The Culinary Trust, IACP’s philanthropic partner for over twenty-three years, solicits, manages and distributes funds for educational and charitable programs related to the culinary industry in the areas of scholarships for students and career professionals, library research and travel grants for food writers, cookbook preservation and restoration and hunger alleviation.

Our mission is to celebrate the culinary past and fund the culinary future through scholarship, grant and preservation programs that encourage and enable professionals, worldwide, in their pursuit of the culinary arts.

Supporting the programs, outlined below, helps the Trust in their ability to continue funding existing and new initiatives!

Culinary Scholarships

Since 1992, The Culinary Trust has administered more than $1,000,000 through its culinary education and research scholarship program. These awards have assisted hundreds of culinary students and professionals achieve their individual goals. Study areas range from beginning culinary arts and pastry arts programs to continuing education courses to independent study and research conducted domestically and internationally.

Endangered Treasures: A Celebration of Cookbook Preservation

The Endangered Treasures: A Celebration of Cookbook Preservation program, founded in 2002 by KitchenAid celebrates history through a fine-dining experience that focuses on the host city’s indigenous fare and raised funds for the Trust’s Endangered Treasures Library Grant program. This preservation grant program enables libraries, worldwide, to keep rare cookbooks in circulation for sociological and food history research.

Grants for Food Writers

Since 2000, the Trust has been awarded nearly $110,000 in travel and research grants for professional and beginning food writers both under contract and in the pre-contract stage of book proposals. Many writers have benefited from this grant opportunity and several works have been published as a result.

Hunger Relief

In 1992, The Culinary Trust began a hunger relief initiative at the IACP’s annual conference. This grant opportunity is given each year in the IACP’s conference host city and made possible through interest earned on the investment fund and donations made directly by the IACP membership. To date, the Trust has given over $63,000 to stamp-out hunger.

Julia Child Fund

This endowment fund was established in 1997 to perpetuate Julia Child’s culinary interest and legacy. It provides an annual scholarship for a culinary professional to do independent study in France as it relates to French food, wine, history, culture and traditions.

Donor Opportunities

The Culinary Trust is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization (Federal Tax ID #52-1333505) and partners with donors by offering:

  • Low-cost, flexible and tax-deductible programs to meet your charitable objectives
  • Promotion and recognition of your charitable give in program and industry publications and on the Trust’s Web site
  • A review and selection committee, composed of culinary professionals, to administer your award donations
  • Tax-deductible receipts for all tangible contributions

Available Donor Opportunities:

  • Annual Fund – These donations allow the Trust to cover annual administrative fees.
  • Annual Scholarships – Scholarship awards for culinary study and research are accepted annually, from July 15th – August 15th, and can be crafted to promote educational programs at culinary schools and corporate giving campaigns and marketing initiatives.
  • Silent Auction – The Culinary Trust conducts an annual silent auction fundraiser at the IACP’s annual conference. The auction offers a low-cost opportunity to market your products and services to a focused group of 1,600+ culinary “trend-setting” professionals.
  • Grants for Food Writers – Donations help to off-set expenses associated with travel and research conducted by food writers under contract for a book, magazine or periodical article and in the pre-contract stages of book proposals.
  • Grants for Historic Book Preservation – Grants provide funds to libraries worldwide to restore and preserve historic culinary books.
  • Grants for Hunger Relief – Individuals can make donations to the fund and corporations can partner with the Trust by offering a matching donation for the one-time grant administered each year in the IACP conference host city.
  • Jacques Pépin Scholarship Fund – The Trust will administer scholarships to high school minority students for professional culinary study, when fundraising goals have been met.
  • Julia Child Fund – Scholarships are awarded from this fund for independent study and research in France as it relates to French food, wine and food history/traditions.
  • Memorials/Honorariums – Provide funds in memory or honor of an individual, group, association, business or corporation that has made a significant contribution to the culinary industry. Funds can be unrestricted, or designated for a specific program.
  • Special Event Sponsorships – Fundraising events are conducted on an annual basis and opportunities are available to partner with the Trust to promote products and services at these high profile events, which often feature celebrity chefs and revered food historians.
  • The Culinary Trust Speakers Fund – Funds will be used to aid the IACP in their ability to bring more high quality and cutting edge speakers to the annual conference to educate and share experience, expertise and vision with conference attendees.
  • Volunteerism - The Trust would not be where it is today without the support of hard-working volunteers who selflessly donate their time, talent and skill to our many programs, fundraisers and other initiatives. There will always be volunteer opportunities available that suit your needs.

For more information or to donate in the above areas please contact:

The Culinary Trust
PO Box 273
New York, NY 10013
646-224-6989 (for local and international)
888-345-4666 (for toll-free)
E-mail donations@theculinarytrust.com