The grant application process begins with a conversation and develops as a partnership.

The Foundation accepts inquiries and proposals for most grants on a rolling basis. The regular grant application process includes the following phases (smaller grants may go through an expedited process):

I. Grant Inquiry Phase

Grantseekers contact our community impact manager to begin the application process. This conversation determines your organization’s eligibility and gathers basic information about your request for support.

Not all inquiries move beyond this initial conversation. Requests that are discouraged at this stage will be notified of the reasons for discouragement. In some cases, we are able to direct people to other resources.

II. Fact-Finding Phase 

Inquiries that meet initial eligibility criteria are assigned a community impact officer, who looks into the request and determines alignment with our strategic priorities. This may include a site visit and deeper conversations around the need for support, the organization’s connection to and effectiveness in the community, and the outcome-focused approach the organization proposes to address the need.

Not all inquiries move forward from the fact-finding phase.

III. Community Impact Department Review Phase 

The community impact officer internally presents a recommendation to invite a full application. Colleagues review the recommendation, consider connections to other grant-funded activities and highlight key questions for the application process.

If the grantseeker is not invited to apply, the community impact officer tells the organization about any concerns that were raised. Not all inquiries continue after this review phase.

IV. Application Phase 

Grantseekers who are invited to apply receive an email from grants administration with a link to an application through our grant portal. Grantseekers submit the completed application, and the community impact officer begins to prepare the request for final review. This may take 30 to 60 days after receipt of a completed application.

V. Final review Phase 

The community impact officer emails the grantseeker before the request is submitted for final review and decision by our Board or senior leadership (depending on the size of the grant). In addition to providing an update on expected timeline, this email confirms negotiated outputs and outcomes for the grant that the Foundation and nonprofit will expect to monitor together.

Once a decision has been reached, the community impact officer notifies the grantseeker of the outcome.