Alsam Foundation

Alsam Foundation

The Alsam Foundation was founded in 1984 by the late L. S. Skaggs, the retired chairman of American Stores, and his wife, Aline W. Skaggs. The source of wealth traces to Skaggs's strategic assembly of the Albertsons-Safeway grocery chain, which created one of the largest retail fortunes in the western United States. Following the founders' deaths—L.S. in 2013 and Aline in 2015—governance shifted to a Grants Committee composed of their four children: Don L. Skaggs, Claudia Skaggs Luttrell, Susie S. Balukoff, and Mark S. Skaggs. Day-to-day leadership rests with President Ronny L. Cutshall and Vice President Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, who represents the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. The foundation operates with a dual mandate: grantmaking and investment. Its grant side focuses heavily on education, medical research, and Catholic charities, with known recipients including the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper, Utah, and the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building in Salt Lake City. On the investment side, the portfolio spans public equities, private equity fund commitments, and direct holdings in real assets. The foundation's direct real estate arm is anchored by Marsh Creek Ranch, a large agricultural property along the Snake River in southern Idaho. Its private equity program participates across the capital structure, including buyout, venture capital, and early-stage allocations, with a preference for fund structures but a willingness to engage in select direct co-investments through program-related investments. The foundation's total asset base is not publicly disclosed, though an Altss estimate places it in the $100 million to $500 million range, measured by consistent grantmaking activity and known real estate holdings. The endowment's structure, with a Catholic Diocesan representative sitting as Vice President, is an unusual governance feature that signals a durable, mission-locked purpose beyond the typical family foundation lifespan. This ensures the foundation's grantmaking priorities remain tethered to the Catholic institutions the founders supported during their lifetimes. Structurally, Alsam distinguishes itself by operating as a foundation with a direct-operating-company mindset for its real assets. Rather than outsourcing agricultural and commercial real estate management entirely, the foundation maintains direct title to significant land and buildings and oversees them with family and staff involvement. This hybrid—a grantmaking endowment that runs like a private holding company for its non-market assets—creates a sourcing advantage for direct deals in the Intermountain West and signals a permanent, intergenerational capital base not subject to redemption pressures.