Essay Example about Fundraising and Resource Development

A foundation can be described as non-profit corporation set up for the sole purpose of funding, through grants, other unrelated institutions, organizations or individuals on a charitable basis. The funds are intended to support charitable initiatives such as educational, religious, or cultural activities among others. Every foundation is set up with a distinct purpose, clear focus and specific funding policies. The paper seeks to analyze granting policy at David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

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The Focus of David and Lucile Packard Foundation

The primary focus of this foundation is to support environmental conservation measures undertaken to mitigate trends in climatic change. The main aims of environmental support include: to promote the use of cleaner energy alternatives, to boost energy efficiency across sectors, and to minimize emission of greenhouse gases through breakthrough strategies. To achieve these objectives, Packard foundation has partnered with Ground Strategies. The partnership is majorly intended to lead efforts to communicate to the public, the urgency of climate crisis and available collaborative strategies to combat climate change. Packard foundation also focuses on providing support to community initiatives specifically those that concern children, families, and reproductive health. Concerning the reproductive health, the foundation aims at improving the quality of sexuality, abortion care, and voluntary contraception.

Grant Application Guidelines

Any organization that wants to receive a grant from Packard foundation must submit a letter of inquiry. The letter should not be more than three pages, showing historical details of the organization seeking a grant, funding request, at least 3 key objectives of the grant seeker, and 3 measurable outcomes of the request. The letter is submitted either through the foundation's website or the email address provided. The applicant receives a confirmation receipt within three weeks once the application is submitted. The application is reviewed once received and the applicant must wait for 3-6 weeks for a response (The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, n.d). If the application is approved, then the applicant must submit a complete proposal upon request. The applicant will also be given further directions to complete the application process. It is, however, important to note that Packard Foundation only awards grants to first-time applicants or those that have not received any support within last three years from the time of application. Additionally, the foundation does not support individuals and religious organizations.

Eligibility Requirements

The general eligibility requirements include: the applicant must be an organization and must not have received any support from the foundation within the last three years. However, the foundation offers different categories of grant implying that each category has some specific eligibility requirements. To support a research project, the researchers must be members of a relevant faculty in any of the invited institutions. Each of the researchers must be qualified to work as a principal investigator in the field of physical and natural sciences or engineering. Additionally, the researchers must be within the first 3 years of their careers at the faculty and must be from the following disciplines: mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, ocean science, earth science, and all the engineering branches.

Timeline for Evaluation and Notification

The general evaluation process for all the applications takes between 3-6 weeks and the applicant should receive a confirmation message within the first 3 weeks after making an application. However, evaluation and notification timelines are different for scientific research projects. The eligible candidates for the research projects must send their request from 15 February to 20 April every year (The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, n.d). The Packard advisory panel reviews the applications received between May and September. The evaluation process is based on the foundation's key values which include integrity, effectiveness, and respect. Approved grant requests are announced in mid-October and the successful applicants are expected to sign the grant agreement as from this time.

Funded Organizations in the Past

The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) and Child Care Coordinating Council (4Cs) are among the organizations that have once been awarded grant by Packard foundation. SESYNC received a grant of $ 250,000 over a period of one year in 2014 while the 4Cs received $100,000 in 2002 for a period of two years (SESYNC, 2014). SESYNC was established through the support of the University of Maryland. The aim of SESYNC is to serve the community through synthesis research. The organization is also committed to solving current environmental problems. The Packard funding was to be used in improving the flow of information between researchers. The 4Cs is an organization based in San Mateo County and focuses on providing support and information to families that seek and use child care services and child care training programs. The organizational programs include family support services and child care subsidy information among others. The Packard grant received by the 4Cs was used in child abuse and neglect prevention initiatives.

Conclusion

Non-profit organizations support several important initiatives in the community. Packard Foundation is an organization committed to supporting environmental conservation projects. The foundation also supports community initiatives that concern families, children and reproductive health. The foundation has specific requirements for grant eligibility but in general, the foundation only supports organizations that have not received grant within three years prior to application. SESYNC and the 4Cs are among the organizations that have received support from Packard foundation.

References

The David & Lucile Packard Foundation [Web log post]. (n.d). Grants and Mission Investments. Retrieved from https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/. (Accessed: 6 April 2018)

SESYNC [Web log post]. (11 Feb 2014). SESYNC, RFF Awarded $250K Grant by Packard Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.sesync.org/news/tue-2014-02-11-0918/sesync-rff-awarded-250k-grant-by-packard-foundation. (Accessed: 6 April 2018 )