The Garbett Family Foundation concentrates relatively large, targeted gifts to Utah-based nonprofits focused on outdoor and youth development, community philanthropy, and capacity-building. Its giving favors place-based organizations that deliver outdoor education and conservation experiences, alongside a smaller set of grants for digital skills/education and literary supports. The foundation makes a handful of sizable awards rather than many small donations and often repeats funding to core partners.
The Benjamin Foundation Dba Garbett Family Foundation made a $600,000 gift to Foundation Escalera in 2025, a level of support that stands out in its recent record and points to a pattern of concentrated, place-based giving. The foundation’s awards are centered on Utah organizations, especially groups tied to outdoor education, youth development, and community philanthropy, with additional support for literary and education projects and selected humanitarian causes. Its recent grants also show repeat commitments to a small set of partners rather than broad, dispersed funding. Among the clearest examples is O2 Utah Foundation, which received $100,000 in 2023, another $100,000 in 2024, and $100,000 in 2025. Wilderness Workshop also appears more than once, with gifts of $40,000 in 2023, $55,000 in 2024, and $50,000 in 2025. Other recent awards include support for Wonderbloom, Seven Canyons Trust, Salt Lake Choral Artists, and Utah-based education and service organizations. The foundation’s grantmaking combines large anchor gifts with a smaller set of mid-range awards, often to organizations with a local or regional footprint.
Outdoor and conservation-related work appears repeatedly in the foundation’s recent grants. Wilderness Workshop received $40,000 in 2023, $55,000 in 2024, and $50,000 in 2025, indicating sustained support for that organization’s work. Wonderbloom also received a $42,000 grant in 2025, and Seven Canyons Trust received $20,000 in 2025. Youth and education show up in several other grants. BYU Equitable Education received $15,000 in both 2024 and 2025, while the U of U College of Humanities received $25,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2024. The foundation also supported digital-skills-related work with a $70,000 grant to Epik Deliberate Digital in 2024. Its grant list includes humanitarian and community-service giving as well. Southern Sudan Humanitarian received $10,000 in 2023 and another $10,000 in 2024, and Fight Against Domestic Violence received $10,000 in 2024 and $10,000 in 2025.
Grant sizes cluster around a $10,000 median, with the 25th percentile at $5,000 and the 75th percentile at $27,389. The recent record shows a mix of very large anchor gifts and smaller follow-on awards, including a $600,000 grant at the top end. Repeated support is common: several recipients appear in multiple years, including a three-year sequence for one Utah-based partner and multiple two-year repeats elsewhere. The foundation is classified as a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments.
$894K
$3.1M
$862K
$1M
Most grants fall between $5K and $27K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$27K
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Concentrated giving: a small number of relatively large grants with repeat funding to several core Utah-focused grantees; majority of dollars go to community-oriented charities and philanthropic intermediaries rather than many small national grants.
Notable grantees: FOUNDATION ESCALERA, O2 UTAH FOUNDATION, WILDERNESS WORKSHOP, EPIK DELIBERATE DIGITAL, WONDERBLOOM
The foundation gives locally, and Utah dominates its recipient map. About 81% of grants go to recipients in Utah, with additional awards reaching California, Colorado, North Carolina, and Hawaii. Salt Lake City appears frequently among recipient locations, alongside Provo and Lehi in Utah. Outside Utah, recent grants went to recipients in Carbondale, Los Angeles, La Jolla, Chapel Hill, and a Honolulu-linked education organization based in Salt Lake City.
Its grant-size distribution centers on a $10,000 median, with a 25th percentile of $5,000 and a 75th percentile of $27,389. The recent grant list also includes a much larger $600,000 award at the top end.
Yes. O2 Utah Foundation received $100,000 in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Wilderness Workshop also received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, showing a recurring funding pattern rather than one-time support only.
The recent grants show support for outdoor youth education and conservation, community philanthropy, digital education, humanities and literature, and humanitarian causes. Examples include Foundation Escalera, Wilderness Workshop, Epik Deliberate Digital, U of U College of Humanities, and Southern Sudan Humanitarian.
Most grants go to Utah recipients: 81% of grants were given to organizations in the foundation’s headquarters state. Utah cities appearing in the recent list include Salt Lake City, Provo, Lehi, Murray, and Midvale.
