Application Process

Preliminary Proposal Requirement

Potential Applicants must submit a Preliminary Proposal for review and approval BEFORE submitting a full grant Application.

Requirement. The number of requests for grants and the dollar amounts requested now far exceed the Foundation's capacity to fund. Accordingly, we now require that all potential applicants submit a Preliminary Proposal for review and approval BEFORE submitting a full grant Application. Note that approval of such Preliminary Proposal will NOT ensure that a grant will be awarded—merely that the proposal meets the Foundation's criteria and is not unduly duplicative of other approved proposals or recent grants. We prefer submission of Preliminary Proposals by email. All applicants will be notified via email regarding the status of their proposals after the Board completes its review.

Content. Before submitting a Preliminary Proposal, potential Applicants should review the Foundation's Grant Guidelines. The Preliminary Proposal should be no more than two pages long and must contain the following:

A statement that the Applicant is a corporation which has currently effective federal and state income tax exemptions as a charity.
Legal name (and/or name of fiscal sponsor), contact person, email and mailing address.
Confirmation that the program for which funding is sought is located in one of the five San Francisco Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, or San Mateo.
A brief description of the Applicant and its programs over the past few years. [Applicants with less than three years of activity will not be considered for grants.]
A brief description of the program for which the grant would be used.

Applications

Applications for grants are considered only when made upon our Application Form (see link on this page). Questions regarding the form and all other communications with the Foundation may be made by email or by mail to the Foundation's P.O. Box. Direct contact with the officers and directors is discouraged. NOTE: Regular mail should be utilized for submission of Applications since Return Receipt Requested, Special Delivery, Express Mail, UPS, Federal Express, and other similar forms of communication create problems in delivery.

Applicants should submit FIVE copies of the Application Form itself, at least one of which must be dated and signed by an authorized officer. Only ONE copy of any attachments or exhibits should be submitted. Submission of materials in addition to those specifically requested is discouraged.

Download:

Application Form (Word file)
Application Form (PDF file)

Timetable

The Foundation has followed the practice of making grants based on the following timetable. The Foundation presently plans to continue this pattern, but may change or deviate from it at any time at its discretion.

Spring Cycle

Preliminary Proposal due October 1, 2008

Applications due (postmarked) December 15, 2008

Grants will be made in March 2009

Fall Cycle

Preliminary Proposal due April 1, 2009

Applications due (postmarked) June 15, 2009

Grants will be made in September 2009