Benjamin Webber was a mining engineer. His job took him to many, if not all, of the mining communities in Arizona . Benjamin and his wife Josephine, a home economist with a degree in dietetics, were concerned that Hispanic women in these communities probably would not have an opportunity to study beyond high school. They saw a need to enrich the lives of those young women who would venture to the post-secondary institutions in Arizona . They specified that the field of study needed to be in family and consumer sciences, a field they thought was in harmony with the strong ties they saw in the mining community families and would provide the skills the young women could take back to their communities for the betterment of all.

Benjamin and Josephine Webber, therefore, established two trust accounts. It is the interest income from these trusts that is used to support bilingual, Hispanic women with mining community connections (or non-Hispanic students under certain conditions) while they study a family and consumer sciences curriculum at a post-secondary institution. They specified that the selection and mentoring of students be done by a committee within the then Arizona Section of the American Home Economics Association (now the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences). Thus, the Webber Educational Trust committee was established.

Ms. Beryl Burt, Ms. Betty Blaylock, and Dr. Shirley Jo Taylor are to be credited with working with Benjamin Webber in establishing the trust account, the guidelines for selection of recipients of the interest income, and guidelines for dispersing funds to chosen recipients.

The mission of the Webber Educational Grant Committee is to ensure that interest income from the Benjamin and Josephine Webber trust accounts is spent to further the education of women from Arizona mining communities who are interested in studying a Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum at one of Arizona 's post secondary educational institutions. To this end, the committee is active in seeking women who are qualified to receive funds, selecting the top applicants, working with the trust officer to ensure that recipients have the financial support they need, and mentoring the recipients to ensure success of their academic and personal goals.

The first Webber trust recipient began her studies in Fall of 1980. Since then, more than eighty have been sponsored using Webber trust interest money and are listed by name and town as part of the History of the Webber Trusts. Webber recipients have lived in Arizona City , Bisbee, Clifton , Duncan , Hayden, Globe, Kearny , Kingman, Mammoth, Mesa , Morenci, Prescott , Safford, Sahuarita, San Manuel, Seligman, Superior , Tucson , and Winkelman.

See also the list of students funded by the trusts.