The Jefferson Foundation
General Grant Funding Application

Deadlines: The Jefferson Foundation’s General Grant Funding deadlines are the last business day of November and April annually. Proposals must be postmarked AND emailed by this date to be considered for funding. Late proposals or proposals submitted without all of the required components will not be considered for funding. See the application for funding for specific submission instruction.

What we fund: The Jefferson Foundation's mission is to support Jeffco Public Schools in preparing all students for a successful future. In 2009-2010, we are funding after school, athletics, activities and life skills programs that address our goals of closing achievement gaps and increasing graduation rates. Programs that do not specifically address these goals or that do not serve Jeffco Public Schools’ students, schools or staff will not be competitive for funding.

What we do not fund: The Jefferson Foundation will not usually consider proposals requesting funds for any of the following:

• School fundraising events such as fun runs, bake sales, silent auctions, etc
• Travel (The Jefferson Foundation will consider proposals for conference registration, but not airfare, hotel, per diem, etc.)
• Religious education
• Grants to individuals
• Research
• Technology purchases for individual classrooms (i.e. SmartBoards, laptops, etc.)

Grant size: Most grants from The Jefferson Foundation are between $2,000 and $7,000.

How we fund: The Jefferson Foundation prefers to make seed grants, challenge grants, program or project support grants and grants for technical assistance or capacity building.

Restrictions: Organizations that have received funding from The Jefferson Foundation three years in a row must take a year off before applying for additional funding from The Jefferson Foundation again. All previously-funded organizations must submit a completed grant report prior to applying for additional funding (see Application and Report Downloads to view and save the report form). Incomplete proposals or proposals submitted without all required attachments will not be considered for funding. Faxed proposals will not be considered for funding.

Grantmaking process: The Jefferson Foundation will acknowledge receipt of your proposal within 14 days of receipt. Staff conduct a technical review to ensure all required grant components are included and then pass all adequate proposals to The Jefferson Foundation's Program Committee. This volunteer committee of community members reviews all proposals and makes funding recommendations to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors approves all general funding grants. Grant denials or notifications are sent to all applicants within eight weeks of the grant deadline. Schools and organizations awarded a grant must complete a Jefferson Foundation grant agreement before funds will be disbursed.

All other questions about grants should be directed to Katie Tiernan, Executive Director, at 303.982.2210 or via email at katietiernan@jeffersonfoundation.org.

Need help? Sign up for a workshop!

The Jefferson Foundation knows that teachers and community organization staff are busy, and completing a grant proposal can be a challenging task. Our application has been modeled after the Colorado Common Grant Application (CGA) form (visit the nonprofit Community Resource Center at www.crcamerica.org to learn more about the CGA). We believe that upon completing an application for funding to The Jefferson Foundation, schools and organizations can use their finished proposal to submit requests to other funders, as well.

To learn about successful grantseeking, to get the details on The Jefferson Foundation’s guidelines, and to answer questions about specific programs and proposals, register for an upcoming Jefferson Foundation grantwriting seminar. Experienced grantwriter and Foundation Executive Director Katie Tiernan leads these small-group seminars twice a year.

Spring 2010 General Grants Workshops
All workshops are held at 809 Quail St., Bldg #1. Enter the building through The Jefferson Foundation doors facing the north parking lot.
Tuesday, April 6, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 7, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Space is limited! RSVP to Cyndee Manaugh at cyndeemanaugh@jeffersonfoundation.org or call 303-982-2210 to reserve your spot early.

Click here to download the Funding Application. (MS Word doc)
Click here to download the Budget Template. (MS Word doc)