Grant Guidelines

Each year, the Boston Foundation distributes some $16 million from its Permanent Fund for Boston, an endowed pool of funds contributed by donors who want to see this community thrive. These discretionary grant funds are awarded through a competitive process that includes a variety of grantmaking programs open to requests from proven and promising nonprofits serving or benefiting the people of Greater Boston. All grants are approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Priority Investments

We invest the majority of our discretionary resources in proven or promising organizations, programs and initiatives that are significantly aligned with the strategies articulated in our Strategic Framework. Successful applicants will be highly aligned with our priority strategies, address those strategies through one or more of the approaches we have identified as most likely to have an impact, and show the potential to make a measurable contribution to achieving one or more of the desired results we seek to achieve for our community.

For more detailed information on our Strategic Framework and priority strategies, please click here.

Generally, organizations and programs aligned only with our articulated goals and objectives will not be competitive, as we focus most of our investments on organizations and activities that directly address our articulated strategies and approaches. However, we are interested in innovative approaches to emerging community issues and make targeted and more modest investments in such efforts.

PLEASE READ

Our strategic framework, Thriving People/Vibrant Places, focuses our grantmaking on eight strategies to impact major issues facing Greater Boston’s people and places. We have invested the majority of our discretionary grantmaking resources in partners and initiatives across these major impact strategies.  In light of our limited ability to make new grants, organizations interested in exploring potential financial support should first contact a member of our Program Staff before completing an online Letter of Inquiry.

Click here for list of Program Staff names and contact information. 

Giving Common Profiles Now Required for Discretionary Grant Applicants
The Giving Common, an innovative web-based resource for informed giving in Massachusetts, is a central part of our grantmaking process.  As such, a completed Giving Common profile is required of all competitive grant applicants.

To learn more about the Giving Common, including information about the benefits to participating nonprofit organizations, please click here.

To get started, you can request a profile by visiting the Giving Common. We are available to support you throughout the process via email and over the phone, or should you prefer to attend a live training session click here to register.

Please note that while the Giving Common is open to all nonprofit organizations serving or located in Massachusetts, a profile is not required for a Vision Fund grant from the Boston Foundation or most special grantmaking initiatives; the initiative description will indicate if a Giving Common profile is required.

Competitive Grants
Organizations already receiving one form of support from the Boston Foundation are eligible to apply for another, but current discretionary funding will be an important factor in our consideration of additional support.  We generally aim to find the best fit between an organization and one grant type.

Three principal types of grants are considered through our competitive grants process: General Operating Support, Project Support and Special Opportunity Grants.

General Operating and Project Support grants fund the core operations of organizations with missions and activities that are highly aligned with our priority strategies and show the potential to make a measurable contribution to achieving one or more of the desired results we seek to achieve for our community. In addition, most organizations will operate in alignment with one or more of the approaches that we have identified as most likely to have an impact. Additional information about our priority strategies, the approaches that will attract investment and the desired outcomes or end-state of each strategy can be found in our Strategic Framework.

Special Opportunity Grants are reserved for those organizations or projects that may or may not be directly aligned with our priority strategies, but do present a new idea for tackling longstanding or emerging problems in our community. This is our open door. However, we will make very few of these grants.

General Operating Support Grants
Operating support grants are generally up to $150,000 or 10-15 percent of an organization’s operating budget, whichever is lower, and may be awarded for up to five years.  Applicants for these multi-year grants must have a current strategic or business plan that clearly articulates the organization’s goals and presents a clear plan for achieving results. We work closely with the nonprofit recipients of General Operating Support Grants and learn together as strategic partners to achieve better, measurable outcomes for Greater Boston residents.

Project Support Grants
We also make grants to support specific projects or programs that are highly aligned with our priority strategies. This includes programs that meet community needs as well as capacity-building activities that will enhance the agency’s ability to meet its mission, increase its scale or manage and deliver services more effectively. Or, project grants may support programs that are embedded within multi-service organizations or larger institutions, such as hospitals or universities that, in their entirety, may not be completely aligned with our objectives and strategies.

Project Support Grants vary in size and duration as well as the percentage of project costs covered, but in general range from $25,000 to $100,000 to be applied to project budgets that include an appropriate amount of overhead. Project Support Grants are most often one-year awards, but in certain cases may be awarded as multi-year grants.

