Meals of Tucson Inc
DELIVER SPECIAL DIET MEALS TO HOMEBOUND
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 122 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 35 | $350,000 | $8,800 |
| 2021 | 39 | $400,000 | $8,800 |
| 2022 | 40 | $450,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | 44 | $450,000 | $9,900 |
| 2024 | 43 | $452,000 | $10,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
88% of its giving went to organizations in Arizona. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $9,800. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Arizona.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Fred & Christine Armstrong Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2020-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: Co 5255 E Williams Circle Ste 500, Tucson, AZ, 85711. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 86-0779817 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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