Applying for a grant

Many donors establish endowment funds to respond to the community’s ever-changing 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 public 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 communityoriented and responsive to changing and emerging community needs receive the highest priority.

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 decisions.

To be eligible for the Competitive Grant Program, an organization must serve the greater Albuquerque community and be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization in good standing or a public educational institution. 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.

In 2013, the Competitive Grant Program changed the application process to include an initial submission of a Letter of Intent. Complete application criteria and guidelines are available on the Foundation’s website: 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.

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 large 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.