Stranahan Foundation

Which state are you working in?

Colorado

What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?

Applied and not funded

If you were funded, tell us the outcome

What year was this experience?

2020

How would you rate this funder's accessibility?

Bad

Originally we felt the funder was accessible but when they sent a rejection they refused to give any feedback or explanation- which felt like an abrupt shift of attitude. They did not indicate if they would be open to another proposal in the future or if they thought that would be a good idea, despite the fact that what they said was there were simply too many applications for the pool of funding (which is totally understandable). The fact that we had gone through multiple stages and multiple conversations and they still were unwilling to share any feedback or have a brief call left us feeling they were not accessible, responsive or respectful of potential grantees.

How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its current philanthropic goals?

Bad

If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?

Be willing to have conversations with those you ask to put in so much time, energy and resources. Be respectful that if small teams are dedicating this much time to your unique proposal process, that means they are not doing other things.

Is there anything else that'd be useful for others to know to understand this funder?

They have a unique process that takes a huge amount of time. Just because you have been moved to the final stages, does not mean that there will be any funding or feedback shared.

Tell us one thing that this funder does really well

Initially we felt they had their priorities clearly mapped out.

How many hours did the grant application process take?

45