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CHAPTER 5: APPLYING FOR<br />
FOUNDATION GRANTS<br />
REVIEW YOUR PROSPECT LIST<br />
Put together a list of all the prospective funders you have<br />
and the estimated amount of money you think you can<br />
raise from each of them.<br />
You will need more prospects and a potential gift total that<br />
exceeds the amount you need for your project or organization.<br />
Not every prospect will decide to give you a grant, so you need<br />
to be prepared to ask for more than you need. A good rule<br />
of thumb is to have a prospect pipeline that is at least three<br />
times the amount of money you want to raise.<br />
This is a subset of the larger prospect list from Chapter<br />
1 showing only the prospective foundation donors.<br />
The Women’s Self-Help Association has so far received<br />
$10,500 in foundation gifts, 70 percent of its goal of<br />
$15,000 in foundation grants. The association has<br />
identified an additional $13,500 in potential foundation<br />
funding, three times the $4,500 needed. The association’s<br />
full organizational budget can be found on page 25 and<br />
a list of their current funders, including foundations who<br />
have already awarded grants, is on page 26.<br />
Once you have a complete list, you can create a calendar<br />
for yourself to keep track of all your activities to cultivate<br />
these prospects. Now you’re ready to apply for grants<br />
from each funder you’ve identified on your list, and you<br />
can tailor your application to the needs of each.<br />
CHECK FUNDER DEADLINES<br />
Some foundations have open deadlines, meaning that<br />
they accept funding requests any time of the year. Others<br />
have specific dates when they’ll receive proposals, but<br />
won’t accept them other times of year. Most foundations’<br />
grant award dates are based on when they hold board of<br />
directors meetings where grant applications are approved.<br />
Requests for Proposals: Some foundations only accept<br />
proposals for specific projects that they have designed.<br />
These are often called RFPs (requests for proposals). They<br />
can also be referred to as calls for proposals.<br />
Check the website and application guidelines of your<br />
prospects, and put these dates on your calendar. If the<br />
funder has a specific deadline, don’t send proposals after<br />
that date (because they won’t be considered) or for months<br />
before that date (because your proposal may be lost).<br />
If you can’t find any information on deadlines, you can<br />
get in touch with the contact person at the foundation to<br />
Foundation Prospect List for Women’s Self-Help Association<br />
PROSPECT NAME<br />
POTENTIAL GIFT<br />
AMOUNT<br />
TIMELINE/NEXT STEPS<br />
International women’s fund $5,000 Applied in February, decision by May<br />
Anonymous foundation $5,000 RFP due on March 1<br />
Women’s economic empowerment fund $2,500 Unsolicited proposals due in July<br />
Corporate foundation $1,000 Application deadline in September; invite<br />
philanthropy officer to visit program in June<br />
TOTAL POTENTIAL FOUNDATION GIFTS $13,500<br />
TOTAL BUDGET TO RAISE FROM<br />
FOUNDATIONS<br />
TOTAL FOUNDATION MONEY RAISED<br />
TO DATE<br />
TOTAL FOUNDATION MONEY LEFT TO<br />
RAISE<br />
$15,000<br />
$10,500<br />
$4,500<br />
17