Walter O Caldwell Foundation
Fort Smith, AR · EIN 71-6060080. Reported 166 grants totalling $2,585,860 to 62 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. 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. Walter O Caldwell 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 $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $2,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $1,000 and the largest $500,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Marshals Museum | Fort Smith, AR | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| University of Arkansas Foundation Inc | Little Rock, AR | $500,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Uafs Foundation | Fort Smith, AR | $218,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community School for the Arts | Fort Smith, AR | $123,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Mercy Health Foundation | Fort Smith, AR | $110,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Arkansas Colleges of Health Education | Fort Smith, AR | $90,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Museum of History | Fort Smith, AR | $80,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Symphony | Fort Smith, AR | $72,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| River Valley Regional Foodbank | Fort Smith, AR | $64,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Services Clearinghouse Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $63,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Good Samaritan Clinic | Fort Smith, AR | $60,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Antioch Youth Center | Fort Smith, AR | $55,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Kids | Fort Smith, AR | $55,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Call | Little Rock, AR | $52,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Next Step Homeless Services | Fort Smith, AR | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Uams Foundation Fort Smith (ahec) | Fort Smith, AR | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Christmas Honors | Fort Smith, AR | $32,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Heritage Foundation Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Girls Inc of Fort Smith | Fort Smith, AR | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Arkoma Inc | Springdale, AR | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| First Choice Pregnancy Medical Center | Fort Smith, AR | $24,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Rescue Mission of Ft Smith | Fort Smith, AR | $20,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Art Center Inc (aka Ram) | Fort Smith, AR | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Donald W Reynolds Cancer Support Foundation | Fort Smith, AR | $17,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross | Fort Smith, AR | $16,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Crisis Intervention Center | Fort Smith, AR | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Crisis Intervention for Women | Fort Smith, AR | $16,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Children's Emergency Shelter | Fort Smith, AR | $14,860 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Ronald Mcdonald Room | Fort Smith, AR | $12,400 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| CASA of Sebastian County | Fort Smith, AR | $12,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Comprehensive Juvenile Services | Fort Smith, AR | $12,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Community Dental Clinic | Fort Smith, AR | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| River Valley Film Society Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Salvation Army | Fort Smith, AR | $10,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club | Fort Smith, AR | $9,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $8,200 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Girls Inc of Fort Smith Scholarship Fund | Fort Smith, AR | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Gregory Kistler Treatment Center | Fort Smith, AR | $8,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boy Scouts of America Westark Area Council | Fort Smith, AR | $7,900 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Inter-Faith Community Preschool | Fort Smith, AR | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Gospel Rescue Mission | Fort Smith, AR | $7,300 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Bost Foundation Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $6,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Chorale | Fort Smith, AR | $6,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Harbor House Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $4,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| The Boys Shelter Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $4,400 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Girls Shelter of Fort Smith Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hannah House | Fort Smith, AR | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Boy Scouts of America Natural State Council | Little Rock, AR | $3,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fort Smith Public Library Foundation | Fort Smith, AR | $3,400 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Abilities Unlimited | Fort Smith, AR | $3,300 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| CASA | Fort Smith, AR | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Girl Scout Council of Mt Magazine Area | Fort Smith, AR | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Hamilton House | Fort Smith, AR | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Literacy Council of Western Ar Ft Smith Chapter | Fort Smith, AR | $2,800 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Project Compassion Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $2,700 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Arc for the River Valley | Fort Smith, AR | $2,600 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Arts on Main | Van Buren, AR | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Center for the Arts | Fort Smith, AR | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Dollywood Foundation | Pigeon Forge, TN | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| United Way Dolly Parton Imagination Library | Huron, SD | $2,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Gateway House Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ar Valley Habitat for Humanity Inc | Fort Smith, AR | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
53 of 62 (85%) 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 88%, 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 Arkansas Foundation Inc
General Purpose of Exempt Organization - Children's Emergency Shelter
General Purpose o Exempt Organization - Literacy Council of Western Ar Ft Smith Chapter
General Purpose of Exempt Organizaton
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 52 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | $767,200 | $3,000 |
| 2022 | 47 | $565,960 | $4,000 |
| 2023 | 34 | $966,500 | $7,750 |
| 2024 | 36 | $286,200 | $5,000 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 100% of this one's giving went to organizations in Arkansas. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.
Find more foundations like Walter O Caldwell Foundation
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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 $5,000. 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 Arkansas.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from Walter O Caldwell Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 1505, Fort Smith, AR, 72902. 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 71-6060080 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.