No. The foundation’s profile indicates that it does not fund individuals; its recent grants go to nonprofit organizations and other charitable entities.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOUNDATION ESCALERA | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $600,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| O2 UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $100,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| WILDERNESS WORKSHOP | CARBONDALE, CO | $50,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| WONDERBLOOM | MURRAY, UT | $42,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| SALT LAKE CHORAL ARTISTS | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| SEVEN CANYONS TRUST | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $20,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| BYU EQUITABLE EDUCATION | PROVO, UT | $15,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| BYU HAWAII LDS PHILANTHROPIES | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| UC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION | LA JOLLA, CA | $10,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| MARK GARBETT | LOS ANGELES, CA | $5,500 | 2025 | LITERATURE AND EDUCATION |
| FAMILY PROMISE OF OGDEN | OGDEN, UT | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| CANINES WITH A CAUSE | HOLLADAY, UT | $1,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| THE SINGLE PARENT PROJECT | RIVERTON, UT | $500 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| O2 UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $100,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| EPIK DELIBERATE DIGITAL | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $70,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| WILDERNESS WORKSHOP | CARBONDALE, CO | $55,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| MARK GARBETT | LOS ANGELES, CA | $44,000 | 2024 | LITERATURE AND EDUCATION |
| U OF U COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $20,000 | 2024 | EDUCATION |
| BYU EQUITABLE EDUCATION | PROVO, UT | $15,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| SOUTHERN SUDAN HUMANITARIAN | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2024 | HUMANITARIAN AID |
| BRIDGE TO TURKIYE FUND | CHAPEL HILL, NC | $10,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| CENTRO HISPANO | PROVO, UT | $10,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| ASPEN MAGDALENE HOUSE | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| UTAH COUNCIL OF THE BLIND | BOUNTIFUL, UT | $2,500 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| BUILDING YOUTH AROUND THE WORLD | MURRAY, UT | $2,250 | 2024 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| O2 UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $100,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| WILDERNESS WORKSHOP | CARBONDALE, CO | $40,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| INTERWEAVE | PROVO, UT | $28,185 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| U OF U COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $25,000 | 2023 | EDUCATION |
| FOUNDATION ESCALERA | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $20,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| SOUTHERN SUDAN HUMANITARIAN | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $10,000 | 2023 | HUMANITARIAN AID |
| AMERICAN INDIAN SERVICES | LEHI, UT | $10,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| UTAH FOUNDATION | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| FLOURISH BAKERY | MIDVALE, UT | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| CHILD AID | PORTLAND, OR | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
| GIRL SCOUTS OF UTAH | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | $5,000 | 2023 | CHARITABLE CAUSES |
FOUNDATION ESCALERA
$600,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
O2 UTAH FOUNDATION
$100,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
WONDERBLOOM
$42,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
SALT LAKE CHORAL ARTISTS
$20,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
SEVEN CANYONS TRUST
$20,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
BYU EQUITABLE EDUCATION
$15,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
BYU HAWAII LDS PHILANTHROPIES
$10,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
$10,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
MARK GARBETT
$5,500LITERATURE AND EDUCATION
UTAH FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
CANINES WITH A CAUSE
$1,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
THE SINGLE PARENT PROJECT
$500CHARITABLE CAUSES
EPIK DELIBERATE DIGITAL
$70,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
MARK GARBETT
$44,000LITERATURE AND EDUCATION
U OF U COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
$20,000EDUCATION
BYU EQUITABLE EDUCATION
$15,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
$10,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
SOUTHERN SUDAN HUMANITARIAN
$10,000HUMANITARIAN AID
ASPEN MAGDALENE HOUSE
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
UTAH FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
UTAH COUNCIL OF THE BLIND
$2,500CHARITABLE CAUSES
BUILDING YOUTH AROUND THE WORLD
$2,250CHARITABLE CAUSES
INTERWEAVE
$28,185CHARITABLE CAUSES
U OF U COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
$25,000EDUCATION
FOUNDATION ESCALERA
$20,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
SOUTHERN SUDAN HUMANITARIAN
$10,000HUMANITARIAN AID
FIGHT AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
UTAH FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
FLOURISH BAKERY
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
CHILD AID
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES
GIRL SCOUTS OF UTAH
$5,000CHARITABLE CAUSES