R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation

We hope you'll spend time reading about the Foundation's guidelines and priority interests in our three focus areas of education, environment, and health. You can also review our grant history. Hopefully, this information will provide enough context to help you draw general conclusions about your organization's eligibility. The Foundation's staff is also glad to answer questions and talk with you in more detail about your eligibility and fit. We also encourage you to sign up for one of our information sessions to learn more about eligibility.

You are welcome to call the Foundation with questions or email info@rhdobbs.net to explore your interest in submitting a Letter of Inquiry.

Please do not include collateral materials such as press kits, annual reports, or folders with your Letter of Inquiry. These materials are expensive to produce and they are not needed for our review of your LOI.

Yes. While audited financials are preferred, we will accept year-end Profit & Loss statements for your most recent fiscal year and an operating budget for the current year in lieu of audited financials. You may also apply using a Fiscal Sponsor if needed. 

We would prefer if you submitted your forms and attachments through our grantee portal when the LOI period is open.

Please provide the name and contact information of the person to whom we should direct questions about your application or requests for additional information. In larger organizations, this is usually the Development Officer. In smaller organizations, this is usually the Executive Director.

In most cases, your narrative responses should reflect the organization.  In the case of university or hospital systems, please contact Foundation staff for guidance. In many instances, we will want the attachments to reflect the unit level that will benefit from Dobbs funding and the whole organization.

In the application portal you will note that some of the requested attachments are listed as optional.  These are listed as such because not all organizations will have them (e.g., audited financials, strategic plan, etc.). If your organization has these documents they should be submitted. 

Once the board has approved your request, you will be sent an award notification letter and the grant agreement.  In most cases, these are delivered within 2 - 3 weeks of the board’s approval. If a grant has been approved on a conditional basis, the terms will be conveyed in your award letter. Grants are funded once the Foundation receives the original signed grant agreement and, if applicable, once your organization has provided documentation to the Foundation that any additional conditions imposed have been met. 

No, there is no waiting period before you can reapply as long as all requirements were fufilled in the last funding period.