How to Apply: Project Presentation

Proposals should be submitted in a letter addressed to the Executive Director of the Foundations. Proposals are not accepted via fax or e-mail. A concise description of the proposed project and budget is all that is necessary in the initial request. (See additional guidelines for secondary education and health care programs.) There are no deadlines for proposals and grant applications may be submitted at any time of the year. However, the process of moving from proposal submission to grant approval takes time. Therefore, the Foundations are not able to meet requests for eligible projects requiring immediate or near-term funding.

All proposals must come from the president or other primary executive of an institution - - not from development officers, department heads or individual researchers within the institution. Proposals in the higher education and religion programs should contain a statement by the applicant regarding the priority of the project.

It is not necessary for an applicant or representative of an institution to visit personally with the staff in order to present a proposal successfully. A visit by a member of the Foundations staff to the requesting institution typically is conducted in the final stages of the grant evaluation process.

After evaluating the initial proposal, the Foundations may request further detailed information. For example, under the higher education and religion programs, applicants are likely to be asked to provide information that reflects the quality of students and faculty, measures of success, and financial stability and support.

Applicants for grants under the secondary education, health care, and public television programs may be asked to supply detailed descriptions of the project being proposed. In addition, background information on the requesting organization may be sought. In all five programs, copies of audited financial statements for the past three years are normally requested, but need not be included with the initial proposal.

All materials submitted should be either copies of originals or other disposable forms that need not be sent back. The Foundations generally do not return data submitted in support of a proposal.