Buell Foundation Grant

Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation

Next deadline: Jan 16, 2024 4:00pm PST

Later deadlines: May 1, 2024 4:00pm PDT, Sep 3, 2024 4:00pm PDT, Jan 16, 2025 4:00pm PST

Grant amount: US $10,000 - US $50,000

Funding uses: General Operating Expense, Project / Program, Capital Project, Education / Outreach

Location of project: Colorado

Location of residency: Colorado

Overview:

NOTE: We encourage you to call the Program Officer for your region before you apply. Through this call, you can determine whether your project is a good fit for the Foundation, determine an appropriate request amount, and get all of your questions answered.

Beginning 2023, the following changes regarding Buell Foundation funding have been implemented:

• Applications for child care centers that serve fewer than 15% enrollment of low-income families will no longer be considered. THBF definitions for low-income by county can be found here.
  
• Applications for organizations that have operating reserves greater than nine months will no longer be considered.
  • Operating reserves are generally calculated by dividing net current assets into annual operating budget.
• Given budgetary restrictions following recent changes, we anticipate a more competitive selection process for capital applications.
• The Foundation will no longer be considering requests for capital projects in our January and May application cycles.
• All applications for capital projects must be submitted in our September cycle.
• At this time, the Foundation is only considering capital projects for licensed child care facilities, with priority given to those focused on expanding or creating new capacity.

What We Fund

At the Buell Foundation, we believe that investing in quality programs will lead to long-term changes in Colorado. The Buell Foundation seeks proven, promising, or developing programs that can demonstrate success in helping children thrive. We support efforts to improve quality and encourage meaningful evaluation and assessment. It is our goal to partner with outstanding organizations to improve the systems that serve children. Particular focus is placed on programs that target underserved communities.

Areas of Interest

Our funding strategy includes two primary areas of interest:

• Early Childhood Education and Development
• Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Funding Priority

Our funding priority at this time is on programs that support the education and development of children zero to five. In the last fiscal year, over 90% of grants paid were in that category. In addition, please note that it is also a priority for the Foundation to fund programs in rural Colorado. In recent years, over 65% of grants were awarded to programs serving communities outside of the Denver metro area.

Types of Program

Within our areas of interest, the majority of our grants will be of the following types:

• Program/project support
• Operating support
• Technical assistance
• Capital improvements (limited to early childhood programs)

Early Childhood Development

The Foundation will consider proposals in the following areas that directly support the healthy development of very young children between the ages of zero and five:

Assessment and evaluation – We support a variety of assessments used to gauge the effectiveness of programs and progress of program participants. This may include process/fidelity measures as well as outcome measures (e.g. Teaching Strategies GOLD, Adult-Adolescent Parenting Index, Social Competence Scale, etc.).

Behavior and social competence – We support direct programming as well as consultation in early learning settings with a focus on the promotion and prevention levels of behavioral health.

Capital – We support a range of capital improvements at licensed child care centers. We support smaller scale improvements (e.g. playgrounds, materials, fixtures) as well as large building projects (e.g. purchase and renovation of a building).

Early childhood and preschool programs – We support licensed child care centers and preschools that have a commitment to quality improvement and serving children from diverse populations. We also support the early learning components of community-based programs, such as family literacy.

Home visitation – We support evidence-based and evidence-informed home visiting programs with a focus on supporting positive parenting skills and increased knowledge about child development.

Improvements directly related to quality – We support ongoing quality improvement of all programs. This includes funding for materials, additional staff, coaching, and quality ratings.

Language development and early literacy – We support a wide range of early literacy programs ranging from book distribution to comprehensive early literacy programs.

Nutrition and physical activity in early learning environments – We support enhancements to programs (child care centers, parenting education, etc.) that promote increased physical activity and improved nutrition of participants.

Parenting education – We support evidence-based and evidence-informed parenting education programs with a focus on supporting positive parenting skills and increased knowledge about child development.

Professional development and education – We support projects that facilitate early childhood professionals’ access to college-level coursework, mentoring, or community-based trainings.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention

The Buell Foundation funds proven, comprehensive, medically accurate teen pregnancy prevention programs. The Foundation will not fund abstinence-only programs.

Comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention programs must:

• Be facilitated by trained and experienced professionals, ideally by someone who has been prepared to facilitate sexual health education programs and/or a curriculum
• Emphasize the importance of delaying sex
• Instruct about the benefits and risks of condoms and contraception when engaging in sex
• Impart information about sexual activity and the use of condoms and contraception that is deemed medically accurate by sources on which medical professionals rely
• Provide education about consent and refusal skills
• Occur in a safe, confidential, and non-judgmental learning environment for all youth
• Be inclusive of the cultures, values, sexual orientation, and gender identity of youth participating in the program
• Assess the effectiveness of the programs on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes or behavior change of the participants

Other considerations:

• If adapting an evidence-based program, organizations must ensure that the intent of the program is not compromised and that the same skills, knowledge, and attitudes or behaviors are evaluated.
• When an option, programs should link students to clinical and medical providers and services.

Given budgetary restrictions following recent changes, we anticipate a more competitive selection process for capital applications.

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.

Eligibility:

• Grants will be given only to organizations that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or government entities.
• Applicants must be categorized “not a private foundation” under section 509(a) of the Code. 
• We fund all types of tax-exempt organizations, including nonprofits, school districts, government entities, and faith-based organizations.

Preferences:

• Our funding priority at this time is on programs that support the education and development of children zero to five.
• In the last fiscal year, over 90% of grants paid were in that category.
• In addition, please note that it is also a priority for the Foundation to fund programs in rural Colorado.
• In recent years, over 65% of grants were awarded to programs serving communities outside of the Denver metro area.

Ineligibility:

• The Foundation will not fund abstinence-only programs.
• Grants are not made to or for the following:
• Endowments
• Individuals
• International programs and activities
• Legislative lobbying or support of political candidates
• Litigation
• Loans
• Medical programs
• Multi-year awards
• Past operating deficits
• Programs outside the state of Colorado
• Projects promoting religion
• Retirement of debt
• Sponsorship of events, annual campaigns, membership drives, or conferences
• Testimonial dinners
• Applications for school-year-only programs will not be accepted for the May deadline.
• Beginning September 1, 2022- Changes Implemented
  • Applications for child care centers that serve fewer than 15% enrollment of low-income families will no longer be considered.
    • THBF definitions for low-income by county can be found here.
  • Applications for organizations that have operating reserves greater than nine months will no longer be considered.
    • Operating reserves are generally calculated by dividing net current assets into annual operating budget.