Application Guidelines Right of First Opportunity Areas of Interest Grant Submission Process Grant Application Reporting Materials FAQs

The Grant-making Process in Brief

1. Read the Application Materials and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
2. If it appears that your organization is qualified to apply and your project idea matches the Areas of Interest listed in the Application, draft a one or two page outline of the project and a preliminary budget using the model in the FAQ.
3. Call the Foundation and request a pre-application meeting. At the meeting, the Foundation staff will attempt to flag any application requirements that may be of particular importance to your proposal. Staff may offer additional recommendations to help you make a more effective case for funding.
4. Deliver one copy of your completed proposal and its attachments to the Foundation Office for Staff review. If, after Staff review, your proposal meets all requirements, you will be asked to submit 15 copies that will be forwarded to the Grant-making Committee for review. The Committee is comprised of local volunteers.
5. Questions and comments offered by Committee members will be consolidated and sent to you by email.
6. Your answers to the questions are returned to the Foundation in a timely way and passed along to Committee members. The purpose of the email Q&A exchange is to greatly reduce the possibility of misunderstandings, to give you sufficient time to prepare answers and to expedite the process.
7. A meeting with the Committee is scheduled and you, and your associates, are invited to discuss the project, expand on the answers to the email questions and to provide any additional information that you deem important.
8. The Committee forms its recommendation to fund or decline the project.
9. The recommendation of the Committee is presented to the Board of the Foundation for action. The Board is free to accept or reject the recommendation of the independent Committee.
10. The decision of the Board is communicated to you without delay. If the project is approved by the Board, a letter of notification and a Grant Contract are sent to you for execution. The Contract establishes the terms and conditions of the grant and sets the dates for interim reports and the schedule for distribution of the grant funds to your organization.