Montana Grants for Nonprofits

NOTE: For nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation, a Letter of Interest will be available in January 2021. Community Affairs Managers will review Letter of Interest submissions periodically to learn about new and innovative programs and organizations in their regions and markets. After reviewing a Letter of Interest, a Community Affairs Manager may reach out with a request for a full application. You can access the Letter of Interest by clicking the “Submit a letter of interest” link at the bottom of this page. Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time during the year.

Community Possible Grant

Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible® grant program, we invest in efforts to create stable jobs, safe homes and communities.

Funding Types

Within these general guidelines, we consider the following funding request types:

Operating grants

An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.

Program or project grants

A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.

Capital grants

A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Focus Area: PLAY

Creating vibrant communities through play.

Play brings joy, and it’s just as necessary for adults as it is for kids. But in low-income areas there are often limited spaces for play and fewer people attending arts and cultural events. That’s why we invest in community programming that supports ways for children and adults to play and create.

Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education

Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:

• Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
• Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
• Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers

Supporting learning through play.

Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:

• Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
• Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities

Focus Area: WORK

Supporting workforce education and prosperity.

We know that a strong small business environment and an educated workforce ensure the prosperity of our communities and reducing the expanding wealth gap for communities of color. We provide grant support to programs and organizations that help small businesses thrive, allow people to succeed in the workforce, provide pathways to higher education and gain greater financial literacy.

Investing in the workforce.

We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:

Small business technical assistance programs

Job-skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force

Providing pathways for educational success.

To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:

• Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
• Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students

Teaching financial well-being for work and life.

Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:

• K-12 and college student financial literacy
• Adult and workforce financial literacy
• Senior financial fraud prevention
• Military service member and veteran financial literacy

Focus Area: HOME

Working to revitalize communities one neighborhood at a time.

Children and families are better positioned to thrive and succeed in a home that is safe and permanent. Access to sustainable low-income housing is increasingly challenges for low-moderate income families. In response, our giving supports efforts that connect individuals and families with sustainable housing opportunities.

Access to safe, affordable housing

We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:

• Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
• Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct steppingstone to permanent housing
• Organizations that focus on Veterans housing and homeownership
• Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
• Energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments

Home ownership education

Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools, and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:

• Homebuyer education
• Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
• Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation funds direct service non-profit organizations that help improve the quality of people’s lives by providing them with the tools they need to succeed. Since its inception in 1988, it has funded programs for those with special needs, summer camps for cancer-stricken or troubled children and ensured access to theater, arts and music programs by economically disadvantaged youth and their families. It has granted wishes for terminally ill children, awards for science and math fair winners, and funded programs to purchase clothing, school supplies and toys for needy children. The Foundation also has supported rescue missions, food banks, shelters for victims of domestic violence, free mammogram exams for low-income women, and dental screenings and preventive care for underprivileged youth.

When deciding to award a grant, we examine each organization’s short and long term financial stability, operational readiness, staffing and facility infrastructure. Additionally, we assess the ability of an organization to sustain a program into the future and their ability to show a measurable impact on the population they serve.

Our Four Main Focus:

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation funds organizations that have accurately identified needs consistent with our mission and scope and who have successfully worked to provide programs and services that give youth and economically and socially disadvantaged individuals, families and those with special needs the tools they need to succeed in life.

Education

Education taps the immeasurable potential of the mind. Reaching children through early childhood education, after-school learning programs, post-secondary and graduate scholarships help our young people get the start they deserve. Providing higher education scholarships and funding educational programs helps build a strong educational foundation for future leaders.

Health and Human Services

Health and Human Services ensures the vitality of the human body and spirit. We target programs that ensure access to basic health care services to the most vulnerable members of our communities, as well as programs that educate our youth about wellness, nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyles. We also support experiential programs that offer disabled or disadvantaged people opportunities they may not have otherwise.

Arts and Culture

Arts and Culture represents the innovation and creativity of a society. Through cultural endeavors we help bring people together to share their creative talents, intellects, passions, customs and bold initiatives to explore new ways of doing things. In the areas of theatre, art, and music the Foundation grants have helped organizations reach a broader audience, infused new life into programs and created long-lasting cultural traditions within our communities.

