The Grant Process

The Board meets at least twice a year. The majority of grants are made at our winter meeting. Some grants are made at other intervals throughout the year. By year end, well over one-hundred organizations will have received a contribution from the Dimmer Family Foundation.

During the winter meeting, the Board considers all organizations it wishes to make an annual grant to. Grants are made at the discretion of the Board. Taken into consideration is: a past history of giving with that organization; a personal relationship of a Board member with that organization or a person associated with that organization; and the relevancy of the mission of the organization. While past history is a good indicator of whether the Board will make future grants, no organization should assume that a future grant is guaranteed.

It is not a requirement that an organization submit a proposal for consideration by the Board for a grant. However, in some cases, an organization may be invited by letter or other form of communication to submit an application. In this case, the following should be included:

• a brief cover letter identifying the organization, and stating the specific request (including a dollar value);
• a statement about the organization and more detailed information about the requested project or improvement;
• a listing of the Board of Directors;
• the IRS tax-exempt letter (if not prior grant recipient); and
• a budget for the organization, along with a budget for the requested project or improvement, where applicable.