Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation 091898

Which state are you working in?

Oregon

What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?

Current or former grantee

If you were funded, tell us the outcome

Funded for lesser amount

What year was this experience?

2021

How would you rate this funder's accessibility?

Good

Their website is super transparent and thorough. It makes it easy to approach staff with a good sense of who they are, what they fund, and how the process works. Staff proved extremely accessible, communicative, and dedicated to helping nonprofits navigate the new grant making process.

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

Good

Their partnerships speak for themselves. Most of the big Oregon-centric foundations have significant barriers to access, mostly hidden behind a wall of paperwork and administrative staff who are there to answer email, not conduct outreach. I appreciate that MLCF is taking a different approach to helping nonprofits truly throughout the state.

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

Maybe you're doing this already, but - an enews or blog or quarterly communication to the larger community that conveys your values and trends in funding; something that nonprofit staff can digest and share. I think there may be a sense of entitlement among 'old guard' charities that because they have history with MLCF, they are shoo-ins for big money, so whatever messaging you can put out to counter this could be helpful!

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

Take the time to thoroughly read their website; it's a treat for grant writers because clearly the staff are thoughtful & experienced in the arena themselves.

Tell us one thing that this funder does really well

Communication. Differentiated grant reporting, omg

How many hours did the grant application process take?

80