Community Service

Community Service touches the lives of everyone where they work, play and live. Despite our individual differences, we are linked by common interests to do more for the places we call home. The Foundation invests in organizations that fortify this connection. When everyone is involved one way or another in the improvement of their community, the community progresses in a positive direction.

Vision

The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust (Trust) envisions a human community that recognizes each individual as vital to the strength, richness, and well-being of the whole, and that motivates, empowers, and invites each to contribute and participate according to his or her ability and potential.

Mission

The Trust supports organizations that offer opportunities to children and youth; adults and families; elders; and people with disabilities that enrich the quality of life, promote self-sufficiency, and assist individuals in achieving their highest potential.

Type, Size, and Duration of Grants

The Trust accepts applications for either program support or general operating support (i.e., support for an organization’s operations as a whole rather than a particular project, inclusive of expenses such as administrative staff’s salaries, overhead expenses, non-capital equipment, and capacity building activities). The Trust occasionally makes grants for capital support, typically to organizations that have received a grant in the past; such requests may only be submitted upon invitation from the Trust.

The size of the Trust’s grants are matched to the organization’s need, capabilities, opportunities, scale of impact, and the program’s fit with the Trust’s priorities, as well as the organization’s historic pattern of support from other institutional donors, its developmental stage, and the Trust’s overall availability of funds. Typically, the Trust’s grant will be average or above average among an organization’s other funders, but not the largest grant received by an organization. Consistent with its core value of interdependence and a desire to encourage organizations to develop a broad base of support, the Trust prefers to invest alongside other funders and rarely makes grants that represent 100% of a project’s budget. Please see Recent Grants for examples of typical Trust grants.

Initial grants are typically one year in duration. The Trust will consider multiple-year grant requests from organizations that have already successfully completed at least one grant cycle with the Trust. Multiple-year grants are generally two years in duration, and acknowledge the grantee organization’s well-articulated, compelling vision and long-term plan for its programs, and its strong alignment with the Trust’s Funding Priorities.

Funding Priorities

The May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust’s funding priorities are guided by its 2019-2023 Strategic Plan and built on the person-centered approach of its historical grantmaking.

The majority of the Trust’s funding supports organizations that provide direct services to individuals. In addition, the Trust supports organizations intervening at various levels to effect positive change – the individual, the family, and the community – as well as organizations striving to bring about changes in systems, policies, and/or behaviors that contribute to improved well-being and opportunity for its focus populations. The Trust supports organizations serving people in the Western United States, defined as: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; and in British Columbia, Canada.

The Trust’s current funding priorities are reflected in its four program areas: Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities, Elders, Foster Youth, and Veterans and Military Families. Though individuals within each of these populations have specific needs, strengths, and challenges, certain cross-cutting themes underlie the Trust’s decision to prioritize them in its grantmaking, including:

• A recognition of the often-overlooked issues and challenges faced by individuals in these populations
• Growth, or projected growth, in the four focus populations
• The inability of current systems to meet the needs of these populations
• The opportunity to support life-changing services for individuals facing challenging life transitions
• Acknowledgement of the significant contributions that individuals in all four populations can make, given the opportunity and supportive resources
• The importance of caregiving, both formal and informal, at the family, friend, or community level, to both individual and community well-being
• The opportunity to support existing movements to shift societal perceptions, expectations, and relationships regarding these populations
• The desire to support cultural change so that society focuses not simply on the needs of these individuals, but on each individual’s abilities, dignity, potential, and inclusion in a community that is strengthened by the optimum contribution and mutual exchange of talents and resources among its diverse members.

In all of its grantmaking, the Trust is interested in supporting organizations that promote the dignity, agency, and self-sufficiency of individuals within its focus populations, and that strive to achieve a lasting difference in the lives of the people they serve.

Foster Youth

The Trust envisions a society where foster youth have the personal support, resources, skills, and knowledge they need to become healthy, self-sufficient, resilient, and successful adults. 

Overview

The Trust aims to provide children and youth who have experienced disruption or instability in their homes with the support, resources, skills, and knowledge they need to become healthy, self-sufficient, resilient, and successful adults.

