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Guide to the Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records 1951-2013 (bulk 1977-2011)

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records
Creator
Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Collection Number
MSS 1040
Extent
18.0 linear feet (17 boxes and O/S)
Date
1951-2013 (bulk 1977-2011)
Abstract
The Roy A. Hunt Foundation traces its roots to 1951, when Roy A. Hunt and his wife, Rachel McMasters Mill Hunt, endowed a charitable family foundation to support a broad range of nonprofit organizations engaged in the arts, environment, health, and human services. The Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records contain correspondence, brochures, reports, and audiovisual material. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between the foundation and its grant recipients.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Nick Hartley.
Sponsor
Funding for this project was made available by the Roy A. Hunt Foundation
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

The Roy A. Hunt Foundation (RAHF) traces its roots to 1951, when Roy A. Hunt and his wife, Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt, endowed a family foundation, called the Hunt Foundation, "to support organizations that strive to improve the quality of life." Fifteen years later, in accordance with Roy Hunt's will, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation was established so that future generations could be involved in charitable giving as a family. These foundations operated side-by-side until 1994 when, to streamline operations, the Hunt Foundation merged with the Roy A. Hunt Foundation.

Roy Arthur Hunt was born on August 3, 1881 in Nashua, New Hampshire. He was the only child of Captain Alfred Epher Hunt and Maria T. McQuesten Hunt. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Pittsburgh where his father co-founded the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. In 1903, after graduating from Yale University, Hunt became a mill clerk at the company's New Kensington plant. By 1907, when the Pittsburgh Reduction Company changed its name to the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), Hunt had advanced to the position of Assistant Superintendent. He continued to progress through the company's ranks and, in 1928, he was elected President. He served in that position until 1951 when he was named Chairman of the Executive Committee, a position he held until 1963. Roy remained a member of the Alcoa Board of Directors until his death in 1966.

Three generations of Hunt family members serve as trustees of RAHF, including Roy A. Hunt's one surviving son, Richard M. Hunt, his eleven grandchildren, and members of the fourth generation. The foundation annually grants $3 million in the United States to a broad range of nonprofit organizations engaged in the arts, environment, health, and human services. In addition to general grants sponsored by individual trustees, the foundation also funds special initiatives in Community Development, Environment, and Youth Violence Prevention, which represent interests shared by all trustees. Most of foundation's grants are given to organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania and New England, particularly the Boston area, although organizations of particular interest to a trustee may be located anywhere in the United States.

Detailed information of the Hunt family and the Roy A. Hunt Foundation can be found in Roy A. Hunt Foundation: a family and foundation history (2007).

Scope and Content Notes

The Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records contain correspondence, brochures, reports, and audiovisual material. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between the foundation and its grant recipients. Series have been designated for Roy A. Hunt Foundation Grants, Hunt Foundation Scholarship Program, Topical, and Oversized. The records include correspondence, brochures, reports, CDs and video cassette tapes. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between RAHF and its grant recipients.

Arrangement

The Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records are housed in 17 archival boxes and are arranged in four series. The records are arranged alphabetically, maintaining their original order, with the exception of the audiovisual material in Series III, which is arranged chronologically.

  1. Series I. Roy A. Hunt Foundation Grants, 1961-2013
  2. Series II. Hunt Foundation Scholarship Program, 1952-1971
  3. Series III. Topical, 1961-2012
  4. Series IV. Oversized, 1951 and undated

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Roy A. Hunt Foundation in 2014.0117.

Preferred Citation

Roy A. Hunt Foundation Records, 1951-2013, MSS 1040, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Nick Hartley in July 2014.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

Roy A. Hunt Foundation: a family and foundation history. Pittsburgh, Pa.: The Roy. A Hunt Foundation, 2007

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Aluminum Company of America.
    • Pittsburgh Reduction Company.
    • Roy A. Hunt Foundation.
    • Hunt Foundation.
    • Hunt Armory (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • Hunt, Roy Arthur, 1881-1966.
    • Hunt, Alfred E., 1855-1899.
    • Hunt, Rachel McMasters Miller, 1882-1963.

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.)

    Other Subjects

    • Endowments--Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.

Container List