Saint Paul, MN
34 Survey Respondents
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Great foundation to work with - staff are extremely helpful and willing to answer any and all questions....
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Palo Alto, CA
32 Survey Respondents
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Have a call first then spend time on proposals...
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St Paul, MN
31 Survey Respondents
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Only apply if you can demonstrate (within tight application character limits) that the process by which you've identified a community issue has ac...
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Washington, DC
28 Survey Respondents
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Open Road has been an amazing resource for many nonprofits in my network. They fill a need many foundations are unwilling to address. Generally you ca...
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Wilmington, DE
27 Survey Respondents
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The Kendeda Fund is an exemplary funder. Accessible, flexible and generous. We had a great field tour with several Kendeda Fund members, and this hel...
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Las Vegas, NV
25 Survey Respondents
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It's great to call prior and get a sense of what they are looking for. They're very receptive. In your application, be as clear as possible ab...
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Minneapolis, MN
25 Survey Respondents
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They are not very responsive. Another funder suggested we contact them to see if they were interested in ideas that seemed consistent with their guid...
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Los Angeles, CA
23 Survey Respondents
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It is easy to get a meeting however, they are very specific about what they are funding. Their properties on their website did not match what they are...
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Santa Monica, CA
21 Survey Respondents
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We were fortunate to receive funding as a Springboard recipient. Their support continued over the next 10 years where they still serve as my "gu...
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Rock Island, IL
18 Survey Respondents
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If this is your first time applying for a grant they will assign someone to assist you with the process....
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Grand Rapids, MN
17 Survey Respondents
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An excellent resource for Itasca County-area nonprofits. For nonprofits outside that region, the guidelines and funding priorities are more restrictiv...
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Saint Paul, MN
16 Survey Respondents
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3M has been a wonderful longtime partner. Start by building a relationship within the company....
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Vancouver, WA
16 Survey Respondents
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Make sure you are fully grant ready before submission. This foundation is very thorough in their pre-award vetting process and wants to see clear alig...
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Philadelphia, PA
16 Survey Respondents
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I would contact the staff members at the foundation to really understand their mission (which has changed) first and then start the application proces...
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Fairfield, CA
15 Survey Respondents
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Follow the guidelines and you should be fine!...
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Minneapolis, MN
14 Survey Respondents
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McKnight is a well-known and popular funder so their process is competitive. You really must meet with a Program Officer before applying for the first...
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Seattle, WA
12 Survey Respondents
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first research, then call....
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Berkeley, CA
12 Survey Respondents
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Read their requirements first to see if you are a good fit....
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Mountain View, CA
12 Survey Respondents
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They like to claim they're the biggest foundation in the US, and they're committed to addressing issues like the affordable housing crisis, bu...
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Los Angeles, CA
12 Survey Respondents
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Staff is very helpful. Offered suggestions for improving proposal and recommended actions going forward....
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Eden Prairie, MN
11 Survey Respondents
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Not worth spending time on - it is a closed process that remains a mystery. We received funds out of the blue and were told not to reach out for more...
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Minneapolis, MN
11 Survey Respondents
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Call before you apply. It saved us a lot of time to have them tell us not to bother applying....
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Getzville, NY
11 Survey Respondents
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All the PM's at Tower are there to support you even at the LOI phase. Once you get past the LOI your assigned PM becomes part of your team and is...
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Minneapolis, MN
11 Survey Respondents
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Grant is involved and could be in two parts. The first may be (depending on the grant) is to write an LOI then if you are selected as we were, a full...
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Omaha, NE
11 Survey Respondents
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Go to the the website and be familiar with the mission of the Weitz Family Foundation to make sure that the relationship is mutually beneficial...
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San Diego, CA
10 Survey Respondents
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I work with a grant-making organization that made a grant to JCNI that was to be used for a particular purpose, within a particular time frame, and th...
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San Francisco, CA
10 Survey Respondents
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We were invited to apply in 2016 and 2017, and I still don't have a clue why. Spent a lot of time on the application both years, for zero feedback...
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Seattle, WA
10 Survey Respondents
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Since The Medina Foundation understands the importance of unrestricted funds, who can write your grant to reflect all of your programs and services an...
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San Francisco, CA
10 Survey Respondents
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Network network network. Try and build a relationship with a program officer in your area of specialization. As with any foundation....