The Trust’s Foster Youth grantmaking addresses four strategies – stable homes, physical and mental health, education, and preparation for independence – which collectively support the healthy development and success of children and youth who are currently or formerly in foster care or whose parents can no longer care for them.

Families and communities are included in the Trust’s grantmaking to support foster youth, as part of a holistic approach to enrich the quality of life, promote self-sufficiency, and assist individuals in achieving their highest potential.

Much of the Trust’s Foster Youth grantmaking will be devoted to direct services for individuals, families, and communities, but the Trust’s grantmaking will also advance the work of organizations engaged in research and communication initiatives that raise awareness about the issues facing foster youth, and organizations that develop and advocate for policies and practices that effectively address these issues.

Focus Population

The focus population for this program area includes children and youth who are currently, or have been, in the foster care system; children and youth who may not have entered the formal foster care system, but who live with relatives or other caregivers because their parents are either absent or unable to care for them; homeless youth; and unaccompanied immigrant youth.

Adults who care for or work with youth who experience disruption or instability in their homes (e.g., caregivers, caseworkers, advocates, etc.) are also a key population to be supported through the Foster Youth program area.

Young woman of color speaking at a public forumCredit: California Youth Connection

Acknowledging that there are particularly vulnerable subpopulations of foster youth/homeless youth (e.g., LGBTQ youth, youth of color, pregnant and parenting youth, victims of sex trafficking) and that some of these subpopulations are overrepresented in the child welfare system (e.g., LGBTQ youth, Native youth, African-American youth), the Trust’s grantmaking may include organizations that provide tailored support to these subpopulations, or that are working to address these disproportionalities.

Strategies

The Trust’s grantmaking in the Foster Youth Program Area addresses four broad goals, which collectively support the healthy development and success of children and youth who are currently or formerly in foster care or whose parents can no longer care for them:

Stable Homes

• Children and youth have access to safe and stable homes where they can develop and thrive.

Strategies include:

• Increase the number of foster families and improve the support they receive
• Facilitate the adoption and/or legal guardianship of foster youth
• Strengthen the skills of birth parents so that they are able to provide a healthy, supportive home environment and are well-positioned to be reunified with their children
• Increase permanent housing for former foster youth, as well as transitional supportive housing leading to permanent housing

Physical & Mental Health

• The physical and mental health needs of children and youth are met.

Strategies include:

• Ensure continuous access to health care
• Provide access to individualized mental health care services
• Support adults to recognize symptoms of trauma, grief, and loss, and educating them about how to create a safe, nurturing environment

Education

• Children and youth receive the support they need to succeed academically.

Strategies include:

• Reduce the number of school transfers for foster youth
• Ensure schools and districts share data and information so that when school transfers are necessary, transitions can be as seamless as possible
• Train educators to identify and mitigate the effects of trauma, and support resiliency in their classrooms
• Provide foster youth with the academic support and enrichment they need to graduate high school, and facilitate their enrollment in post-secondary education and achievement of post-secondary degrees

Independence & Self-Sufficiency

• Children and youth are prepared to be successful in work and life.

Strategies include:

• Support foster youth in transitioning from high school or college to employment
• Support foster youth to gain financial management and independent living skills

Read More

Elders

Overview

The Trust aims to foster a society where older adults are visible, valued, and receive the support they need to lead a dignified and engaged life. Communities, families, and caregivers are essential components in a holistic approach to aging that enriches the quality of life, encourages self-sufficiency, and values self-determination.

The Trust's strategies for Elders grantmaking support programs that encourage community engagement, allow elders to age in place whenever possible, provide support for caregivers, and offer long-term care that promotes a good quality of life.

Focus Population

The focus population for this program area includes adults 60 years of age and older. Caregivers are also a key population to be supported through the Elders program area, including family members, volunteers, and paid professionals. The Trust approaches its work with an appreciation for older adults as significant assets to society, whose experience, contributions, and community participation are resources with the potential to benefit people of all ages.

