FUNDER SPOTLIGHT: Pulte Family Charitable Foundation Supports EJS Project

The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation works to meet the basic human needs of the most marginalized members of the human family, including youth who are from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and those with the fewest resources. The Pulte Foundation strives to enact through its grantees the seven-corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; care for captives; shelter the homeless; visit the sick; and assist the mourning.

At the start of this year I had never heard of the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation. Today I am extremely grateful to say that the EJS Project is now one of the organizations funded by the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation. This is a big deal for a small grassroots organization like ours. We are honored, blessed and maybe even a little lucky. The interesting part about this newly formed relationship is that it almost never happened.

In January, I received a visit from Mr. Kevin Rickard. He stopped by to check in and see what the EJS Project had been up to. This wasn’t his first visit as we had a similar conversation a year earlier in January 2019. After our conversation, Mr. Rickard told me that he was impressed with what our organization was doing to help the youth and our community. He shared that he knew of a foundation that could potentially be a good fit to fund our mission. At the time he didn’t give much detail but assured me that he would follow up. True to his word a couple weeks later I received an email from Mr. Rickard. He let me know that the Putle Family Charitable Foundation was now accepting letters of inquiry from organizations interested in being considered for funding. After reviewing, I recognized that EJS Project did not meet the requirements. I responded to Mr. Rickard letting him know that I was appreciative but wouldn’t be applying. He reached out to me again to reassure me that EJS Project was a great fit.

I truly appreciate Mr. Rickard for following up and encouraging me to reach out to the grants manager, James Connor, to schedule a meeting. We held a site visit at the EJS Project center in March of 2020. The meeting went well and we learned more about the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation and the founder Mr. Willam “Bill” Pulte. During the visit Mr. Conner was also able to meet and interact with our youth and staff. The visit couldn’t have gone better as our youth were able to express themselves and share what our program means to them and what keeps them coming back. I was also able to share our story and answer specific questions that Mr. Conner asked. We enjoyed Mr. Conner’s company and genuine interest in learning more about us.

Following the site visit we were invited to submit an LOI and were approved and granted funds in June of 2020. Pulte Family Charitable foundation has just recently expanded it’s grant making and we are beyond honored to be a part of the first round of organizations to receive funding. We will continue to do the work to build and empower our youth while improving our community.

“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” ―Orison Swett Marden


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