Click here for an overview of how we typically work in a normal year. Trustees meetings are usually scheduled in January, April, July, and October.
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Grant applicants must be classified as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. An IRS determination letter certifying this tax status will be required to recieve funding.
The Foundation's grantmaking is focused in Georgia so we welcome inquiries from all parts of the state. The majority of environmental funding is allocated outside metro Atlanta.
The Foundation will not consider funding for special events, performances, or dinners (i.e., sponsorship, tickets and/or tables); booster clubs; churches or religious organizations when the project in question primarily serves members; or requests to retire accumulated debt resulting from operating deficits. The Foundation does not make grants or loans to individuals.
New grantseekers should contact the Foundation by phone or email Rachel Sprecher (rsprecher@rhdobbs.net) to set up a time to meet before submitting a Letter of Inquiry (LOI). During this initial conversation, we will evaluate the potential fit of your request with the Foundation’s programmatic priorities. For more information about these priorities, see the What We Do page. Also, for an understanding of how our Board translates priorities into funding decisions, review our Grant History.
Once you’ve confirmed your request is aligned with the Foundation’s priorities, a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) can be submitted at any time during the year. However, if you would like your LOI to be considered during a particular Board meeting month, we recommend submitting the LOI at least one month prior to that month. For instance, if you would like your LOI considered at the April board meeting, we recommend submitting it in March.
Please submit your LOI in the form of a letter on the organization’s letterhead under the signature of the Executive Director. If the primary contact is someone else, please provide contact information within the letter. Limited to two pages (not including attachments), your LOI should address the following:
The LOI and attachments should be in the form of a PDF prior to submission. If you lack the capacity to produce PDFs, please contact the Foundation staff and we can facilitate your submission using other methods.
To submit your LOI and supporting documents, click here.
Trustees review all LOIs on file during each quarterly meeting to identify 8 - 10 proposals they would like to consider for funding during the following quarter. They look for proposals that are most aligned with programmatic priorities and present a compelling case for impact. Trustees act on each LOI in one of three ways:
Following each quarterly meeting, the Foundation will communicate in writing with grantseekers regarding LOI status and next steps.
If your LOI is selected for consideration, you will receive an emailed invitation to apply. This email will include an application form, a request for supporting documents, and instructions for submitting information (including the deadline). Once your materials have been received, Foundation staff will schedule and conduct a site visit or Zoom meeting as part of the review process prior to the Trustees meeting.
In most cases, grant applicants will be contacted by phone within 24 hours of the Trustee meeting with information about action taken by the Board of Trustees.
The confirmation email for grant recipients will include terms of the grant and a request for wire instructions for transferring funds. Funds are typically wired within 15 business days once your information has been received.
If you have received a multi-year grant, you will be asked to submit an interim report on the anniversary of the grant. The Foundation will contact you to prompt submission of the interim report and include details about the report’s format.
At the end of the grant term, a final report will be due one month after the close of the fiscal year in which grant funds were fully expended. We would be glad to receive a report prepared for other audiences provided it speaks to the work funded by the Dobbs Foundation with some specificity. Once we have received your report, we will schedule a 30-minute Zoom conversation to debrief together if needed.
We encourage and hope grantees will stay in touch after the grant has closed. We love to hear from grantees with updates about work in which we have invested. Please feel free to contact the Foundation at any time with these updates.