The Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation is a private foundation established in 1961 to encourage and assist education and to improve and enrich the quality of life for Southeast Texans.  The Foundation carries out this mandate, in part, through the programs of the Stark Museum of Art; W. H. Stark House; Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts; and Shangri-La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. These forums afford the community and region a rich resource for study and enjoyment of the arts, history and nature.  The Foundation seeks to encourage and assist education through grants and the scholarship programs of the Miriam Lutcher Stark Reading and Declamation Contest and the Texas Interscholastic League Foundation.  Furthermore, the Foundation strives to achieve the intent of its founders through grants to organizations seeking to improve area health care and to local organizations with a focus on special community and social needs.