How To Apply

Please carefully review the Goldman Fund's current Grantmaking Areas and FAQ. Only projects or organizations that fit within the Goldman Fund's stated areas of interest may submit a letter of inquiry. Requests for grant support are accepted on an ongoing basis; there are no deadlines for submission. In fairness to other organizations, the Goldman Fund will only accept one request for support from an organization within a 12-month period.

LETTERS OF INQUIRY

A letter of inquiry must include the following:

• •  Narrative Description: A one to two page description of the project, including: a one paragraph executive summary describing the project; additional information about the project, such as needs addressed, strategies, goals and objectives, as space permits; total amount requested from the Goldman Fund; revenue secured for the project, including the name of each source and total amount received for the project; name, title, address, telephone number and email address of the primary contact person.
• •  Project Budget: An itemized project budget, indicating the dates covered (e.g., January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009), summarized on one page. For multi-year projects, list each 12-month period in separate columns. The project budget must include revenue and expenses for the full project – not just the portion requested from the Goldman Fund – reflecting major line items only. List revenue by secured and anticipated within each category. Include project title under organization name in heading.
  
  
  • Sample Project Budget
  
  
• •  Organization Budget: Your organization's current 12-month fiscal year itemized budget, indicating the dates covered (e.g., July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010), summarized on one page. The budget must include revenue and expenses, reflecting major line items only.
  
  
  • Sample Organization Budget
  
  
• •  Tax Status: A copy of your IRS 501(c)(3) tax determination letter or that of your fiscal agent. For more information about fiscal agents, please see the Foundation Center's "What is a fiscal agent, and how do I find one".

• •  Do not send items other than those specifically requested.
• •  Letters of inquiry should not be bound or placed in folders or binders of any kind.

Letters of inquiry may be submitted via email or mail. Please select one form of submission only; do not email and mail your request. It is generally not necessary to send letters of inquiry via messenger or overnight service.

Email letters of inquiry in Word or Excel formats (please be sure to include contact name and complete mailing address) to:

• grantsmanager@goldmanfund.org

• Grants Manager
  Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
  P.O. Box 29924
  San Francisco, CA 94129

PROPOSALS

If a letter of inquiry is accepted, Goldman Fund staff will contact the applying organization to request a proposal. Do not submit a proposal unless invited.

• •  Narrative Description: A five to 10 page description of the organization and the project, including: needs addressed; strategies; goals and objectives; geographic scope; timeline with clear benchmarks and outcomes; collaboration with other organizations, if applicable; evaluation criteria; revenue secured for the project, including the name of each source and total amount received for the project; names and qualifications of project staff; and any other relevant information. Also provide names and contact information of three to five references who are familiar with your organization's work (e.g., staff from collaborative partners or peer organizations, elected officials, academics, public agency representatives, other funders), but are not directly affiliated with your organization.
• •  Project Budget: An itemized project budget, indicating the dates covered (e.g., January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009), summarized on one page. For multi-year projects, list each 12-month period in separate columns. The project budget must include revenue and expenses for the full project - not just the portion requested from the Goldman Fund - reflecting major line items only. List revenue by secured and anticipated within each category. Include project title under organization name in heading.
  
  
  • Sample Project Budget
  
  
• •  Organization Budget: Your organization's current 12-month fiscal year itemized budget, indicating the dates covered (e.g., July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010), summarized on one page. The budget must include revenue and expenses, reflecting major line items only.
  
  
  • Sample Organization Budget
  
  
• •  Funding History: A list of grants and other sources of revenue that your organization has received for four years – the past three complete years plus the current year to date. List each source's name in alphabetical order within major categories (e.g., foundation, government, corporate) and total amount received by each source per year. For multi-year grants, list the total amount awarded and footnote the number of years the grant covers. Only include committed and/or paid grants; do not include funding that is pending.
  
  This list should fit on one page.  If the number of grants exceeds one page, select a cut-off value (e.g., $10,000, $50,000) and list sources individually that have given grants of this value or above.  Sources with grants below the cut-off value should be listed collectively as a total (see the last two lines of each section in the sample document).
  
  
  
  • Sample Funding History
  
  
• •  Board of Directors: List all the current members of your Board of Directors in alphabetical order by last name, indicating officers. Include professional or related affiliation, and city and state in which they reside; do not include contact information.
• •  Ancillary Materials: Other attachments directly relevant to the proposed project (e.g., press clippings, fact sheets, photos, reports) may be submitted; however, please keep these to a minimum.

• •  Submissions must be on 8.5 x 11 inch plain paper, using an easily-readable font (generally an 11 or 12 point font size).
• •  There should be a minimum of 0.5 inch border around the entire page.
• •  It is preferable that documents be portrait-oriented (taller than they are wide). We realize, however, that some documents, such as relevant press clippings, may have to be landscape-oriented.
• •  Do not send items other than those specifically requested.
• •  Proposals should not be bound or placed in folders or binders of any kind.

Proposals may be submitted via email or mail. Please select one form of submission only; do not email and mail your request. It is generally not necessary to send proposals via messenger or overnight service.

Reapplying for Support

The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund accepts requests for repeat funding. Please note that the process is highly competitive and continued support is not implied or inferred by past giving.

At the end of your grant period, submit a final report as per the instructions in Reporting Requirements. A new grant request will not be considered by the Goldman Fund until this report is submitted.

To reapply, follow the guidelines in the How to Apply section. Application procedures for repeat funding are the same as for first time funding; however, grantees can skip the letter of inquiry and submit a full proposal. You may send your report and your full proposal for repeat funding together, but they must be two separate documents with separate cover letters. The Goldman Fund is generally unable to provide contiguous funding for a project (i.e., there is almost always a lapse between the end of one grant and the beginning of a new one).