1. How do we apply for a grant?
Health, Education, and Arts Program Areas
Applications are accepted via invitations only this year. The Foundation will only review applications from those who have been invited to submit an application.
2. When can we apply?
Application submissions for 2019 must be submitted to the Foundation office by 4:00pm, March 11, 2019.
3. When will we know if we are invited to apply for a Health, Education or Arts grant?
Invitations will be sent out the week of February 11, 2019. Please note that an invitation to apply does not guarantee funding.
4. What does the review process consist of?
Applications will be reviewed by Foundation staff and Trustees. The review process will include a site visit. Final decisions will be announced the week of June 10, 2019.
5. How can we strengthen our application?
Applications will be assessed based upon their alignment with our mission, program area focus, and grant-making goals. We highly encourage you to review our overview of the Foundation’s grants program to learn more about our grant-making priorities, as well as the Foundation’s review criteria that highlight the characteristics we value in the organizations we fund.
6. What kinds of support do you provide?
The Foundation will consider requests for support for programs, core operating, or capacity building. Capital needs will be supported if they are directly tied to program delivery (e.g., supplies, equipment, technology, renovations).
7. How much should we apply for?
Foundation grants vary. A moderate grant size has historically been between $25,000- $50,000. We encourage you to submit for an amount that reflects the core needs of your organization or program. A number of factors will be used by the Foundation to determine ultimate funding levels including project budget size, participation of other funders, and specific organization or program needs.
If you are a past grantee, keep in mind that historical funding amounts will have no influence over funding levels for this year.
8. If we were a past Health, Education, or Arts grantee and didn’t receive an invitation. Did our organization do something wrong?
Unfortunately the Foundation has finite resources and is unable to support all of the quality nonprofit organizations doing important work in greater Long Beach. One of the goals of the strategic planning process was to focus our grant-making in a number of ways (including identifying a primary geographic constituency as well as focused program areas) in order to best leverage our funding for impact. Yet this also means that unfortunately, we cannot continue to support past grantees that are not well- aligned with our focus. Determinations regarding grant program invitations were solely based upon this measure of programmatic fit.
9. How can we learn more about the Miller Foundation’s grants program and application process?
For more information please see the programs overview page or contact us.