Special Opportunity Grants
We allocate a limited amount of support each year to provide seed funding or capacity building for new ideas or new organizations that address critical community needs. Special Opportunity Grants may support either the general operations of the applicant organization or a specific project, may or may not be directly aligned with our priority strategies and are typically one-year investments in the $15,000 to $50,000 range. Special Opportunity Grants are highly competitive, as we make relatively few of these investments each year.

Competitive Grants Key Criteria
We invest substantial resources to help proven or promising nonprofits that share our core values and are highly aligned with our priority strategies and approaches to deepen their impact or bring their work to scale. To maximize the impact and effectiveness of our investments, the Foundation puts significant weight on the following criteria:

• Strategic Alignment: Successful applicants are directly aligned with our priority strategies as articulated in our Strategic Framework. In addition, organizations in which we invest will address those strategies through one or more of the approaches that we have identified as most likely to have an impact on achieving one or more of the desired results we seek to achieve for our community. Please note this criterion does not apply to Special Opportunity Grants.
• High-Need People and Places: The Boston Foundation engages in policy, research, grantmaking and other efforts to positively affect the Greater Boston region and all of its residents. However, with our limited competitive grantmaking resources, we have a particular focus on efforts that unlock economic and educational opportunity for underserved residents and neighborhoods, especially within the City of Boston. When a particular objective specifies Boston, it means that we focus our resources within the City of Boston. When an objective refers to Greater Boston, then funding may be directed to populations and activities within any of the cities and towns within our funding area.
• Collaboration: Complex, long-standing problems require creative, multi-disciplinary approaches that are often beyond the capacity of a single organization. We are most interested in supporting organizations with a track record of collaboration and collaborative groups of agencies working together to address significant community needs. Nonprofits that are part of a collaborative effort funded by us may also seek funding for their individual operations or projects. However, their work and the funding they receive as part of the collaborative effort will be an important part of our consideration of additional support.
• Financial and Programmatic Capacity: Successful applicants will show evidence that they are stable, have a solid financial and program management team, a strong balance sheet and program plans that give us confidence that their work will be sustained beyond our  investment.
• Leadership: Successful applicants will have strong board and executive leadership that is collaborative and knowledgeable about the community and the field in which they operate.
• Measurable Results: We place a high priority on organizations that are able to clearly articulate organizational goals, present a clear plan for achieving results and track outcomes and impact on the people and communities served. In fact, General Operating and Project Support grants are only made to those organizations that can demonstrate their potential to achieve a measurable impact on the outcomes that the Foundation seeks.

The Competitive Grants Process
All competitive grants—General Operating Support Grants, Project Support Grants and Special Opportunity Grants—follow the same application process.

Letter of Inquiry: The application process for General Operating and Project Support grants begins with the submission of an online Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which we accept and review on a rolling basis. There are no deadlines for submitting an LOI. Organizations seeking consideration at one of four Foundation board meetings (March, June, October and December) should submit an LOI three to four months in advance. Review of an LOI generally does not involve a site visit, but may include a telephone conversation by one of our staff members. We work together as a staff to determine whether or not we will ask for additional materials to advance your request within eight weeks after submission of an LOI.

Giving Common Profiles Are Required for Discretionary Grant Applicants
The Giving Common, an innovative web-based resource for informed giving in Massachusetts, is a central part of our grantmaking process.  As such, a completed Giving Common profile is required of all competitive grant applicants.

To learn more about the Giving Common, including information about the benefits to participating nonprofit organizations, please click here.

To get started, you can request a profile by visiting the Giving Common. We are available to support you throughout the process via email and over the phone, or should you prefer to attend a live training session click here to register.

Please note that while the Giving Common is open to all nonprofit organizations serving or located in Massachusetts, a profile is not required for a Vision Fund grant or most other special grantmaking initiatives; the initiative description will indicate if a Giving Common profile is required.

Advanced Applications: If your organization is invited to submit additional materials after a review of your LOI, you will receive additional review and consideration. Organizations that are invited to submit additional materials will be assigned a program officer who will work with you to build your request file. The additional information requested might include audits and other financial information, board lists and deeper program information. Most request files that are complete 10 weeks in advance of the next scheduled board meeting will be presented at that board meeting. Some applications will be held over to the next board meeting to allow time for additional information gathering and review.

Please note that although the required materials for competitive grants are similar, requests for multi-year general operating support will not be considered without a current strategic or business plan that articulates your organization’s goals and intended outcomes and outlines a plan for achieving them.

Review and Evaluation: As part of a comprehensive due diligence process, the assigned program officer often joined by additional Foundation staff— will conduct a site visit and may also contact board members, clients, the leadership of collaborating or similar organizations and other funders to become better acquainted with the organization.