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Charlotte, NC
9 Survey Respondents
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I was very pleased with the response to our application. Invited in for an informal discussion regarding the project and how BoA could make a greater...
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Augusta, ME
9 Survey Respondents
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I have always had a call prior to applying. It was very helpful....
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Minnesota, MN
9 Survey Respondents
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Catholic Community Foundation is a wonderful organization to work with. Our school was invited to participate in a marketing grant during the 2017-201...
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Bayport, MN
9 Survey Respondents
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Contact staff before submitting a proposal - they are incredibly transparent about their interests and will take the time to listen to you....
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Saint Paul, MN
9 Survey Respondents
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Be sure that your grant request is specifically designated to benefit women and primarily women of color. If your grant is requesting funding for a p...
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Los Angeles, CA
9 Survey Respondents
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They are wonderful to work with and easy to schedule time with...
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Saint Paul, MN
9 Survey Respondents
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Mission priorities are clear and the application process is thorough but easily followed - just be sure to allow time. As with all grantors, it's...
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Los Angeles, CA
8 Survey Respondents
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Take the time to get to know their programs where your work matches, and to plan on several conversations with the staff there....
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Hilton Head, SC
8 Survey Respondents
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Be sure you understand the gaps in service provision that exists in the community for which your project plans to address. Have clear goals and objec...
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Los Altos, CA
8 Survey Respondents
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I've had really positive experiences with all of the program officers I've worked with there (three for three different grants). They take a d...
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New York, NY
8 Survey Respondents
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Heron thinks at a systemic level, so understand how your work will influence the system you are trying to change....
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Minnetonka, MN
8 Survey Respondents
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The Letter of Inquiry is more 'detailed' than the typical LOI. You really need to have the program well planned and thought out. They also cle...
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Saint Paul, MN
8 Survey Respondents
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It's literally impossible to email this foundation. I've tried sending emails from both my work account and personal gmail account multiple ti...
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Minneapolis, MN
8 Survey Respondents
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Request feedback on whether your idea is good fit before you submit application....
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Rock Island, IL
8 Survey Respondents
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Provide clear detail about how your project serves Rock Island residents....
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Cupertino, CA
8 Survey Respondents
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The Sobrato Family Foundation is investing in some of the most important, and often overlooked, nonprofit needs. They provide office space, general su...
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Milwaukee, WI
8 Survey Respondents
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As a corporation funding from its headquarters, it is important to have the local branch manager knowledgeable on your organization and aware of the g...
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Bentonville, AR
8 Survey Respondents
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I was surprised to find out that if you are funded by a United Way organization, you are not eligible to apply for a Wal-Mart Foundation grant. This...
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Menlo Park, CA
8 Survey Respondents
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Build relationships with Hewlett staff, especially program staff as their contracts with the foundation dictate that they must leave after 7-8 years....
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Bayport, MN
7 Survey Respondents
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Andersen Corporate Foundation has well written and specific application guidelines. They are very approachable and reachable by phone, if you have add...
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St Paul, MN
7 Survey Respondents
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Take the time to connect with Foundation staff before submitting your application. They are very responsive and enjoy conversing about your proposed i...
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Monterey, CA
7 Survey Respondents
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Think twice before applying: Given the amount of time /effort required for the application and for the reporting, carefully weigh the potential grant...
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Duluth, MN
7 Survey Respondents
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Rigid online format requirements can be difficult to comply with. With the small grants, the time required to gather, organize and input figures, bot...
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Minneapolis, MN
7 Survey Respondents
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Headwaters is very intentional in the last their application process, and they are more genuinely open to feedback than any other foundation I've...
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Saint Paul, MN
7 Survey Respondents
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The application process was clear, and we had a delightful visit with the program officer to share some more information about our project. He was tho...
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Seattle, WA
7 Survey Respondents
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I want to love Satterberg Foundation. However, I've tried multiple times over the last 2 years, on behalf of client organizations who have been fu...
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Beverly Hills, CA
7 Survey Respondents
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Looking to fund capital requests...
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Tustin, CA
7 Survey Respondents
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The Executive Director is so sweet and tries to help in anyway she can. She makes the entire process enjoyable....
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Seattle, WA
7 Survey Respondents
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It is extremely competitive, and unfortunately, because the grant decisions are made by voting by the members, some causes (kids, for example) are mor...
