Grant
	Guidelines

If we are successful, our grantees' work will enable our targeted youth to meet the challenges of growing up, leading to meaningful choices regarding their education and vocation. They will be prepared to assume the responsibilities of adulthood and good citizenship. These outcomes will be more than anecdotal. All work will be appropriately evaluated and our learning will be shared with others.

Our Preferences and Requirements

• Geographic preference is given to the communities in which the directors of the foundation reside. However, we realize that outstanding ideas are not bound by geography. The key criterion is that an organization's work benefits the Foundation's mission. To that end, we also invest in groups outside our directors' immediate home areas, as well as in selected national organizations.
• The proposal should reflect solid research and specifically address the resources that will be necessary to measure success and, if necessary, to make corrections during the life of the grant. This is usually accomplished by a logic model and an evaluation tool in place at the time the grant activity starts.
• The proposal should reflect "what works" and will not be based solely on anecdotal information to support its vision of change. The proposal will address how the project is cost effective in producing the desired outcome or goal.
• The proposal can demonstrate how the organization has adequate internal capacity to successfully accomplish the items set forth in its proposal.
• The proposal sets forth clear and well-defined action plans for the sustainability of the program or service.
• The proposal clearly identifies how the applicant will share and disseminate the results and learnings of the program or service to further improve the knowledge and understanding of the field. Because we aspire to promote system change, new approaches are welcomed. We recognize that trying new ideas may require considerable planning and calculated risks. These include:
• Programs that replicate existing successful programs, thereby encouraging cooperation among imaginative not-for-profit organizations.
• Grants to augment the current knowledge of best practices and "what works" for practitioners and to provide guidance on how to more successfully support young people and their families.
• Seed money to begin new and innovative programs.
• The foundation strongly favors proposals that seek matching funds or that leverage additional resources, thus maximizing the impact of the Foundation's funds. All inquiries to the Foundation and all proposals should reflect thoughtful consideration of this preference.
• Capital grants, including endowment-related grants. Such grants are limited and considered only when the project presents a compelling connection to the Foundation's mission.
• Grants to not-for-profit organizations that are efficiently delivering services as measured against the cost of operations.
• Grants that are not substantially dependent on government sources for operating revenue and that work to minimize the amount of financial support from government sources. Generally, the Foundation does not support organizations directly controlled or operated by federal, state or municipal governments.
• Projects that provide consulting assistance, dissemination of research findings or direct technical fundraising assistance.
• Projects promoting fundamental systemic change that are capable of measuring and evaluating outcomes and promote fiscal responsibility. It is the Foundation's intention to closely monitor its grants and to request sufficient information to enable it to evaluate overall effectiveness, thus guiding its future grantmaking activities.

Amount of Grants

The Foundation considers grant requests starting at $10,000. The Foundation does not impose an upper limit on grant proposals. The amount requested, however, should correlate directly with the scope of the project or program and the organization’s administrative capacity to manage the grant as well as interpret and report the results. Requests for large grants must be commensurate with the magnitude of the expected result or outcome.


What We Will Not Support

• The Foundation does not fund the purchase of tickets for any event or the purchase of advertising space in programs or publications.
• The Foundation does not ordinarily consider applications which only address the regular operational expenses of an organization. However, the Foundation considers new initiatives and opportunities and recognizes that organizations doing exceptional work require sustained support. The Foundation seeks a balance between operating support in compelling situations which can permanently impact an organization and the encouragement of new initiatives and improved methods and approaches to their work.
• The Foundation does not provide grants to an organization that, as a substantial part of its activities, engages in legislative lobbying or other activity that directly or indirectly participates or intervenes in political campaigns on behalf of any candidate for public office.