The majority of the Trust’s grantmaking in the Elder's Program Area will be devoted to direct services for individuals, families, and communities, but a small number of grants may advance the work of organizations engaged in research and communication initiatives that raise awareness about the issues facing older adults, and encourage the implementation of policies and practices that effectively address these issues.

Strategies

Community Engagement

• Foster community engagement among adults age 60+.

Grantmaking strategies include supporting programs that:

• Ensure adults age 60+ have access to high quality lifelong learning programs
• Offer paid and unpaid opportunities for older adults to contribute to the community
• Foster intergenerational connections so that younger and older people can learn from and benefit one another
• Promote the perception of older adults as valuable contributors to the community, rather than societal burdens

Aging in Place

• Assist older adults to age in place.

Grantmaking strategies include awarding grants to programs that:

• Meet basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, legal services, and care management
• Help older adults remain physically and mentally active
• Create community and increase social connections
• Empower older adults and ensure they are visible and valued in society, and enjoy reciprocal relationships with peers, neighbors, and community members of all ages

Caregiver Support

• Support family and professional caregivers to provide quality care for elders.

Grantmaking strategies include supporting programs that:

• Assist family and professional caregivers through education and training
• Provide accessible and affordable respite opportunities for family caregivers
• Address the practical and emotional needs of elders, families, and caregivers at the end of life
• Advocate for programs and policies that support all caregivers

Quality Long-term Care

• Improve the quality of life and care for elders in residential long-term care (LTC) settings.

Grantmaking strategies include supporting programs that:

• Engage residents, family members, and staff in creating a sense of community
• Help LTC communities change culture away from a medical model and toward principles of person-centered care
• Give professional caregivers opportunities to enhance skills and leadership, promoting job retention and advancement
• Offer diverse social and cultural activities to meet the needs of residents
• Connect LTC communities with broader local communities
• Advocate for improvements in the long-term care system

Please Note

Due to the large number of applicants seeking grants to support older adults to maximize independence and safely age-in-place (meal programs and senior centers, in particular), the review process in the Aging-in-Place strategy is particularly competitive. In addition to the characteristics listed above, the most competitive applicants under the Aging-in-Place strategy will clearly demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Innovation in program design/delivery
• Location in a geographically rural or isolated area
• Potential for scale

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Veterans & Military Families

The Trust envisions a society where veterans and military families achieve economic self-sufficiency, community integration, and wellbeing. 

Overview

The Trust aims to strengthen programs and services that support veterans, service members, and their families in the transition to successful new lives and careers after leaving the military. Community organizations are essential components in a collaborative, holistic approach designed to achieve veteran and family well-being, self-sufficiency, and community integration.

Grantmaking in the Veterans and Military Families Program Area addresses four strategies which collectively support veterans and their families to realize economic self-sufficiency and a good quality of life: Mental and Behavioral Health and Wellness; Education, Training, and Employment; Housing Stability; and Community Integration.

Focus Population

The focus population for this program area includes personnel from the active and reserve military who have served or are currently serving and their families, regardless of discharge status and length of service, with particular focus on individuals affected by the engagements since September 2001. Acknowledging that some subpopulations experience particular challenges, the Trust’s grantmaking will include support for organizations with demonstrated competency serving veterans in one or more of the following groups:

• People with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, or major depression
• African American, Latino/a, Native American, Asian, and mixed-race people
• LGBT people
• Women
• Survivors of military sexual trauma (MST)
• Homeless people
• Veterans with General or Other than Honorable Discharges

The Trust recognizes veterans living with physical disabilities incurred in military action (“wounded warriors”) as a subpopulation whose needs have been rightly prioritized by federal agencies, numerous charitable institutions, and public awareness campaigns. Therefore, while the Trust supports organizations that serve all veterans regardless of disability status, requests from organizations serving wounded warriors exclusively are a lower priority in the Trust’s grantmaking.

Strategies

Mental Health & Wellness

• Improve the mental and behavioral health and wellness of service members, veterans, and their family members by promoting timely, affordable access to evidence-based, person-centered, culturally-appropriate care that supports individual wellness, healthy relationships, and thriving families.

