Toward the end of 2021, the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation announced that it would be bringing on a new executive director, which prompted us to take a closer look at how and where this foundation has been giving lately. The new executive director, Tom Egan, came to the foundation with more than 20 years of related experience after serving as the president and CEO of the Foundation for Senior Living. Part of what Egan has been tasked to do is drive forward the funder’s efforts to promote collaboration on social justice and improve Arizona residents’ quality of life.
As an overview for Arizona grantseekers, here are a few things to know about the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation right now.
Founded on a tire fortune
The Halle Foundation was founded on the success of one of the world’s largest independent tire and wheel retailers, Discount Tire. Bruce Halle started his first Discount Tire store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was the sole employee there back in 1960. The company has come a long way since then. Today, it operates over 1,000 stores in 34 states.
Following this success, the Halles created a philanthropic foundation in 2002. In recent years, their foundation has emerged as a notable social justice funder in Arizona, providing support for specific population groups.
Five focus areas
The Halle Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for vulnerable individuals, including women, children, victims of domestic violence and victims of human trafficking. This funder’s five focus areas are human services, health and medical, arts and culture, education, and spirituality.
It is common for Halle grants to support the following:
Food, shelter and clothing
Disadvantaged people without mental, emotional or spiritual support
Access to medical care
Medical research projects
Dental and vision services
Educational institutions
Access to education and training
Latin American art in the U.S.
Spiritual needs and solace
Devoted to Arizona
The Halle Foundation is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, but it funds in communities all over the state. Some examples of past grantees include the Northern Arizona Food Bank, Phoenix Art Museum, UMOM New Day Centers, Homelessness & Hunger Funders Collaborative and Educare Arizona.
Overall, the Halle Foundation has provided a variety of support, including core operating grants, programmatic grants, capital grants for equipment and facility needs, money for large capital campaigns for select grantees and capacity building support. Recent grantees have been based in the Arizona cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale and Green Valley.
Unsolicited inquiries welcome
The Halle Foundation is an approachable funder that accepts unsolicited requests from organizations that have been operational for at least three years and provide services within the state of Arizona. The foundation accepts new proposals on a rolling basis and does not have submission deadlines for inquiries. These inquiries should be submitted via email rather than hard copy.
Learn more about this grantmaker and others that give throughout Arizona in our Southwest funding guide.