Grant Criteria
We partner with many organizations doing important work in a range of issue areas. Unfortunately, our own funding limitations keep us from awarding Service Grants to all organizations that apply. Organizations are strongly encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Please review the following grant criteria before you apply. If you have questions regarding our grant criteria or the content of any of our Service Grants, please contact your local office and we will be happy to answer your questions.
Criteria
Basic Eligibility Criteria
Rarely, if ever, will we consider applications from organizations that do not meet all of these basic requirements.
Institutional Strength and Readiness Criteria
We consider an organization's strength, need for the Service Grant and ability to support the project and maintain the results at this time.
Regional Criteria
We offer Service Grants every quarter. In any quarter, different regions have different availability based on particular Service Grants, a client’s issue area or a client’s geographical coverage.
Basic Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a Service Grant, an organization must:
- Be classified as a 501(c)(3), be under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3), be a program of a 501(c)(3) -or- be a public school.
- Work within one of our issue areas:
- ARTS — Providing leadership or education in the art community, while making the arts more accessible to everyone.
- EDUCATION — Strengthening our public education (pre-K and K-12) system or enhancing the educational success of students.
- ENVIRONMENT — Preserving and restoring our environment or caring for animal welfare.
- HEALTH — Improving people's physical or emotional health.
- SOCIAL SERVICES — Providing social services to those who have been unable to participate fully in the social and economic life of the community. Services usually target children and families, employment and training, the elderly, immigrants, the disabled, housing and homelessness or foster and adoption services.
- Have at least three full time employees and a budget over $350,000. (Most organizations must be at least this large to take advantage of a team of five professionals.) Three of our Leadership Development & Strategic HR grants are best for larger organizations (see the grant catalog for more information).
- Be headquartered in one of our service areas:
- CHICAGO — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will counties
- LOS ANGELES — Downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, South LA, Commerce/South Gate and Santa Monica/Venice Beach (check back in each grant round for expanded geographic coverage)
- NEW YORK CITY — Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island or Brooklyn
- SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA — San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa or Marin counties
- WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA — District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland; and Arlington and Fairfax counties and the City of Alexandria in Virginia
We do not provide Service Grants to:
- Organizations that promote religious doctrine. (We may support agencies operated by religious organizations that serve secular needs.)
- Organizations that lack written policies about discrimination or have a track record of discriminating on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, disability, national origin, political affiliation or religious belief.
Institutional Strength and Readiness
In addition to our basic criteria, we also review an organization's readiness to take on a Service Grant:
Institutional strength and stability
We seek organizations with healthy finances, strong mission and programs, proven results and stable staff.
Fitness for the grant
Organizations need to demonstrate a clear need for the Service Grant and request support that is consistent with our defined scope for that particular Service Grant. Review the Service Grant Catalog pages to understand the scope for each grant.
Readiness for the grant
Readiness includes sufficient board and staff time for the Service Grant, a good decision-making structure, and internal resources to execute the work.
Strategic plan
For Key Messages and Brand Strategy, Naming & Visual Identity, Visual Identity & Brand Strategy, Performance Management, or Strategic Scorecard grants, organizations must have a strategic plan.
Regional Criteria
The next application deadline is March 1, 2012. The Taproot Foundation will notify all March-round nonprofit applicants of next steps via mail or email by early May.
Los Angeles
The Los Angeles office will be accepting applications from nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements and are located within the general bounds of Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Los Angeles, South East Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Glendale/Pasadena, South Bay, Long Beach, and parts of East Los Angeles. Check back with each subsequent grant round to learn about our geographic and programmatic expansion.
Organizations are strongly encouraged to apply for Strategy Management and Leadership Development & Strategic HR Service Grants. In addition, we are accepting eligible grantees from the following foundations:
- Amgen Foundation
- Blue Shield of California
- Boeing
- Corporation for Supportive Housing
- Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation
- Pepsi Refresh Project
- Righteous Persons Foundation
***We are currently not offering Donor Database service grant projects at this time.***
San Francisco Bay Area
The Bay Area office accepts applications from ALL nonprofit organizations which meet our basic eligibility requirements.
We also welcome applications for ALL Service Grants types; however, we expect to have an especially strong supply of Pro Bono Consultants for the following project types:
- Competitor/Collaborator Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Strategic Scorecard
- Performance Management
- HR Capacity Build
- Strategic Staff Development
- Board Recruitment
Organizations focused on addressing the following issues are particularly encouraged to apply:
- At-risk youth on the mid-Peninsula
- Underprivileged families
- Outdoor/ science education
- The environment
- Bay Area Public School Districts
In addition, grantees of the following foundations are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Amgen Foundation
- John & Marcia Goldman Foundation
- Irene S. Scully Foundation
- The Stuart Foundation
- Union Bank
As well as those organizations headquartered on the mid-Peninsula.
Seattle/Puget Sound Area
We are no longer accepting applications from nonprofits in the Puget Sound region. For more information please click here.
For a list of nonprofit resources in the Puget Sound Area please click here.
Chicago
Application Deadline: March 1
Taproot Chicago is welcoming applications through March 1. Please be aware that Key Messages & Brand Strategy Service Grants and Website Service Grants are especially competitive. Service Grant Applications in the areas of Leadership Development & Strategic HR and Financial Analysis are highly encouraged.
New York City
Applications are now being accepted for our upcoming March 1st deadline.
The New York City office will be accepting applications from any nonprofit organization that meets our basic eligibility requirements.
We especally encourage youth-serving organizations in the fields of education, family services, child welfare, health, arts and recreation to apply. We also encourage organizations working to support healthy food habits and nutrition to apply.
Grantees of the following foundations are also encouraged to apply:
Heckscher Foundation for Children
Tiger Foundation
Righteous Persons Foundation
William T. Grant Foundation
Please note that our Marketing Service Grants, particularly our Website Service Grant, are extremely competitive. We encourage you to consider our Leadership Development & Strategic HR or Strategy Management practice area Services Grants, should they address your organizational needs.
The Taproot Foundation has quarterly grant deadlines on September 1, December 1, March 1 and June 1.
Washington D.C. Area
The DC Metro Area office will be accepting applications from all nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements. Please check these requirements before completing an application to ensure your organization is a fit. The deadline for submitting a completed application for consideration in our March 2012 grant round is March 1st.
Applicants for Leadership Development & Strategic HR and Strategy Management projects are particularly encouraged for the March 2012 grant round. Marketing Service Grants are competitive.
The Taproot Foundation in partnership with the MetLife Foundation, our Lead Service Grant Sponsor for the Arts in 2011-2012, announces the opportunity for high-potential performing arts organizations to receive capacity building grants. Performing arts nonprofits in the DC metro area are particularly encouraged to apply for our upcoming March 2012 grant round.
"A Taproot Service Grant creates an incredibly effective process for a non-profit organization seeking high-level consultative services from area professionals dedicated to community service of the highest quality. The Grant had a profound effect on Levine, and we are proud to have been selected as a participant." - Executive Director, The Selma M. Levine School of Music
Taproot Foundation staff will use their discretion to award all Service Grants. All criteria are subject to changes or additions. If you have specific questions about whether your organization should apply in this round, please contact your local office:
| Region | Name and E-mail | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | Erin Reynolds | 415-359-1423 x307 |
| Los Angeles | Pamela Saelieb | 213-620-0113 |
| Chicago | Brittany Scholz | 312-635-1127 |
| New York | Allie Hallock | 212-522-1073 |
| Washington, D.C. | Kate Effland | 202-626-8563 |
