Application Guidelines

Organizations interested in applying must have tax exempt status or a fiscal sponsor that is tax exempt under 501C3 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Applicants must their application, 501C3 tax letter, budget and any other supporting materials for their proposal. If the IRS tax-exempt letter from the organization(or fiscal agent) and/or any other part of the checklist is not included, the proposal will be considered as INCOMPLETE and cannot be forwarded to the reviewers. Open Meadows only accepts one proposal from an organization at a cycle. If the request is for more than one project, neither project will be considered. Additional requirements are listed below.  Please read carefully and make note of organizations we do not fund. We look forward to reading your proposals.  

Here is the checklist for your grant application. Please put all information into a single pdf or word document.  Do not send separate documents.

1. The Cover Sheet - click here for the cover sheet
2. A project narrative not to exceed three pages which includes specific information about the project and the community in which it will take place as well as organization information. Be specific and detailed about the project.
3. An itemized budget for the project including income and expenses
4. A budget for the organization including income and expenses. Please include 1 or 2 previous years' budget if available. If you need help, NonProfitWorks has sample budgets and guides to budget preparation.  Note:  Only Organizations with a total income less than $75,000 are eligible.
   (http://www.nonprofitworks.com/downloads/default.asp)
   and a sample budget can be found at Non-Profit Guides
   (http://www.npguides.org/guide/budget.htm).
5. For US proposals, a copy of either your organization's tax-exempt letter from the IRS giving 501(c)(3) status or a copy of the fiscal agent's tax-exempt letter from the IRS giving 501(c)(3) status. For international proposals, a copy of the organization's registration.
6. A list of staff (full and part-time), including race, ethnicity and gender
7. A list of the current board of directors, including race, ethnicity and gender
8. All arts projects must be accompanied by support material via pdf, mp3, video link and other online access. Film and video projects will be considered only after the film/video is complete. 
9. Supplemental materials or samples may be included to support of your program.

Be sure to review the "What we do not fund" information to make sure that your proposal fits the guidelines of Open Meadows Foundation.

We Do Not Fund:

1) Organizations with a total income greater than or equal to $75,000 

2) scholarships/internships/fellowships 

3) endowments, loans, capital campaigns 

4) religious and/or faith-based institutions or programs that include religious activities 

5) events that will have happened before the letter deadline of the cycle (see Calendar) 

6) general operating expenses (proposals must be project-specific) 

7) Film and video projects will be considered only after the film/video is complete. 

8) research 

9) individuals

10) public or private educational institutions 

8) local, state, and national governmental agencies

11) for-profit businesses

You will receive a confirmation email when we receive your proposal.  After we make our determinations, you will receive an email of letting you know whether or not we were able to fund you.

Preference is given to first time applicants.

We highly recommend that proposals are sent in advance to openmeadowsfdn@gmail.com

Open Meadows Home