Funded by: The Ford Foundation
Deadlines: Applications accepted throughout the year
Summary: Proposals are accepted and reviewed in the office located closest to the beneficiaries of the work being proposed. Grant recommendations originate in those offices and grants for under $200,000 may be approved locally. Grant recommendations for $200,000 or more are considered in New York, generally at biweekly meetings of staff and foundation officers.
Ford receives about 40,000 proposals each year and makes about 2,500 grants. Ford considers requests for grants, recoverable grants, loans and loan guarantees. Requests range from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars and are accepted in categories such as planning grants, project support, general support and endowments.
Upon receipt, each proposal is numbered and a letter is sent to the applicant suggesting that the foundation be notified if a substantive response to the request has not arrived within 45 business days. If a grant request falls within program interests, it is reviewed by a grant maker—called a program officer—who has been hired for his or her expertise in a field in which the foundation is working. The program officer looks for fresh ideas and effective organizations that can help advance work in a particular area, as well as for evidence that the people and organizations are likely to succeed in the project they propose and work well with others.
If the proposal is
being considered for a grant, meetings, site visits, grant negotiations,
administrative and legal review and presentation of the grant
for approval are generally completed within three months. The first check
from the foundation or bank notification should arrive a few weeks after
a grant has been approved.
For more information: http://www.fordfound.org/about/guideline.cfm