Idaho grant requests wanted

IDAHO FALLS – Officials with the Seattle-based Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which has given away $885 million since 2001, say they are looking for more grant requests from Idaho.

“Idaho has the smallest number of applications and grants awarded,” Susan Coliton, the foundation’s senior director, told the Post Register.

The foundation on Thursday announced $9.5 million in grants, including $200,000 to the Family Care Center’s Pearl House project in Idaho Falls.

Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, is ranked as the 19th-richest person in the world by Forbes magazine.

Pearl House organizers have been trying to raise $2.5 million in donations to help pay for the project. The donation from the foundation puts them within $75,000 of that goal. They must come up with the rest of the money by the end of next week to break ground at the end of this month.

Pearl House was chosen to receive the money based on its business plan, said Marie Kurose, program officer for the foundation.

“We looked at their pro formas – how they’re going to support it in the long run,” she said. “We were impressed that they showed us a phased growth plan based on revenue.”

She said the foundation gets up to 1,000 letters a month asking about receiving money. The staff contacts up to 350 of those to request full proposals.

The Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls has received about $275,000 in grants from the foundation since 2004.

“We’ve been working with them for a couple of years,” said David Pennock, executive director of the Museum of Idaho. “They’re not like a lot of foundations. They’re not a pushover, but when they take an interest in you, they’re very eager to help.”