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.
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).
- 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 or restoring our environment.
- 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 and provide direct benefits primarily or entirely to residents 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, Conta 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 December 1, 2010. The Taproot Foundation will notify all December-round nonprofit applicants of next steps via mail or email by early February.
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 Central Los Angeles, Santa Monica/Venice Beach, San Fernando Valley, Burbank/Pasadena, Long Beach, and East Los Angeles. Check back with each subsequent grant round to learn about our geographic and programmatic expansion.
The Taproot Foundation in partnership with MetLife Foundation, our Lead Service Grant Sponsor for the Arts in 2010-2011, announces the opportunity for high-potential performing arts organizations to receive capacity building grants. Metlife Foundation sponsorship is restricted to only performing arts organizations, which makes this an excellent and unique opportunity for organizations to apply for one of our many capacity building service grants.
Performing Arts and Science Education organizations and applicants for Strategy Management and Leadership Development & Strategic HR Service Grants are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, we are accepting eligible grantees from the following foundations:
- Amgen-LA
- Blue Shield of California
- Corporation for Supportive Housing
- Durfee Foundation
- Robert Wood Johnson
- MetLife Foundaton
- Weingart Foundation
***We are currently not offering Donor Database service grant projects at this time.***
San Francisco Bay Area
The Bay Area office will be accepting applications from all nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements.
We welcome applications for all Service Grants types, however we expect to have an especially strong supply of pro bono consultants for the following Service Grant types:
- Competitor/Collaborator Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Strategic Planning Prep
- Strategic Scorecard
- Performance Management
- HR Capacity Build
- Strategic Staff Development
- Board Recruitment
Organizations focused on addressing the issues of childhood obesity, science education, and basic human needs (including but not limited to food and shelter) are particularly encouraged to apply.
Taproot Foundation has partnered with The Metlife Foundation, our Lead Service Grant Sponsor for the Arts in 2010-2011, and announces the opportunity for high-potential performing arts organizations to receive capacity building grants over the coming year. Dance, theater and musical organizations which have professionals performing (i.e. no fine arts organizations, such as those which work with painting or sculpture, or educational arts organizations which solely teach arts education) are all eligible to apply.
In addition, grantees of the following foundations are strongly encouraged to apply:
- Amgen Foundation
- Chevron
- Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund
- MetLife Foundation
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
***We are currently not offering Donor Database Service Grant projects.***
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
The Chicago office will be accepting applications from all nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements. Applications for Leadership Development & Strategic HR Service Grants are particularly encouraged.
***We are currently not offering Donor Database service grant projects.***
New York City
We are about to head into our September, 2010 grant round. Applications are now being accepted for either of two upcoming deadlines: August 16th and September 1st. We encourage you to apply for the August 16th deadline as we will review, take action, and notify applicants of next steps on those applications prior to those received on the September 1st deadline.
The New York City office will be accepting applications from all nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements.
Through an exciting partnership with NYC Service and with generous support from the Mayor’s Fund and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Taproot Foundation is currently promoting and awarding Service Grants to organizations with the specific aim of using those grants to improve and further volunteerism at the organization.
As you consider submitting your application for a Service Grant, we ask you to consider and reflect on how the project for which you’re applying will serve to improve your organization’s capacity to attract, manage, and leverage volunteers.
We have identified the following Service Grants as having the ability to improve nonprofit organizational capacity to make the most of volunteer resources and talent: Board Recruitment, Human Resources, Capacity Build, Key Messages and Brand Strategy, Visual Identity and Brand Strategy, Brochure, Basic Website, Advanced Website, Strategic Planning Prep, Competitor/Collaborator Analysis, Strategic Scorecard, and Financial Analysis (where applicable).
***We are currently not offering Donor Database Service Grant projects.***
In addition, grantees of the following foundations are particularly encouraged to apply:
- Tiger Foundation
- Sydney Frank Foundation
- Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Washington D.C. Area
The DC Area office will be accepting applications from all nonprofits that meet our basic eligibility requirements. Performing arts non profits located in the DC Metro area are encouraged to apply for our September grant round.
Applicants for Leadership Development & Strategic HR Service Grants are particularly encouraged, as well as Strategy Management projects. Website Service Grants are particularly competitive.
***We are currently not offering Donor Database service grant projects.***
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 | Dmitry Kogan | 213-625-7701 |
| Chicago | Dan O'Donnell | 312-635-1122 |
| New York | Allie Hallock | 212-522-1073 |
| Washington, D.C. | Avrille Hanzel | 202-626-8563 |