Grantmaking will support programs and organizations that work to:

• Reduce stigma and other obstacles to mental and behavioral health treatment
• Increase the number of culturally-competent providers offering evidence-based care
• Support access to recreational and therapeutic programs that improve well-being
• Help family members, caregivers, children, and others who support veterans
• Provide access to non-VA/DoD programs for service members, veterans, and their families

Education & Employment

• Promote self-sufficiency by providing access to education, training, information, guidance, and other assistance to facilitate the employment of veterans and military/veteran spouses in fulfilling living wage jobs.

Grantmaking will support programs and organizations that work to:

• Meet uncovered expenses from education, training, or credentialing that enhance employment possibilities, particularly for junior enlisted veterans and military/veteran spouses
• Assist active service members, including members of the National Guard and Reserve, and veterans to translate military skills and certifications to civilian jobs
• Educate and motivate hiring managers and human resource personnel about the benefits of employing recent veterans and their spouses
• Assist transitioning service members and spouses with navigating the complexities of military transition and provide career advice, skills training, and job placement services to help establish them in their new career and community

Homelessness & Housing Stability

• End homelessness and promote housing stability among individual veterans and veterans with families, with an emphasis on populations experiencing disproportionate rates of homelessness.

Grantmaking will support programs and organizations that work to:

• Prevent homelessness
• Provide rapid rehousing to reduce the duration of homelessness
• Provide transitional housing programs for homeless and vulnerably-housed veterans
• Provide permanent supportive housing with services for those who require long-term support to remain housed

Community & Family Reintegration

• Promote veteran and family well-being and community integration by supporting healthy family relationships, (re)igniting service members’ sense of purpose, and cultivating welcoming, inclusive communities.

Grantmaking will support programs and organizations that work to:

• Facilitate access to interventions that encourage family integration and healthy relationships
• Recognize and help military children in school and the community
• Increase access to benefits and services and reduce barriers to integration by providing navigation services and encouraging community collaboratives
• Increase awareness of and access to legal services
• Encourage veterans and family members to become engaged and familiar with their communities

Read more

Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities

The Trust envisions a society where adults and transitioning youth with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities maximize their ability to live independently; secure employment; and engage in an inclusive community. 

Overview

The Trust aims to strengthen supportive services for adults and youth transitioning to adulthood with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities, enabling them to maximize their ability to live independently, gain economic security through a rewarding job, and engage in an inclusive community through social and recreational opportunities.

Grantmaking in the Adults and Transitioning Youth with Disabilities program area addresses four strategies – independent living, employment, community inclusion, and support for caregivers, who help make all this possible. The Trust prioritizes organizations that use a person-centered approach, involving the individual in decision-making, to support each person to reach their full potential.

The Trust primarily makes grants for direct services that support these four strategies, as further defined below. It also makes a small number of grants to advance the work of national organizations that are evaluating, documenting, and/or sharing research-based best practices related to effective disability advocacy and systems change.

Focus Population

The focus population for this program area includes adults and youth transitioning to adulthood (ages 15 and up) who have either an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) or a physical disability - including mobility, visual, or hearing impairment. The Trust is also interested in supporting caregivers, particularly aging caregivers who are engaging in transition planning for the future care of their adult children with disabilities.

Strategies

Independent Living

• Empower adults and youth transitioning to adulthood to bridge successfully into active lives in the community.

Strategies include:

• Provide supportive services and training to maximize an adult’s ability to live interdependently in the community
• Offer interventions enabling individuals to live safely in the least restrictive residential setting and make their own informed decisions

Employment

• Enable adults and youth transitioning to adulthood who seek work and economic stability to experience opportunities for employment and career growth – meeting both the personal needs of individuals with disabilities and the business needs of their employers.

Strategies include:

• Promote integrated, competitive employment in the community for all as an achievable, expected outcome, not the exception
• Address the needs of both adults with disabilities and prospective employers
• Support employers to improve their capacity to hire, retain, and promote employees with disabilities

Community Inclusion

• Promote inclusive participation of adults and youth transitioning to adulthood in recreational programs, the arts, social events, and civic activities with the acceptance and support of an informed and embracing community that recognizes every individual’s abilities and contributions.

