The Henry W. & Leslie M. Eskuche Foundation was established in 1978 by Leslie M. Eskuche. Mrs. Eskuche was a civic minded, involved member of the Salt Lake community. She dedicated many hours to serving the visually impaired during her lifetime. The Foundation was fully funded upon the settlement of Leslie M. Eskuche’s Estate in 1990.
The Trust Agreement establishing the Foundation provides that funds of the Foundation be used for “religious, charitable, literacy, scientific, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.” The Trustor expressed the desire that the funds be used for such purposes “to benefit residents and persons living in the State of Utah.”
Leslie Eskuche created the Henry W. and Leslie M. Eskuche Charitable Foundation in March of 1978. The Foundation supports causes that were important to Mrs. Eskuche including grants to organizations that help children and animals, provides medical research around blindness, cancer and asthma, and funds institutions such as the Masonic Foundation and Westminster College.
The Foundation is also a memorial to her husband, Henry, and the life they spent together.
Henry Eskuche and Leslie Miller were married in 1918 in Denver before moving to Salt Lake City. Henry was the founder of Western Supply Co. and was president of Leslie Investment Co. He was active in several Masonic groups. In January of 1958, Henry was appointed as a Trustee of Westminster College. Unfortunately, he passed away in September of that year.
The Eskuche’s had no children. Leslie was active in the Salt Lake City community and involved with many of the organizations that the Foundation would continue to fund. She died in 1989 at the age of 93.
An Administrative Committee has been given absolute discretion in making the determinations of recipients and amounts of grants.
Organizations favored by Leslie M. Eskuche during her lifetime will be considered first by the Committee. Next priority shall be given to organizations and institutions whose programs benefit the Wasatch Front, and organizations which the Foundation has supported in the past.
The Committee will generally not make grants to individuals, endowments, overhead costs of applying organizations, debt retirement or operational deficits, constructions or maintenance of buildings, or political campaigns or activities attempting to influence legislation.
Completed applications must be received (i) no later than March 31st to receive consideration by the Foundation in May, (ii) no later than July 31st to receive consideration by the Foundation in September, or (iii) no later than November 30th to receive consideration by the Foundation in January.
The gifts generally range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the amount of funds available and the nature of the request. The Foundation meets three times a year; however, if an organization is awarded funds, the Foundation generally only gives to that organization once a year (every 12 month cycle). Excess grant applications will not be considered even if submitted.
Submit the completed Grant Application form and the Proposal Cover Sheet electronically to eskuchefoundation@usbank.com. A legally authorized representative must sign the application.
Complete application instructions and list of required documents are included in the Grant Application form.