About Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust
The Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust makes a small number of very large awards focused on direct human services and community resilience, often funding capital projects that expand service capacity. Their giving includes both direct support to frontline nonprofits (food bank, addiction recovery center) and large pass‑through/donor‑advised grants that target faith, family and human‑needs programs. The Trust appears to prioritize scaling infrastructure and program capacity for organizations addressing urgent local needs.
Focus Areas
Capacity and capital projects for addiction recovery facilities (e.g., Lifeline Recovery Center)Food security and regional food bank expansion (e.g., Second Harvest Food Bank)Faith‑based and family support initiatives funded via donor‑advised channelsEmergency human‑needs and community resilience programs
Who They Fund
faith communities / congregationsfamilies (local)local community residents / neighborhood organizationsvisitors/users of parks and historic sites
About Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust
The Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust’s largest recent awards point to a grantmaker that backs service capacity as much as direct relief. In 2025, it gave $2,500,000 to Lifeline Recovery Center Inc for capital support, while also sending $1,500,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans for capital and programming support. Those gifts sit alongside repeated seven-figure support for organizations working in addiction recovery, food security, and faith-based human services. The Trust’s recent record also shows a strong pattern of multi-year support for some recipients. Mayo Clinic received $1,000,000 grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, all for capital support. Support Our Aging Religious Inc received $1,000,000 in 2023 and 2024, then another $1,000,000 in 2025. Regional food bank work, Catholic service organizations, and family-oriented nonprofits also appear across the grant list. Across the file, the Trust gives to organizations that serve basic human needs, families, faith communities, and local civic life. Its awards often combine program support with capital investment, suggesting an interest in helping grantees expand or stabilize their physical and service infrastructure rather than funding only short-term activity.
What Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust Funds
Addiction recovery is one of the clearest themes in the Trust’s grantmaking. It gave $2,500,000 to Lifeline Recovery Center Inc for capital support and $1,300,000 to God’s Pit Crew for capital and programming support, indicating attention to organizations that need facilities and service capacity. Food security is another recurring area. The Trust awarded $1,500,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans for capital and programming support, and $1,085,000 to Regional Food Bank of Northeast Florida for programming support. Faith-based and family-related work also appears in the recent grants. Catholic Relief Services Inc received $1,000,000 for programming support, while Gift of Adoption received $500,000 for programming support in 2025 and $450,000 for program support in 2024. The Trust also backed St Augustine University Parish with $500,000 for general operating support.
How Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust Gives
The typical grant size is $25,000 at the 25th percentile, $42,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile, but the recent file also includes a small number of very large awards in the seven-figure range. The Trust shows repeated support for some organizations across multiple years, including Mayo Clinic, Support Our Aging Religious Inc, Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans, and Seton Catholic Schools. Its structure includes a quarterly General Grant Program and an online grant portal, and both accept unsolicited applications. Grants may support operating needs, programs and projects, capital projects in limited cases, and limited endowment building.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$22.8M
Total Assets
$457.4M
Total Revenue
$26.9M
Total Expenses
$25.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $25K and $100K, with a median of $42K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$42K
75th Percentile
$100K
Geographic Reach
National32 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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