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San Francisco, CA
6 Survey Respondents
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Staff are very responsive to inquiries and website with guidelines is up to date. I would recommend asking for a phone call with a staff member before...
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Minneapolis, MN
6 Survey Respondents
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They are difficult to reach. We got an email response back about 4 days before the proposal deadline....
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Fridley, MN
6 Survey Respondents
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Work to engage the employees at the foundation, they are wonderful to work with and great partners! They prefer to focus on projects with significant...
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Portland, OR
6 Survey Respondents
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Good luck trying to figure out what they want to fund. Even after talking to staff, their priorities are so vague, wordy, undefined and jargon-filled...
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Saint Paul, MN
6 Survey Respondents
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Our organization has received funding for projects for several years. My experience with the program manager has extremely favorable -- helpful in cl...
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Oakland, CA
6 Survey Respondents
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Quirky and frequently unpredictable. Many of the grants are made for specific individual donors, so there aren't consistent priorities or processe...
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St Paul, MN
6 Survey Respondents
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Securian is pretty straight-forward. They are responsive if you call or email. Grants are smaller, but it's not an onerous process....
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Owings Mills, MD
6 Survey Respondents
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Definitely call before you send in a proposal or an LOI. Staff is helpful in this regards, and are very clear about what they will or will not fund....
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San Francisco, CA
6 Survey Respondents
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Tipping Point is great in theory, backed by a lot of influential/wealthy funders. For a trusted colleague however, I would tell them to proceed with c...
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San Francisco, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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Atkinson Foundation is managed by Pacific Foundation Services. I reached out via email to the person managing Atkinson and got a prompt reply! She&...
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Richfield, MN
5 Survey Respondents
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A lot of work to put the application together, and they ask for a lot of financial details...
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Minneapolis, MN
5 Survey Respondents
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For their New Haven grantmaking - Make sure you meet the guidelines and focus populations. Try to have organization staff develop a relationship with...
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Napa, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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It is a good idea to contact their program officers first to confirm you application matches their priority areas. The staff is very responsive and...
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Denver, CO
5 Survey Respondents
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Talk to one of their program officers before applying. They should be able to help find where your programming fits best in their funding priorities....
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Gilroy, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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Know that you are going to interact with a great organization....
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Milwaukee, WI
5 Survey Respondents
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It is critical that grant applicants meet with foundation staff prior to a grant cycle to develop a relationship. This community foundation is remarka...
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Chicago, IL
5 Survey Respondents
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It is extremely important to have the "subject matter experts" involved in any initial outreach. Their program staff "know their stuff...
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Washington, DC
5 Survey Respondents
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Longview Foundation really knows the landscape of global education, and thus has a good sense of what proposals will work in action. Take a look at t...
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Washington, DC
5 Survey Respondents
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The grant proposal and reporting process is relatively lengthy, and requires enough financial reporting that this funder is best for a nonprofit with...
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Chicago, IL
5 Survey Respondents
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It's best to have a preliminary phone conversation to describe your need for the funding request and to see if your project is an area that they a...
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Anchorage, AK
5 Survey Respondents
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The Tier 1 program is a terrific option for requests up to $25K. Note, they are unlikely to fund staffing or operations....
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Minneapolis, MN
5 Survey Respondents
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Call and have a conversation with the Foundation manager. She is very willing to help....
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Princeton, NJ
5 Survey Respondents
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RWJF had a frustratingly complex and overly bureaucratic process. I did not prepare or negotiate the proposal but had to execute and report on it whi...
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Menlo Park, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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The staff is very responsive and open to phone and in-person meetings...
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White Bear Lake, MN
5 Survey Respondents
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Read and believe the guidelines. These folks are tech people and they are quite clear what they like and don't like. Using tech to drive institut...
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Los Angeles, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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I got the feeling that they wanted to be seen as part of a funding group so they gave us a small grant as a way of staying in with the big funders in...
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St Paul, MN
5 Survey Respondents
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Note that program officer with whom we worked retired in 2017 - so this info is somewhat out of date. We were funded 3 times, each for $10K or less....
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San Francisco, CA
5 Survey Respondents
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Their on-line application is very straight forward. I like that they give you a word count rather than a character count. And, they give you enough w...
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