1. Does the Auen Foundation accept unsolicited grants?

No, at this time, the only grants that the foundation will consider are those requested by Foundation Trustees or staff.

2. Do all grant applications begin with a letter of intent?

Yes. No grant applications will be reviewed until a letter of intent is provided to the Foundation Trustees, and they have approved submission of a formal grant request.  Please send a two page letter, along with a copy of your 501(c)(3) certificate, a list of your current board members and other program supporters. Within the letter, briefly describing what you do, what programs you offer, the amount of grant support you are seeking, and who the funding will impact.

Letters of intent submitted to the Foundation are reviewed on a quarterly basis. Submission dates for review are January 10, April 10, August 10 and November 10. Letters must be received prior to the date in order to be considered.

3. How do we submit a grant to the Auen Foundation?

Once you have received a letter from the Foundation in response to your letter of intent, please review the grant submission information on this web site and follow the instructions closely. No proposals will be considered for funding without all of the requested information fully completed.

4. Is there a scheduled time that the Grant Committee of the Foundation meets?

Grants submitted to the Foundation are reviewed on a quarterly basis. Submission dates for review are January 10, April 10, August 10 and November 10. Grants must be received prior to the date in order to be considered.

5. Once a grant is submitted, what are the requirements to resubmit?                  

Regardless if the grant is approved or declined, we ask that you wait for one year from the date of funding (or in the case of a declined grant, a year from the submission date) before submitting again.

6. What is the Foundations’ granting region?                                     

Eighty percent of our grantees are in Southern California and twenty percent may be considered outside of our area ONLY IF they are proposals solicited by Foundation Trustees.

7. Can our organization apply for a grant if we have not yet received official tax-exempt status from the IRS?

No, the Auen Foundation does not fund a nonprofit agency that cannot provide us with a copy of their IRS determination letter.  The IRS determination letter is an essential document for your agency to prove its tax-exempt status. There are two types of letters an agency may have:

        1.  A current advance ruling letter that covers a five-year period for a new agency

        2.  A permanent final ruling letter

If you need help in determining your status or obtaining your IRS determination letter, you can contact the IRS by calling them at 877-829-5500.

8. How long does the process usually take from the Letter of Intent stage to the final decision by the District Board?

Allow one month for a grant request of $ 25,000 or less. Allow three months for a final determination of any grant request over $25,000.

9. Can our organization make a verbal presentation to the Grant Committee in addition to our application?

Presentation will only be scheduled at the request of the Foundation Grant Committee, and are very rare. If a presentation is requested, an agency representative will be required to provide the Grant Committee with a presentation of predetermined length with time allotted for members of Grant Committee to ask questions about the request. Appointments will be scheduled in advance.

10. Will representatives from the Grant Committee perform a site visit during the application process?

In addition to thoroughly reviewing your application, a member of the Grant Committee
may schedule a site visit to assess your operations and could also request to attend one of your agency's board meetings as part of its due diligence.

11. Once a grant is made, what are the reporting requirements for the recipient agency?

When a grant is awarded, we clarify the requirements in the grant award letter as a condition of the grant. Every grant and agency is unique and so are the reporting requirements.  The primary purpose of the reports requested is to substantiate how your agency serves and benefits clients or programs on an ongoing basis so we can understand how you are meeting the objectives of the grant request. Normally, report requests are based on 6 month increments following the funding of the grant, with a final report due upon completion of the program goals.

12. Does the Foundation fund matching and/or challenge grants?

Yes, the Foundation encourages these types of grant requests. We work to facilitate collaboration among agencies whenever possible, and feel that this type of support enhances partnerships.