H O W W E G R A N T
To ensure best practices and wise stewardship with our grant-making, we will conduct proper due diligence with those who have been invited to submit a grant proposal application in response to an initial letter of inquiry. Outlined below is the process we engage that enables us to facilitate an appropriate due diligence effort.
Stage 1: Submit a Letter of Inquiry
If you have reviewed our website and find an alignment between your organization and our mission and giving focus areas, we would welcome a letter of inquiry from you to see if we would consider inviting you to submit a full grant proposal. Please refer to our letter of inquiry guidelines in order to provide us with what we need for an initial review.
Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Stage 2: Grant Proposal Application, Due Diligence, and Grant Review
If you are invited to submit a grant proposal you will be given login instructions to the online grant proposal application where you will find detailed information about what we will need from your organization to complete our due diligence. The online grant proposal will give you the opportunity to provide us a lot more detail about your organization, the programs it offers, or a special project you may be considering, the overall financial health of your organization, as well as anticipated income and expenses related to your organization’s work.
Once you have submitted your grant proposal application, you can expect an initial acknowledgement of your proposal within 15 days. Grant applications will then advance into the due diligence phase in which the following items will likely be conducted:
- Initial follow up questions and/or phone conversations between your organization and our Executive Director
- Discussion among our board members and further follow up questions from our Executive Director
- Possible site visit
- Possible Skype interview with board
- Board approval or denial of grant application
The duration of this due diligence review period will depend upon when we receive your grant proposal in relationship to the timing of our board meetings where grant proposals are reviewed. Board meetings are typically held every March, August, and November. Our Executive Director will keep you appraised of the due diligence process and inform grant applicants of any additional items that may be required prior to a final board review.
Stage 3: Grant Report
Successful grantees will be required to submit a full grant report a year from when the funds were granted to ensure proper accountability, stewardship, and effectiveness of the grant. The report will consist of:
- The latest financial report of your organization
- A report on how the funds have been spent to date
- An overall health and progress report on your organization and the project or program for which you applied for funds