By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Raymus Foundation awards millions each year to non-profits
alezx sugar
Raymus Foundation Director Alex Sugar displays the numerous thank-you cards sent from recipients of the grants posted at his office at 544 E. Yosemite Ave

The Raymus Foundation is around to provide a helping hand.

In recent years, the foundation – a legacy of the late Antone and Marie Raymus and their philanthropic endeavors – has supported qualified organizations.

“We’ve given millions of dollars (in grant money) each year – we gave a couple of grand to a Little League program, to $1.5 million to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto for a CT machine,” said Foundation Director Alex Sugar on Tuesday.

Funds are made available to the various groups and organizations serving children and young adults – for various needs – in San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County.

Antone and Marie Raymus had a fierce commitment to local communities. Their foundation honors the namesake by “striving to support and empower the very communities that help define us,” said foundation website at www.raymusfoundation.org.

“We’re sort of a professional Santa Claus,” Sugar said, indicating the number of applicants seeking financial support.

Included are most of the local school districts. “They’ll use the grant money for field trips,” he noted, as an example.

The Raymus Foundation is in the process of the spending these next three days distributing grant funding – recipients have from September through February to use the money.

The annual grant application cycle opens Nov. 1 and ends of that first Friday of February.

During this time, organizations may go online on the Raymus Foundation website and select “Grant Application” while providing the following:

·         Proof of the organization tax-status under Section 501 © 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

·         Profit and loss statement from last year.

·         Proposed budget of the current year.

·         List of board of directors or other governing body.

Proposals should also represent a major priority of the organization.

According to Sugar, he received close to 233 applicants this past year, totaling $9.8 million in requests.

Of that, $4.7 million went to groups and organizations encompassing the Turlock-Lodi-Tracy triangle – of course, Manteca, Lathrop, Ripon, Modesto, and Stockton are all in that area.

For more information, log on to www.raymusfoundation.org or call 209.823.3148.