Further Reading — Chapter 18: Foundation Grants

Foundation practices vary enormously and change over time. Treat this chapter as durable patterns, and always follow the specific foundation's own stated process and guidelines — there is no single "foundation proposal." The most important reading for any foundation is always that foundation's website, guidelines, and most recent grants.

Finding and Researching Foundations

  • Candid (formerly the Foundation Center / GuideStar) — candid.org. The central resource for foundation research: Foundation Directory (often free at public libraries — as Denise uses in Chapter 3), foundation profiles, and access to 990-PF filings. The starting point for building a prospect list.
  • A foundation's own website and guidelines. Priorities, eligibility, process (LOI vs. full proposal), deadlines (often tied to board cycles), and what they actually fund. Read it before any contact, and follow it exactly.
  • The Form 990-PF (a private foundation's public tax filing). The authoritative record of what a foundation actually funded — real grants, recipients, and amounts. Available via Candid, ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, and the IRS. The single best fit-check (Sections 18.2, and Chapter 3).
  • Your local community foundation's website. For place-based organizations, the community foundation is often the best first institutional funder and a hub that can connect you to donors and donor-advised funds (Case Study 18.2).

On Relationships, Cultivation, and Stewardship

  • Chapter 2 of this book (Thinking Like a Funder). The foundational reading for this chapter: cultivation, the program officer, and reading a funder's real priorities — all of which are even more central with foundations.
  • Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) resources (afpglobal.org). Practical guidance on donor and funder relationships, cultivation, and ethical fundraising practice — the relationship discipline at the heart of Sections 18.3 and 18.6.
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy (philanthropy.com). News and analysis of the philanthropic sector — useful for understanding foundation trends, priorities, and the people behind the giving.
  • Grantmakers' and regional associations of grantmakers. Many regions have associations of grantmakers whose public materials reveal how local foundations think and coordinate; useful for understanding your regional funding ecosystem.

On Writing the Foundation Proposal and LOI

  • Chapter 7 of this book (The Executive Summary). The LOI is a close cousin of the executive summary; re-read it for the short, self-contained, must-land-on-its-own pitch (Section 18.4).
  • Chapter 8 (Needs Assessment) and Chapter 10 (Evaluation Plan). Story-plus-evidence and outcomes-not-activities, in a warmer foundation register (Section 18.5).
  • Foundation-provided proposal guidelines and common application forms. Some regions and funder groups use a common grant application format; where available, it tells you exactly what local funders expect. Always confirm whether your target accepts it.
  • The Foundation Review (a peer-reviewed journal of philanthropy). For those who want the evidence base behind effective grantmaking and grantseeking, including outcomes and evaluation in the foundation context.

On Foundation Types and the Sector

  • Council on Foundations (cof.org) and the National Center for Family Philanthropy (ncfp.org). Authoritative explanations of foundation types — private, family, community, corporate, operating — and how each operates (Section 18.1).
  • Community Foundations' national network resources. Background on how community foundations work, including donor-advised funds and their convening and connecting roles (Case Study 18.2, and the "Going Deeper" box in Section 18.1).

Connections Within This Book

  • Chapter 3 (Finding the Right Funder). The prospecting and 990-PF methods this chapter assumes.
  • Chapter 22 (The Resubmission). Where RYCC's first foundation LOI is declined and then funded the next cycle — the foundation-world counterpart to the federal A1 (foreshadowed in Sections 18.4–18.5).
  • Chapter 28 (Grant Writing for Nonprofits). The sector chapter that develops RYCC's world in depth — foundations are central to nonprofit funding strategy.
  • Chapter 14 (Sustainability and Dissemination). Stewardship, renewal, and general operating support as a sustainability strategy (Sections 18.5–18.6).

A note on secondary sources

"How to write a grant proposal" guides aimed at nonprofits abound, and many are useful for the basics. Use them — but remember the chapter's core lesson: no generic guide substitutes for that foundation's guidelines and your relationship with it. Reconcile all general advice against the specific funder in front of you.