Our mission is to support and strengthen the communities we serve by providing resources, leadership, and necessary collaboration to meet local needs. We seek to support projects with exceptional potential to provide value to the community and promote community vitality. We are particularly interested in grants that will help address:
Hunger Relief: We are committed to partnering with local organizations to fight hunger in our communities. Our effort will include nutritional and dietary education when appropriate.
Education: We are committed to improving educational opportunities in the communities we serve. Our historic focus has been to facilitate programs that offer basic computer and internet skills as well as finding ways to increase broadband access, though we now consider grants that would improve educational opportunities more broadly.
Affordable Housing: We are committed to participating in programs that help provide quality housing to those who cannot otherwise afford it.
Health: We are committed to improving the health of community members we serve, and are particularly interested in improving the healthcare delivery system in our communities.
We are committed to improving the overall well-being within the communities we serve and are particularly interested in grants that will measurably address community needs. To that end, the committee may consider on a case-by-case basis applications that fall outside the scope of the four focus areas identified above if the application demonstrates exceptional potential to address urgent community needs.
The Ernest and Anna Ritter Family Endowment Fund was created in 2002 to assist the Ritter Family and E. Ritter & Company in carrying out their charitable efforts. The Ritter Family Philanthropy Committee administers the Fund; the two are collectively referred to as Ritter Family Philanthropy. The Fund is an approved associate of the Arkansas Community Foundation and adheres to the rules and regulations of the Arkansas Community Foundation pertaining to charitable giving. The Fund is a Donor Advised Fund and disbursements are made in accordance with the Fund’s Mission Statement and at the direction of the Fund Advisor, the Philanthropy Committee of E. Ritter & Company, consisting of Ritter Family members and E. Ritter & Company employees.
The Fund receives its financial support primarily from the Ritter Family and E. Ritter & Company. It can also receive donations from the public at large. All donations to the Fund are made on an irrevocable basis. Grants from the Fund may only be made to approved charitable organizations, with final approval resting with the Philanthropy Committee of E. Ritter & Company.
Prospective applicants are invited to review the Fund’s Mission Statement and related application to determine if a request falls within the Fund’s specified areas of charitable interest.
