The Engelstad Foundation focuses its efforts on education, healthcare, disabled individuals and childhood issues, among other areas.
Before he died in November 2002, Ralph Engelstad put a plan into motion to create a foundation that would allow the assets he acquired to be given back after his death.
Since its establishment, the Engelstad Foundation has provided more than $500 million in grants to organizations spanning the states of North Dakota, Nevada, Minnesota, Utah and Mississippi.
For example, the foundation holds strong ties to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, where Ralph Engelstad was born.
He also served as treasurer for the Imperial Palace Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi, Mississippi that was owned and operated by Engelstad.
In fiscal year ending December 2022, the foundation reported total assets of $826,907,501, revenue of $53,710,352 and charitable disbursements of $52,007,432.
Donations to organizations focus on various categories including animal compassion, at-risk individuals, education, historical preservation, medical research and support, people with disabilities and veterans.
[33] Kris Engelstad, of the Engelstad Foundation, formed a donor development limited liability corporation, the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corporation (NHBC), with several Las Vegas philanthropists including MaryKaye Cashman, of Cashman Equipment; Lindy Schumacher, of the Lincy Institute; and Marianne Johnson, of Boyd Gaming.
Retired Las Vegas teacher Eleanor Cormier received a $50,000 grant for her Project 300 Early Learning Academy model, an online virtual tutoring program for kindergarteners in urban elementary schools that will aim to strengthen their literacy skills utilizing Common Core State Standards in English language arts.
Las Vegas educators Shardae Chenoweth and Dr. Biante’ Gainous, received $200,000 to grow their Financially Lit platform, an experiential learning opportunity for students to exist within a microeconomy where scholar dollars are the currency.
The location aims to connect services for thousands of homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged students in Las Vegas.
[44] Additionally, the Touro University Nevada’s Engelstad Research Complex was created with support from the Englestad Foundation’s gifts totaling $1.8 million.
[45] Beginning in 2022, a $1 million grant from the Engelstad Foundation funded the Las Vegas Crisis Response Medical Training Program, led by Touro University.
[46] The Engelstad Foundation and Touro University also provide the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department with individual trauma kits, also referred to as IFAKs, and train on how to use them.
[48] The Engelstad Foundation funded a $1.5 million grant to Wave Neuroscience that will support Wave Neuroscience’s Phase Two clinical trial, which aims to develop and validate treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), currently underway with Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) Institute of Biosciences and Technology.