Westminster University

Westminster University, a private tax-exempt educational institution headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient across STEM education, workforce development, and community tax assistance programs, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and National Science Foundation as primary grantors. The institution does not hold federal contracts or compete under contract vehicles; its federal footprint is entirely grant-based across higher education and public service missions.

Westminster's federal grant portfolio centers on three distinct capability areas. First, undergraduate STEM education and retention: the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Westminster a $2 million project grant (CFDA 47.076) on February 1, 2026, through January 31, 2032, to fund the "Guiding Readiness and Opportunities in the Workforce for STEM" (GROWS) initiative, which provides up to $15,000 annual scholarships to 29 low-income undergraduates in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics, coupled with faculty mentoring, summer bridge programming, undergraduate research, and internship placement. Westminster also received NSF funding for a project investigating pedagogical approaches—specifically Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)—on student engagement and conceptual understanding in undergraduate STEM courses, running from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2026. Second, volunteer income tax assistance: the IRS awarded Westminster matching grants (CFDA 21.009) for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to deliver free tax return preparation and filing services to low- to moderate-income, underserved populations including persons with disabilities, limited English proficiency individuals, Native Americans, rural residents, military families, and elderly taxpayers; awards include a $130,000 matching grant effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, and a prior-year award effective October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. Third, low-income taxpayer representation: the IRS Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grants enabled Westminster to provide clinical legal representation and tax advocacy for taxpayers with incomes up to 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines, with awards running through December 31, 2026. Westminster also serves as a sub-recipient under the University of Utah's NASA Space Grant Consortium (National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program), receiving allocations on awards dated August 4, 2025, September 5, 2024, and June 14, 2024, to expand STEM opportunities in aerospace and space science. The institution received an Office of Postsecondary Education McNair Scholars grant (October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2026) to support undergraduate research and graduate-school preparation for low-income first-generation students.

Customer concentration is heavily IRS-dominated: the Treasury Department's IRS accounts for thirteen awards (40% of active grants), while the NSF and the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education each hold eight awards. The Veterans Health Administration operates a smaller footprint with twelve awards. Over the past five years, award volume has been episodic—three in 2022, two in 2023, six in 2024, three in 2025, and one in 2026—with six awards reaching ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months. Westminster's grant profile is 95% prime recipient and 5% sub-recipient, reflecting its institutional role as a direct federal grantee rather than a subgrantee partner. The institution's federal posture is entirely non-competitive; all funding flows through grant programs rather than competitive bidding, IDVs, or set-asides.