Grants - Last updated on 2/27/13

Grant Guidelines Effective January 2013

The Joseph & Vera Long Foundation awards grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations using a competitive process that aims to find the best combinations of organizations and projects which achieve the objectives of the Foundation.   This page explains the two-stage process which is designed to optimize the time spent by prospective grantees and foundation staff.  We have also created a FAQ file that you can review to answer some of the more common questions about our process.  If you have a specific question about our application process that is not covered on the website or FAQ file, please contact the Foundation using our online Inquiry Form.

Eligibility Requirements:  In order to apply for a grant, an organization must be recognized by the IRS as being described in Section 501(c)(3) and 509 (a)(1) or 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, and be invited by the Foundation to submit an application.

Specific Fields of Interest:  Grants will be awarded to selected organizations involved in the fields of Conservation, Education and Healthcare.

Geographic Focus:  Grants will be awarded for selected projects that benefit the communities of Northern California or Hawaii.

Invitation Process

1.  The Foundation will accept an RFI (a request for an invitation) only during an 'open period.'  The first open period will run from 1/28/2013 through 2/26/2013.  RFIs submitted during this cycle must be for grants ranging between $50,000 and $100,000 only.  Payments for grants awarded during this cycle will be sent out in early June.  Please note that if your organization has not received a grant from The JM Long Foundation, The Vera M. Long Foundation or The Joseph & Vera Long Foundation before, it is strongly advised that you hold off submitting a request until the second open period.

The second open period will run from 8/19/2013 through 9/16/2013.  Requests submitted during this cycle must be for grants ranging between $10,000 and $49,000 only.  Payments for grants awarded during this cycle will be sent out in early December.

2.  RFIs will not be accepted:

for the support of solely religious, sacramental or theological functions
in support of political bodies or campaigns
to individuals or foreign organizations
for loans or the payback of debt
for covering operating deficits
for purposes of memorializing an individual
if an organization has already submitted an RFI within the same calendar year.

3.  To submit an RFI, you may complete our online Request for Invitation Form which is available as a link from this webpage during an open period only.  Before submitting, please be sure to have read through our complete Grant Guidelines and the material provided on the Mission Page.

4.  The Foundation receives many more requests than it can fund each grant cycle.  Although many requests fall within the grant guidelines and may merit support, only a small percentage of the requests received will lead to an invitation to apply for a grant.

If your organization is invited to apply for a grant, we will contact you via email.  If your organization has submitted an RFI to the Foundation, but is not contacted, this is an indication that the Foundation does not have an interest in supporting your organization's project or program for the current grant cycle.  If your organization wishes to submit another RFI for a different project, please hold off until the next calendar year.

5.  Updates regarding the Foundation's status for accepting RFIs and sending invitations will be posted on the Foundation website: www.jvlf.org.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, we plan to send out invitations for the first grant cycle by 3/18/2013 and for the second grant cycle by 10/7/2013.

Application Process

1.  If the Foundation decides to invite your organization to submit a grant application, we will send your organization an application packet along with the specific deadline to submit your completed application back to the Foundation.

2.  The Foundation will only accept applications for grants using the current year application form.  Please do not reuse an older version of the form or attempt to recreate the form using software.  The form will be an Adobe PDF file.

3.  To complete an application, your organization will need to provide all of the following items, submitted to the Foundation as one complete package:

Completed, current year application form
Documented evidence of your organization being a private, non-profit, federal tax-exempt organization or a qualifying public entity (e.g., 501[c] or 170[b], etc.), i.e. 501c3 Tax Determination Letter
Anticipated budget and timeline for the project
Current, unaudited Income Statement & Balance Sheet

4. Depending on the nature of your project or program, you may be asked to also provide some of the following:

Audited Financial Statements for the most recent 3 years
IRS Form 990 for the most recent 3 years
Annual Reports for the most recent 3 years

5. Please send your organization's completed application package to the Foundation no later than the deadline. Upon receipt, your application will be reviewed to ensure it is complete for the Board of Trustee's review and possible approval at their next meeting. If your application package is incomplete, your organization will be notified as soon as possible.