What began as way to honor the legacy and philanthropic heart of the family patriarch, Ralph Engelstad, has become a long-standing and respected presence in our community and beyond. The Engelstad Foundation was established in 2002 with the purpose of promoting medical research, improving the lives of people with disabilities and creating new possibilities for high-risk individuals. The foundation has provided more than $300 million in grants and scholarships, and serves as a major benefactor of nearly 200 organizations throughout the U.S.
Locally, these grants have included the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health for training post-graduate neurology and neuropsychology fellows, Nathan Adelson Hospice to support the organization’s Uncompensated Care Program and Broadway in the HOOD to allow underserved children to experience the joy of art education and live theater. Its work has supported dozens of local organizations with donations from $100,000 to $20 million.
“My parents loved Las Vegas and, in so many of their endeavors, they carried a genuine, philanthropic spirit,” said Kris Engelstad McGarry, Ralph’s daughter and a trustee of the Engelstad Foundation. “I’m grateful to share that same spirit as well as work with a team that’s very much on the same page. We want to see this beautiful place we call home thrive and want to help where we can.”
The work of the foundation boils down to living investments – those organizations that make a difference and provide vital, everyday services or serve as critical lifelines during dire times of need. Most recently, this has included efforts to champion a group of prominent donors into a $155 million donation to support the construction of the new UNLV School of Medicine – a beacon of hope for a safer, healthier future for Southern Nevada.
“Now amid a global pandemic, I’m proud and grateful that we were able to move [construction] forward,” Engelstad McGarry said. “In addition to so many other benefits, if and when another pandemic strikes, we’ll have one more valuable community asset to help overcome it.”