Strategies include:

• Enhance overall quality of life, sense of purpose, and self-satisfaction through social support networks and inclusive community activities
• Reduce social stigmatization through community training and supports to enable full participation by all in community activities

Caregiver Support

• Support family caregivers so that they can continue in their caregiving role without being overburdened emotionally, physically, and financially. Also, support aging caregivers in developing comprehensive plans for eventual transition of caregiving and financial/benefits responsibilities. 

Strategies include:

• Provide education and assistance, including public awareness, legal services, and financial planning advice, for caregivers and family members to develop comprehensive future caregiving plans for eventual transition of caregiving responsibilities for their adult children.
• Offer respite opportunities for families/caregivers while incorporating formal caregiver support activities such as training, counseling, and information.

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NOTE: We initiate most funding opportunities by contacting the organizations and inviting them to submit proposals. Accordingly, unsolicited proposals are only rarely successful. If despite the odds against success, you wish to submit a proposal, you should carefully review what we fund and what we do not fund. 

The Michael J. Connell Foundation is a private foundation. We usually discourage requests for grants because it is our policy to initiate and pursue our own programs in various cultural, environmental, educational and medical programs.  We limit our grants to a relatively small number.  As a consequence, at any one time we tend to focus on three or four narrow program areas. 

In 2013 - 2017 our areas of program focus are: 

• Classical Music  -- its ability to enhance the area cultural experience
• The Environment  -- the maintenance, accessibility and preservation of our public resources
• Education - technology implementation, programs with impact in under served areas and upon minority constituencies and the implementation of modern technologies
• Medicine - allocating limited resources and addressing the needs of underserved constituencies in the Los Angeles Area

In most years we will complete funding in one or more areas of interest and we will seek one or more new areas to focus on in subsequent years.

We frequently look for programs that need funding to test new ideas or concepts, before they can qualify for funding from more traditional or formal resources. We do not confine ourselves to these programs, although they usually represent a majority of the grants we fund. We will occasionally team with other organizations and individuals to fund start-up expenses, but the organization must have already established its tax-exempt status before we will make a grant. 

We fund specific programs as opposed to general expenses. We only fund building or endowment programs for applicants with which we have established relationships, either based on our contacts with the organization or with the persons representing the organization. We will fund capital expenditures, particularly if the purchase is in connection with the implementation of new technologies.

About the Trust

Since 1975 the Trust has invested nearly $800 million into nonprofit organizations in the form of grants and enrichment programs. Jack Murdock’s desire to “nurture and enrich the educational, spiritual, cultural, and social lives of individuals, families, and communities" continues to be reflected in grants, enrichment programs, and all of the Trust’s activities to this day.

Mr. Murdock was an avid learner, innovator, and entrepreneur. His informal education was continuous and lifelong. The special importance he placed on education has been the beacon leading Trust support of many colleges and universities in the five states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Organizations involved in advancing culture and the arts are welcomed each year, as are projects targeted to elevating human services, health, and health care in the region. These include community-based and faith-based organizations, particularly those that serve youth. From a founder who was thoroughly unpretentious, the Trust has taken his lead to welcome the best ideas from all across the region’s urban and rural areas.

The Trust’s founder believed in science and technology as one of the most important sources of knowledge and inventiveness, knowledge that he believed to be strategic to resolving many issues. As a result, the Trust has long been at the forefront of private support for scientific research and innovation. In recent years, this has realized more than 60 scientific research grants annually.

Mr. Murdock was vitally interested in community issues and encouraged the convening and collaboration of diverse leaders to focus on questions of importance. The Trust continues to bring many voices together to examine and explore ideas and trends in various fields and sectors.

Grant Overview

We believe in transformational ideas that help individuals, families and communities flourish — and since 1975, the Murdock Trust has invested nearly $850 million into nonprofit organizations that embody our mission.

Every day, we work to further our founder Jack Murdock’s desire to “nurture and enrich the educational, spiritual, cultural and social lives of individuals, families and communities.” We make grants that help improve the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest, and we welcome nonprofits that share our commitment to thinking bigger, challenging problems and making a true difference.

