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Borax Visitor Center Foundation

Celebrating and supporting the Boron community

Celebrating 25+ Years of Community Giving

Giving back to our communities is a hallmark of business for U.S. Borax and our parent company, Rio Tinto. The Borax Visitor Center Foundation—made up of company and community leaders—oversees the disbursement of Visitor Center funds through annual grant and scholarship programs.

The Borax Visitor Center Foundation Grant Program supports nonprofit, tax-exempt, and governmental organizations in and around Boron, California—the location of our U.S. mine. Founded in 1998, the Foundation has returned more than $300,000 in funding, including $100,000 in scholarships, to the community over the past two decades.

Each year, the Foundation awards thousands of dollars in grants aimed to improve public education, health and human services, and historic preservation. The funding for these grants comes from Borax Visitor Center gift store proceeds, visitor donations, U.S. Borax employee payroll donations, and company contributions, with Rio Tinto matching 50 cents on each dollar that our employees give.

Borax Visitors Center

Borax Visitor Center

The Borax Visitor Center, located at the Borax mine in Boron, California, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Schools visiting on field trips can apply for transport reimbursement through the Foundation.

2024 Winners

20 Mule Team Museum to repair, paint, and maintain the Museum’s Train Depot
Boron Aerospace Museum to repair a memorial fountain in their entryway and repair ceiling air/cooling ducts
Boron Alive for community activities including Trunk or Treat, as well as a community Christmas party and Santa visit
Boron High School Associated Student Body to pay off their vending machine so they can sell healthy snacks and water for fundraising

2023 Winners

20 Mule Team Museum for general repairs and outdoor maintenance
Boron Alive for the community Christmas breakfast
Boron Junior-Senior High School for a vending machine, field trips, and the Young & Creative Collection
Boron Senior Center for heating and cooling repairs

Boron High School Parents Advisory Council for the Pathway to Success graduation, life skills courses in cooking, serving, and facility maintenance, and the L.A. Observatory field trip
Boron Senior Center to support facility operations and utilities
Reggie’s Kicks for Kids shoes and sporting equipment
West Boron Elementary School for educational field trips for 300 students
Wind in the Willows Preschool for family scholarship fund

Kern County Sheriff's Office for Desert Search & Rescue for AED pad replacements
Reggie’s Kicks for Kids for tennis shoes
Wind in the Willows Preschool for family scholarship fund

Grant eligibility

Applications will be accepted only from governmental entities, such as schools, or from non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) organizations, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. Eligible organizations must focus on one or more of these areas:

Education
Health and human services
Community improvement
Historic preservation

Organizations must also be located in and provide services to one or more of these California communities:

Boron
Desert Lake
North Edwards
Aerial Acres
Kramer Junction

Religious, political, or fraternal organizations or those outside the grant area are ineligible.

Guidelines

Directors of the Borax Visitor Center Foundation review and award grants to eligible organizations annually.

Grant requests fall under one of two categories:

Funding for a specific program or project. Applicants need to provide budgetary information for that project only.
Funding for day-to-day operations. Applicants should use the most recent expense and revenue dollars for your entire organization.
Awardees of grants from the previous year also need to submit a letter that thoroughly explains how their organization spent that grant funding and how the grant affected the local community.

How to Apply for a Grant

The 2024 application period for the grant is now open. All applications are due by March 8, 2024. If you have questions, please email our Borax Visitor Center Foundation representative, Mary Beth Garrison, at marybeth.garrison@riotinto.com.

Apply Now

Scholarship eligibility

A current senior who will graduate from Boron High School in 2024
A grade point average at or above a 3.0
Completed community service throughout their high school career. Hours of service must be listed and signed off by the organization for which the service was undertaken.

Guidelines

Applicants must complete the online application and submit all of the requested information. Applicants must also successfully participate in an interview with representatives from the Borax Visitor Center Foundation scholarship team.

Scholarship awards will be made payable to the accredited college, foundation, or trade school where the student plans to attend. Scholarship recipients MUST submit proof of enrollment and acceptance as well as the specific address and contact (if applicable) to whom the check should be mailed.

Funds must be used solely for tuition, textbooks, or miscellaneous fees charged by the college or university. Unspent funds will be forfeited if a student fails to enroll or drops out of his/her designated college, university, or trade school. Any changes in school of attendance must be approved in advance by the Borax Visitor Center Foundation board of directors.

How to Apply for a Scholarship

The 2024 application period for the scholarship is now open. All applications are due March 15, 2024. Awards will be announced at commencement. If you have questions, please email our Borax Visitor Center Foundation representative, Mary Beth Garrison, at marybeth.garrison@riotinto.com.

Apply Now