OVERVIEW: The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation funds organizations whose work supports women’s empowerment and mobility solutions for people with mobility issues in Central America, South America, and Africa.
IP TAKE: Schultz specializes in funding small NGOs, and potentially, may extend funding for multiple years. It only funds organizations based in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, and whose operating budgets are under $750,000. This is a good funder for small and grassroots outfits, but keep in mind that it only accepts LOIs, sometimes extending an offer for a proposal submission. The foundation offers competitive grants, but is not the most accessible funder in its spaces of giving.
Although Schultz has suspended grantmaking to projects focused on the Middle East and Southeast Asia, grantseekers should check often to see if the foundation has lifted the suspension.
PROFILE: The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation was established in 1985 by Arthur Schulz, co-founder of sports equipment manufacturer Cobra Golf. The foundation’s mission is to improve “the dignity of and even the playing field for struggling populations in developing countries.” It primarily works in Africa, Central America, and South America, specifically in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Its current grantmaking priorities include women’s empowerment, women’s entrepreneurship, and disability inclusion.
Grants for Global Development, Women and Girls
The Schultz Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment grantmaking names education and entrepreneurship as priority areas. This work overlaps international development with women’s empowerment.
The foundation seeks to aid young women of high school level and above access high-quality secondary education that “equips girls with critical thinking strategies” that enable civic participation and social advancement. It prioritizes initiatives that have a strong mentoring, life skills, and leadership component. The foundation also aims to support female entrepreneurs is also a matter of funding importance to Schultz. In this space, the foundation mainly funds groups providing entrepreneurship and vocational skills training for women, but it also offers seed funding for the creation and development of female-owned businesses.
It prioritizes supporting organizations that are locally-based, well-established, female-run, and offer “high-quality and innovative educational opportunities from high school through university level.” Grantees include Bulogo Women’s Group, Creative Action Institute, Girls to Lead Africa, Girl Up Initiative Uganda, and the Northern Kenya Fund.
Grants for Global Health and Disabilities
The Schultz Foundation’s Disability Inclusion grantmaking primarily seeks to “increase access to locally produced appropriate wheelchair and mobility solutions.” According to UNESCO, 90% to 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school, creating a “vicious circle” between poverty and disability. In this area, the foundation seeks projects that “work with established in-country, technologically appropriate wheelchair manufacturers,” employ a substantial number of disabled workers, and take a preventive approach to “early childhood issues and interventions.” Grantees include ADISA Santiago, A Leg to Stand On, Child Support Tanzania, and Cielo de Amor.
Important Grant Details:
Grants generally range from $10,000 to $25,000, and the foundation occasionally offers one-off grants of $100,000 to $250,000. The foundation limits its grantmaking’s geographic focus to Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Palestine, Vietnam, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The foundation will not review any letters of inquiry for projects operating beyond its priority countries. In its focus on giving to small and grassroots organizations, Schultz does not fund organizations whose operating budgets exceed $750,000. To gain a deeper understanding of what kinds of organizations it funds, grantseekers can reference current grants.
The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation is an approachable global development funder and offers a short-window of time each year where it accepts letters of inquiry. Full proposals are by invitation only.
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