Learn How to Apply

Grant Cycle

The San Francisco Foundation welcomes unsolicited applications in six program areas twice a year. Deadlines are the first Monday of June and the first Monday of December. Applications are evaluated for alignment with the Foundation's strategic goals and objectives, and projects must benefit residents in the five Bay Area counties we serve. Before applying, please visit the Program pages to get more information about The San Francisco Foundation's areas of interest. Use the links to the right for more information about our application process.

RFPs and Invited Proposals

The San Francisco Foundation has a variety of special projects, mini-grant programs, and initiatives that may issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) or invite proposals at different times of the year. These grantmaking efforts are narrowly tailored to promote change around a particular issue or geographic area. RFPs are released and publicized periodically through our website and through targeted communications. We encourage all interested organizations to visit our Program pages periodically for RFP notices.

The Foundation occasionally invites off-cycle grant proposals from organizations with time-sensitive projects and whose programs are a close fit with our program areas' strategic goals. If you have a time-sensitive request, please contact a Program Officer before submitting an application.

Diversity policy

The Foundation has a strong conviction that diversity benefits everyone and is not only compatible with but also promotes excellence. The San Francisco Foundation grantmaking policy reflects a belief that organizational performance is greatly enhanced when people with different backgrounds and perspectives are engaged in an organization's activities and decision-making process. The full text of the policy is available on our Forms page.

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Eligibility

The Foundation welcomes applications from organizations that meet the criteria below. For further details regarding eligibility and/or the application process, please read the Intent to Apply Guidelines.

Timely submission
Intent to Apply forms must be submitted via the Grantee Center by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline date or postmarked by the deadline date. Due to the large number of applications we receive, late applications will not be accepted. Please see the Timeline for exact dates.  All applications must now be submitted online thruogh Grantee Center; emailed or mailed applications will not be accepted. 

Valid tax-exempt status
The Foundation makes grants to organizations that are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are classified as "not a private foundation" under Section 509(a). We also make grants to government and public agencies, as well as to independent projects that have a qualified tax-exempt fiscal sponsor.

Provide service in the local area
Projects must substantially benefit residents in at least one of the five Bay Area counties we serve: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo. If an organization is based outside these five counties, the total number of local constituents benefiting from service must be competitive with local organizations.

No overlapping grants
The Foundation does not award multiple or overlapping grants to the same organization via the competitive grants process, except in rare circumstances. For the purpose of this policy, city or county departments or programs at a university are considered to be separate entities. This policy does not apply to grants offered through special initiatives, mini-grant programs, or RFPs. Please consult with Program staff before submitting an application for an overlapping grant. Projects sharing a fiscal sponsor may apply concurrently.

Note on continuing support: The Foundation will accept an application from an organization with an open grant, provided that the scheduled start date for the new grant will be after the close of the current grant. Please see the Timeline below for grant start dates.

Three-year time limit
Grantees are eligible to receive funds from The San Francisco Foundation for consecutive periods of up to three years. After three years, grantees will be required to wait a period of 12 months before receiving funding. Grants offered through special initiatives, mini-grant programs, or RFPs do not count toward the time limit. Exceptions to this policy will be made under certain circumstances. Requests for exceptions should be directed to Program Officers who will consider and make a decision in consultation with the Director of Programs.

Three years of consecutive funding is defined as:

• three 12-month grants awarded in three consecutive Foundation fiscal years, regardless of grant start and end dates;
• a combination of a 12-month and a 24-month grant awarded within in three consecutive Foundation fiscal years, regardless of grant start and end dates;
• one 36-month grant.

 
Audit requirement
The Foundation requires that any applicant with an annual budget of over $750,000 provide audited financial statements. Organizations with annual budgets between $250,000 and $750,000 are required to provide financial statements that have been formally reviewed by an auditor. Organizations with budgets below $250,000 must provide a copy of the most recently filed IRS Form 990.

Waivers to this policy are occasionally granted. If your project is fiscally sponsored, the fiscal sponsor must meet the audit requirement. No waivers to this policy will be granted to sponsoring organizations.

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Process

Grant Application Overview
The Foundation uses a two-stage application procedure. We have two deadlines per year for the first stage of the application, called the Intent to Apply. Intent to Apply forms are evaluated by Program staff, and organizations will be notified as to the status of the application approximately eight weeks after the deadline. About 30% of applicants will be invited to submit the second part of the application, called the Encouraged Proposal form.  

Once the full proposal has been received, Program staff will contact each organization to obtain additional information and possibly schedule a site visit. All proposals are either approved or declined by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. Organizations will be notified of the Trustees' decision within one week of the Board meeting. Provided that a signed grant agreement has been received by Grants Management, award checks to organizations will be mailed within the first week of the grant period, according to the timeline below.

Beginning with the June 2, 2008, deadline, our Intent to Apply form is now an online grant application process through Grantee Center, our new interactive community resource for applicants and grantees. Our process and timeline has not changed, please register on Grantee Center and visit our Help section. 

For further detail regarding the application process, please read the Intent to Apply Guidelines.

Timeline

Intent to Apply Due	Encourage Notifications Sent	Final Proposal Due	Final Grant Approval by Trustees	Program Areas	Grant Period Start
June 2, 2008	July 25,2008	August 22, 2008	November 2008	Community Development; Environment; Community Health	January 1, 2009
			December 2008	Arts and Culture; Education; Social Justice
December 1, 2008	January 23, 2009	February 20, 2009	May 2009	Community Development; Environment; Community Health	July 1, 2009
			June 2009	Arts and Culture; Education; Social Justice
June 2009	January 2009	August 2009	Novemeber 2009	Arts and Culture; Education; Social Justice	January, 2010
			December 2009	Community Development; Environment; Community Health

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