Requirements
Funding priority will be given to programs or organizations that demonstrate:
- Alignment: Our nonprofit partners help us to achieve our mission and make an impact on children’s health and well-being in the greater Long Beach community. We look to support organizations and programs that promote our mission and grantmaking goals through the services they provide in the community.
- Program Impact: We support organizations that provide demonstrable high-quality and efficiently operated programs. We value organizations that address the most pressing needs, such as youth mental health, educational success, basic needs and family resources, and who prioritize their service delivery to the children of greater Long Beach that are most vulnerable. A key piece of impactful service delivery is evaluation and self-assessment, and we thus also look to support organizations who measure their outcomes and who strive to constantly improve service delivery through review of evaluation results and staying up to date on community trends and needs.
- Sustainability: Nonprofit organizations are critical pillars within the community; children and families most in need depend on steady service delivery and availability of resources. We value organizations that plan for and take actionable steps to ensure the sustainability of their organization and programs.
- Leverage: We want our grantmaking to empower our nonprofit partners and strengthen the capacity of the greater Long Beach nonprofit sector. We look for organizations that can leverage our grants to stimulate new funding (e.g., matching gifts, new revenues, or earned income) and build a strong base of support (e.g., individuals, business support, or foundations in and outside of the region).
- Meaningful Collaboration: Effective partnerships promote the sharing of best practices, reduce duplication of services, and enhance impact. We value organizations that integrate collaboration into their program design and delivery. This could include partnership with other nonprofit organizations or cross-sector service providers including local government, school districts, faith-based organizations, hospitals, etc.
- Outstanding Governance: Strong Board and staff leaders are cornerstones for effective organizations and impactful programs. We look for organizations that have Board and staff leaders who significantly contribute to the vision and innovation of their organization and bolster its operating capacity.
- Communication: Building and maintaining lasting relationships with our grantees maximizes our collaborative impact and opens the door to new opportunities for growth and development. We rely on our nonprofit partners to not only be responsive to our requests for information, but to continue to provide feedback they feel will help them to better meet the needs of our community.
Eligibility Requirements
We invite applications from nonprofits, agencies or organizations who serve in at least one of our three focus areas and fall into one of the categories below:
- Nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under IRS Section 501(c)3
- Community groups that have a 501(c)3 organization serving as their fiscal sponsor
- Government agencies (e.g., city department, public school) that are able to provide proof of status as a government entity
Due to limited funding, the Foundation will only consider proposals for programs and services that serve the Long Beach community. For this cycle, this means that at least 50% of the total families or children served by an applying organization must be Long Beach residents.
Ineligible
The following are not eligible to receive Foundation funding:
- Organizations that have been in operation for less than three years
- Individuals
- For profit agencies and private, non-operating foundations
- Endowments or deficit reduction campaigns
- Annual fund drives
- Political campaigns or lobbying
- Medical research
- Religious programs that are exclusionary to those outside of their religion (e.g., require membership to participate or use programs to promote membership in their religion)
- Organizations that discriminate by race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation or national origin