The Bowsher-Booher Foundation

Mission

To support charitable, scientific, literary and educational efforts in St. Joseph County, Indiana, with an emphasis on early childhood education.

Annual application deadlines

June 1

Program areas

Education
Health
Human services

Program limitations

There are no program limitations; however, the foundation has a practice of primarily supporting organizations that support early childhood education.

States served

Indiana

Geographic limitations

South Bend, Indiana and St. Joseph County, Indiana

Trustees

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

The Bowsher-Booher Foundation was created to support charitable, scientific, literary and educational efforts in St. Joseph County, Indiana, with an emphasis on early childhood education.

Requirements

• To be eligible, organizations must qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Average giving

Average grant size: $5,000 to $10,000
Average number of grants per year: 8
Average total giving per year: $80,000

Annual application period and deadlines

Applications are accepted year-round. Applications must be submitted by June 1 to be reviewed at the annual grant meeting.

Communications

Applicants will receive an automated email confirming their submission.

Required agreements and reports

Periodic progress reports and final reports may be required for funded projects.

About the Foundation

The Bowsher-Booher Foundation was established by Eleanor Booher Bowsher Warner as a continuing memorial to her deceased husband, Jay C. Bowsher, and his brother, Delevan D. Bowsher, sons of South Bend pioneers Nelson P. and Clarissa Bowsher. She believed that the foundation would be a fitting way for the family to give something back to the community which had given so much to them. Eleanor Booher was born on March 22, 1891. She grew up on a farm near Dayton, Ohio, taught in the country schools, and then moved to Chicago to further her education at the University of Chicago. She graduated with honors and then taught in the Oak Park, Illinois schools until coming to South Bend. She met Jay C. Bowsher while teaching at Central High School, and they married in 1937. Jay C. Bowsher died on August 12, 1950. Mrs. Bowsher later moved to Coral Gables, Florida, where the couple had a winter home. She subsequently married Dr. James Warner, a professor of English at the University of Miami. She passed away on March 4, 1980.