Funding Types

The Trust makes grants for building the capacity of nonprofit groups in these primary ways for the following three types of projects:

Capital: Is capital growth or expansion important to your nonprofit’s vision for long-term growth and success? The Murdock Trust regularly makes grants that support construction, renovation, land purchase and other capital projects. In most cases, we prefer to receive requests for these types of projects once your organization has raised a portion of the needed funds.

Program & Staff: Expanding programs and adding staff are important markers of nonprofit success. Murdock Trust grants help fund both new programs and the expansion of existing programs, and may be used to cover start-up costs and/or related staff member additions. Typically, we fund program and staff grants on a declining basis over three years (100/67/33%). 

Equipment & Technology: Best practices suggest that a healthy equipment and supporting technology infrastructure is essential. Please note that with these grants, recipient organizations are responsible for 50% or greater of the purchase cost.

Note: Our grant making process has changed. Beginning with our 2017 funding cycle (January 1―August 31), our grant application process will be by invitation only. All grant seekers should review and follow these process steps to be eligible for consideration. This includes prior grantees; organizations who have submitted proposals in the past who have not been funded; as well as organizations who are approaching the Foundation for the first time for funding consideration and support.

• Check EIN in Our Database
• Complete or Update Organization Information Form 
• Wait for Status Update and Invitation to Submit Proposal 

We encourage organizations who are approaching us for the first time to follow the For Grant Seekers steps outlined above. By submitting the Organization Information Form, you allow us to review your goals and missions to determine if you qualify for partner status and an invitation to submit a proposal. We will accept and review Organization Form data from January 1 to the deadline above. 

Foster Family Foundation Grant

The Foster Foundation is a family philanthropic organization that works to advance the quality of life for present and future Pacific Northwest generations. Since 1984, we've invested over $100 million in nonprofit organizations whose efforts are aligned with our priority funding issues throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

The Foster Foundation carefully curates the organizations and projects we support. We directly invite organizations we've identified as exemplary partners to submit proposals. We no longer accept unsolicited proposals or grant requests.

As the Foundation transitions to our new grant application by invitation only procedure, we will actively review the organizations currently in our database. Our goal is to identify partner organizations―those nonprofits we deem to be a good match with our priority issues, geographic reach and funding goals. It is this group of organizations that we seek to invest in over the long-term. Many of these organizations have a long history with the Foundation and have been regularly awarded grants.

Requests for capital needs will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Foundation has a history of funding the tangible, hands-on needs of an organization that directly serves constituents, such as books for preschools or beds and food for shelters.

Priority Areas

Building strong communities benefits all of us. Improving community life encompasses not only meeting critical needs such as food, housing, healthcare, education and employment, but also enriching community spirt and well-being through the support of artistic expression, cultural programs and sports/recreational opportunities.

We seek to identify and fund under-resourced opportunities to make a difference in these four areas:

Social Services/ Human Welfare

We fund emergency and critical human services that support people and families in need. This includes food, emergency/transitional housing, job/life's skills training, counseling and other resources and opportunities that build economic self-reliance.

Education

We support innovative programs that improve literacy, learning and academic success for all ages. Training, tutoring, mentoring and enrichment programs are examples of our outreach in this area.

Medical Research, Treatment & Care

We provide funding for promising medical research to aid in the understanding, treatment and prevention of diseases. The Foundation also supports hospice care as well as HIV/AIDs research and education.

Community Engagement

We nurture the spirt and well-being of Northwest communities by supporting cultural, artistic and recreational activities that engage all ages and populations. Foundation grants help sustain arts organizations and programs that express and grow the creative imagination. We also support community sports/recreational programs, centers and activities that promote health, well-being and teamwork.

Geographic Reach

With both family and business roots in the Pacific Northwest, The Foster Foundation takes a regional approach to giving. We target our funding to assist nonprofits engaged in our priority funding concerns within Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

In addressing the founders' original intent, the Foundation will expand our philanthropy into smaller, more diverse communities within this five state area over the coming years. We will continue to support existing grantees. But, we desire to learn about and fund other pioneering initiatives and nonprofit programs that address the underserved and disadvantaged segments of this population―especially children, women and seniors.