Proposal Review

As philanthropic investors, we are committed to enhancing quality and supporting continuous improvement.

Invitation to Submit a Proposal

Typically the initial Letter of Inquiry review process will take between four and six weeks. If your Letter of Inquiry results in an invitation to proceed with a full Proposal, we will contact you.

After submitting a Letter of Inquiry, if your organization is invited to submit a Proposal, the following primary tenets should be included in the Proposal.

Assessment of Your Organization

The Foundation will begin with a review of an organization's financial health and leadership, specifically evaluating the following:

Financial history, including evidence of ability to achieve and maintain operating surpluses, as a measure of sound financial management
Strength of the organization's balance sheet, including adequate current and net assets
Senior management team tenure as well as Board Member tenure, and professional affiliations, to determine the composition, strength, and continuity of leadership
Strategic direction as reflected in a current plan; an accompanying business plan and operating budget as evidence of how the strategy is being implemented

Key Success Criteria

Like an investor, we ultimately seek to understand the potential benefits of a project: Will it work? What will it achieve? What is the return on investment and estimated years to payback? In evaluating a project's potential for success, we seek evidence of the following, which should be included as part of your Proposal:

Institutional commitment to the project by the organization's Board
Realistic project budget
Thorough implementation plan
Plan for performance measurement
Post-implementation operating projections

Proposal Review Timeline

The volume of requests as well as the diligence of full review process requires three to six months for Proposals, which should be factored into the applicant's funding plan.

Additional Information and Site Visits

Program staff may request additional information or a site visit to better familiarize themselves with your organization, management team, and project Proposal. Staff will initiate requests for meetings or visits.

Funding Recommendations

Proposal review is a competitive process and submission does not guarantee funding. Upon completion of Proposal review, program staff develops a funding recommendation, which is reviewed with the Foundation's Trustees. Recommendations are based on Proposal strength, including the organization's match with the Foundation’s Guidelines. Grants are approved at the discretion of the Foundation’s Trustees.