Timeline for Grant Decisions: The Foundation’s Board of Directors, which meets quarterly in March, June, September and December, makes grant decisions based on staff review, research and recommendations. While there are no deadlines for submitting an LOI, our staff does need sufficient time to review each request. This means that in general an LOI should be submitted three to four months prior to the next board meeting; staff will determine whether or not the Foundation will advance the request within eight weeks. To build the request file, the staff member assigned to the application will ask for additional materials which need to be received at least 10 weeks in advance of the next scheduled board meeting. Some applications will be held over to a subsequent board meeting to allow time for additional information gathering and review. Foundation staff will notify the applicant of the Board’s decision and up to one year of the grant award will be paid shortly after each meeting.

Annual Review: Funded organizations report annually on progress toward the goals and outcomes established in collaboration with their program officer before subsequent payments on multi-year grants are released. Organizations receiving one-year grants should also report on their outcomes within 60 days of the end of the grant period.  Click here for the form.

Other Grants Programs
In addition to Competitive Grants, we make grants and strategic investments through several other grantmaking programs that have varying purposes and application processes.

Organizations already receiving one form of Foundation support are technically eligible to apply for another, but current funding will be an important factor in our consideration of additional support. We generally aim to find the best fit between an organization and one grant type.

Initiative Grants
A significant amount of the Foundation’s grants funds is distributed through special initiatives, which seek to address a well-defined issue or need. These funds are distributed through competitive Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Organizations already receiving Foundation support through initiative funds are eligible to apply for another type of support, but current funding is an important factor in our consideration of additional support.  Click here for a complete list of current initiatives; please note that not all initiatives are open to application.

Vision Fund Grants
The Boston Foundation makes Vision Fund Grants to support activities and organizations that advance our mission and keep us informed of the work of a broad range of organizations, especially those that may not currently be competitive for larger grants. These grants of up to $7,500 are awarded to organizations for activities that build the capacity of the applicant nonprofit, or for special projects, programs and activities. Generally, only organizations that are not currently receiving Foundation support will be competitive for Vision Fund Grants. Organizations already receiving support through the Vision Fund are eligible to apply for another form of Foundation support.  Click here for details on the application process and online form.

Sponsorships
Each year, the Boston Foundation devotes limited resources to sponsorship grants for the special events of nonprofit organizations that share our goals. While there is a focus on organizations that align with our priority strategies, we will consider sponsorships from organizations meeting other critical community needs. Generally, sponsorships are awarded to nonprofits that are not currently receiving general operating support funding through the competitive or initiative grants process.

Out of the Blue Grants
The Boston Foundation’s Board of Directors awards Out of the Blue grants to nonprofits each year.  These unrestricted one-time grants recognize exemplary organizations that have an impressive history of accomplishment, have demonstrated effective, collaborative community leadership and are directed by strong, stable executive and volunteer leadership. This funding is awarded at the discretion of the Board based on staff recommendation and is not open to application or inquiry. Click here for a list of Out of the Blue Award recipients.Exclusions
The Boston Foundation does not make grants for capital construction costs, endowments, medical or academic research, scholarships, sectarian or religious purposes, or to support candidates for political office. Except for our Brother Thomas Fellowship Awards for artists selected through a bi-annual nomination and panel process, we do not make grants to individuals. 

Eligibility
To be eligible for support, your organization must be tax-exempt or operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a tax-exempt nonprofit. In addition, you must be primarily serving the people of Greater Boston, with the exception of regional, statewide or national public policy efforts that may benefit a substantial portion of the Greater Boston community.  Finally, an eligible organization must be operated and organized so that it does not discriminate in the hiring of staff or provision of services on the basis of race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability.

In general, organizations are not eligible to receive more than one type of funding from the Foundation concurrently.  Nonprofits that are part of a collaborative effort funded by the Foundation may also seek funding for their individual operations or projects.

Organizations that are denied funding through a competitive or initiative grants process may not re-apply until 12 months after its most recent denial letter from the Foundation. Organizations that have received a multi-year grant will generally be expected to take at least a year off before submitting another application.
Please note that because of the high volume of applications and our own specific mission and goals, we are unable to fund all the high quality requests submitted for consideration.

For More Information
If you have any questions after reading these guidelines, please contact us for additional information and advice. Contact your program officer or email us at grantsinfo@tbf.org with a brief summary of your question. A member of our staff will respond within two working days.