Funding Focus
The mission of the Robert W. Plaster Foundation is to expand educational access and promote the virtues of the American Free Enterprise System through named capital projects.
Primarily, the Robert W. Plaster Foundation provides naming gifts for Free Enterprise Centers and Schools of Business. These are generally at colleges and universities and often house entrepreneurship centers, trading labs, business centers, incubators, accelerators, free market think tanks and research centers for liberty, located primarily in the Midwestern region of the United States.
In addition, the Foundation provides a very limited number of small grants supporting causes that are consistent with Robert W. Plaster’s philosophy of giving in a conservative and Christian environment, and usually in communities in which family members have familiarity. These gifts are typically in the form of a challenge grant, aimed at helping charitable organizations inspire additional support and more supporters.
FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list of our frequently asked questions. If you have a question that is not answered in this list, feel free to ask us directly by emailing Info@RobertWPlasterFoundation.org.
What types of projects do you fund?
We provide naming grants for brick-and-mortar projects, usually for educational institutions, and preferably with a business and free enterprise focus.
How do I apply for a grant?
Our grant making process begins with a Letter of Inquiry. Please refer to the Grant Making Process document for details.
Do you provide grants for endowments?
Our Founder, Robert W. Plaster, chose to focus his Foundation on brick-and-mortar projects, so we do not provide funding for endowments.
Do you provide grants for operating budgets?
No. Our Founder, Robert W. Plaster, chose to focus the Robert W. Plaster Foundation on brick and mortar projects.
Do you provide grants for scholarships?
Our Founder chose to focus his Foundation on brick-and-mortar projects as a way of broadening the impact of grants given and to help more students at a time. As such, we do not fund scholarships.
Do you provide grants to institutions outside Missouri?
Yes. Our geographical focus is generally the Midwestern United States.
If you would like more information, please e-mail the foundation at: Info@RobertWPlasterFoundation.org, or call 417-533-3007.
Robert W. Plaster Foundation, Inc.
Grant Making Process
1. Organizations seeking funding should review the Foundation’s Funding Focus before submitting a request.
2. Organizations seeking consideration of funding should submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) of no more than 2 pages with the following information:
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Organizational history, mission, and goals.
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Statement of need
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How project meets the need
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Project attributes such as:
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Timeline for construction
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Overall costs and construction only costs
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Fundraising timeline, current progress
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Number of people served
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Contact information
3. Upon review of the LOI the requesting organization will be informed if an invitation to submit a formal proposal is warranted.
4. If a proposal is deemed warranted a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be sent and will ask for information such as:
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Organizational history, mission, goals
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Description of need(s)
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Project description, including program description and goals.
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How project supports the mission of the Robert W. Plaster Foundation
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Methodology for the project
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Overall project budget, construction only budget and amount requested
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Other funding sources
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Projected operating expenses and plans to sustain the project
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Ways to measure effectiveness of the project
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Pictures of and around the project site and map of town or city and region
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Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, and other leadership
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Financials, including budgets, forecasts, financial statements, IRS Form 990 and Determination Letter
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Contact information for purposes of the proposal
5. A site visit and/or formal in-person presentation may be requested by the Robert W. Plaster Foundation’s Executive Director at any point during the application process.
If you would like more information, please e-mail the Foundation at: Info@RobertWPlasterFoundation.org, or call (417)-533-3007.