Meldrum Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Meldrum Foundation
The Meldrum Foundation concentrates its philanthropy on education, with a strong emphasis on capital support for a single major local institution and occasional targeted investments in early childhood development. The largest share of funding goes to the University of Utah for a named building project (Meldrum Theatre), while a smaller, one-off grant funded preschool programming through East Durham Children's Initiative, indicating willingness to support high-impact education projects both locally and opportunistically outside Utah.
Focus Areas
Higher education capital projects in Salt Lake City (University of Utah building construction / named campus spaces)Early childhood / preschool program support (community-based child development organizations)Named philanthropic legacy projects (theatre/auditorium naming and facilities)
Who They Fund
pre-school and school-aged childrenteachers and education professionalsgirls and young women (fellowship participants)women entering trades / vocational learnersrural Kenyan communities
About Meldrum Foundation
A defining thread in Meldrum Foundation grantmaking is its long-running support for the University of Utah’s Meldrum Theatre. The foundation awarded $750,000 in 2023 and $675,000 in 2024 for building construction tied to that project, making it the clearest marker of how the family foundation uses large gifts to shape campus facilities. Alongside that flagship commitment, the foundation also backs education at other levels, including early childhood programming and school-based support in Durham, North Carolina. Its recent grants show a mix of capital, program, and institutional support rather than a single narrow grant type. The pattern includes work with higher education, museums, schools, and community organizations, with several awards in Salt Lake City and Durham. The foundation also extends into humanitarian and international education-related work through named grants for literacy, sanitation, women’s training, and girl-centered leadership programming. Because individual gifts range from small event support to six-figure capital awards, the foundation can fund both large facility projects and more targeted program needs.
What Meldrum Foundation Funds
Education is the most visible theme, especially when the grant is tied to facilities or institutional capacity. The foundation gave $50,000 in 2023 and another $50,000 in 2024 to University of Utah for a process engineering laboratory, showing support for academic infrastructure beyond the theatre project. It also backed school-level education in Durham with $75,000 to Forest View Elementary School in 2023 and $50,000 plus $25,000 plus $5,000 to Jordan High School across 2023 and 2024. In early childhood work, East Durham Children’s Initiative received $100,000 in both 2023 and 2024 for child development - pre-school. The foundation also funds arts and cultural programming, including $75,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in 2024 to Natural History Museum of Utah for a special exhibit, and $20,000 in both years to Spy Hop for building construction.
How Meldrum Foundation Gives
Typical gifts sit in a mid-sized range: the 25th percentile is $20,000, the median is $46,500, and the 75th percentile is $62,500. Recent grantmaking includes both one-time awards and repeated support across years, with several recipients appearing in 2023 and 2024 in the recent grants list. The foundation is a private family foundation, and it funds individuals as well as organizations. It also accepts unsolicited inquiries for grants across its stated focus areas, including artistic and cultural activities, educational endeavors, and humanitarian programs.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$1.3M
Total Assets
$27.4M
Total Revenue
$1.5M
Total Expenses
$1.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $20K and $63K, with a median of $47K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$47K
75th Percentile
$63K
Geographic Reach
National7 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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