Fred & Christine Armstrong Foundation
Tucson, AZ · EIN 86-0779817. Reported 158 grants totalling $1,650,000 to 48 organizations across tax years 2020-2023. 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. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Az Foundationarthritis Research Program | Tucson, AZ | $91,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Community Food Bank Inc | Tucson, AZ | $83,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| St Luke's in the Desert Inc | Tucson, AZ | $81,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Mobile Meals of Tucson Inc | Tucson, AZ | $75,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Youth on Their Own (yoto) | Tucson, AZ | $67,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Arizona's Children Association | Tucson, AZ | $59,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| American National Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter | Tucson, AZ | $55,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Tucson Symphony Society | Tucson, AZ | $53,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Primavera Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | $51,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Tu Niditio Children & Family Services | Tucson, AZ | $50,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Community Home Repair Projects of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $47,500 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| CASA De Los Ninos Inc | Tucson, AZ | $43,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Our Family Services Incnew Beginnings Program | Tucson, AZ | $42,600 | 3 | 3 | 2022 |
| Square & Compass Children's Clinic | Tucson, AZ | $42,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $39,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Candelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Az | Tucson, AZ | $39,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Educational Enrichment Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $39,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Marshall Symphony Society | Marshall, TX | $37,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Courtney's Courage | Tucson, AZ | $35,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | Tucson, AZ | $34,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Tucson Children's Museum Inc | Tucson, AZ | $34,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $33,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Camp Fern Legacy Foundation | Marshall, TX | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Gospel Rescue Mission | Tucson, AZ | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Maryland Foundation Inc | Adelphi, MD | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Marshall Regional Arts Council | Marshall, TX | $29,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Humane Society of Sothern Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $28,100 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Ballet Arts Foundation | Tucson, AZ | $27,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Arizona Opera Company | Phoenix, AZ | $27,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (trot) | Tucson, AZ | $26,600 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Interfaith Community Services | Tucson, AZ | $24,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $23,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Literacy Connects | Tucson, AZ | $23,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Handi-Dogs Inc | Tucson, AZ | $23,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Harrison County Historical Society Inc | Marshall, TX | $23,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Project String Power Inc | Carthage, TX | $22,400 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Teen Challenge | Tucson, AZ | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Marshall Depot Inc | Marshall, TX | $19,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Sonoran Art Foundation Inc | Tucson, AZ | $15,200 | 4 | 4 | 2023 |
| Izi Azi Foundation Felicia's Farm | Tucson, AZ | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Our Family Services Inc New Beginnings Program | Tucson, AZ | $14,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Izi Azi Foundation Dba Felicia's Farm | Tucson, AZ | $13,600 | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Beads of Courage | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| CASA of Harrison County | Marshall, TX | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Springboard Home Dba Teen Challenge | Tucson, AZ | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Angel Heart Pajama Project | Tucson, AZ | $7,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Civic Orchestra of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | $5,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Family Housing Resources | Tucson, AZ | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
40 of 48 (83%) received money in more than one year over the 4 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 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.
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 - University of Az Foundationarthritis Research Program
ARTHRITIS RESEARCH, TREATMENT - Community Food Bank Inc
FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR THE HUNGRY IN PIMA COUNTY - St Luke's in the Desert Inc
SENIOR HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME ELDERLY - 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 recipient's own IRS classification, for the 96 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
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 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 88% of this one's giving went to organizations in Arizona. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
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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 the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $9,800. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- 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 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
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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