Applying for a Grant

Many donors establish field-of-interest endowment funds to respond to our community’s evolving needs. Grants from these funds are made through the Competitive Grant Program, which allows organizations to request funding for current needs in the community through an application process.

The Foundation has grouped these endowment funds into six general fields-of-interest: Arts & Culture, Economic & Workforce Development, Education, Environmental & Historic Preservation, Health and Human Services.

Within these fields, the Foundation also has funds addressing specific issues including art education in the schools, direct services for the elderly, mediation, domestic violence and programs that encourage the discussion and study of ideas.

Foundation grants are made to support, strengthen and sustain an organization and its programs. In order to make the best use of available funds, organizations that address needs of underserved populations and are innovative, collaborative, strongly community oriented and responsive to changing and emerging community needs receive the highest priority. The grant application process has been reevaluated and will change in 2016. Interested parties should visit the Foundation’s website for current and up to date information.

2015 Grant Application Process

Application Review Process Many organizations meet the basic requirements to apply for a grant, which makes applying for a grant a highly competitive process. The Foundation uses an extensive grant review process to assure donors and grantees that their interests are represented. Requests for funding are reviewed by committees consisting of members of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and volunteers broadly representative of the community. Committee members use their individual expertise to contribute to a committee’s overall assessment of each proposal, including the degree to which a proposal fits the Foundation’s priorities. Committee recommendations are sent to the Board of Trustees, which is responsible for final grant approval.

Who Qualifies To be eligible for the Competitive Grant Program, an organization must serve the Greater Albuquerque FourCounty Metropolitan Area (Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance) and be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization in good standing, a public educational institution or a governmental agency. Grants are not made: to individuals; for political or religious purposes; to retire indebtedness; for the payment of interest or taxes; to annual campaigns, endowments, or as emergency funding; to influence legislation or elections; to private foundations and other grant-making organizations; or to organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender or sexual orientation. How to Apply The application process includes an initial submission of a Letter of Intent. Complete application criteria and guidelines are available on the Foundation’s website at albuquerquefoundation.org. Letters of Intent are reviewed and organizations are notified if they are invited to submit a full grant proposal. Criteria, guidelines and deadlines are posted on the Foundation’s website in January of each year.

Other Grants Throughout the year, the Foundation also makes grants from other types of funds that are not part of the Competitive Grant Program. Funds may be designated for a specific organization or program within a nonprofit. Others are donor-advised funds with donors actively supporting the organizations and charitable projects of their choice. Donor advisors may rely on the Foundation’s knowledge to identify particular agencies and programs they wish to support with their philanthropic dollars. With our ever-growing donor community, you never know just how or when the right funding connection might be made.