Frequently Asked Questions
Our Grant Process
How are grant decisions made?
Grant decisions are made by our Board of Trustees based on our Foundation’s values, current societal needs, and our own judgement on what is most likely to have a positive effect on the world. Writing a clear and compelling grant request, including an explanation for how this grant will make positive change in the world will give you the best chance at success. While we cherish the personal relationships we have with existing grantees, a pre-existing personal relationship is not necessary to apply for or receive funding.
How much do you give and what types of grants do you fund?
The Baugh Foundation provides approximately $12 million dollars per year in grant funding, across approximately 80 grants. The Baugh Foundation believes in strengthening organizations for the long term and as such we fund both general support and project grants, including capital campaigns, endowments, and organizational development. Grant applications may include requests for both direct and indirect costs, plus extra that allows the organization to thrive over the long term (e.g., additions to reserves, assets, working capital).
The Foundation awards a wide variety of grant types to organizations of different sizes and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Requests should be proportional to your organizational size and budget, and the size of the project. To encourage organizational stability, the Foundation prefers for organizations and projects to have multiple streams of income. On occasion, we may fund full projects or full organizational budgets in unique circumstances. Grant awards are most often for one year, are renewable, and awarded for amounts between $5,000-$100,000. The Foundation does occasionally make significantly larger grants to established grantees, or for innovative projects from new grantees. For the best chance of success, we suggest that new grantees aim for smaller awards, proportional to the size and scope of their overall organizational budget. Most awards to new grantees are between $5,000-$20,000.
Do you fund international projects?
The Baugh Foundation funds both domestic and international projects, however the majority of our giving goes to projects in the United States. International applicants must have a United States 501(c)(3), or partner with one as a fiscal sponsor.
International applicants or projects have the best chance at success when their organization aligns with the majority of our funding priorities.
Is there a minimum or maximum length for applications?
There are no minimum or maximum page requirements for any of our documents or processes. However, the Foundation only has your application paperwork to understand your organization’s planned activities over the grant period. As a result, we encourage you to include any details you want the Foundation to understand regarding your organization’s work and plans toward future goals.
Do you fund evaluations?
The Baugh Foundation values program evaluations that seek to understand the areas of growth for programs, and requests for funding for program evaluations may be made as part of an organization’s yearly funding request. We do not generally fund stand alone evaluation grants, particularly for new grantees. Due to our size, we do not regularly initiate formal program evaluations for our grants.
What is required to apply?
The Baugh Foundation seeks to make grant application as easy as possible, while adhering to philanthropic best practices. To apply for a grant for any funding year, the following will be required:
- Be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization or church, or have one to act as your fiscal sponsor.
- An approved letter of intent or renewal request
- A completed grant application
- A recent audit (if available) and the organization’s most recent 990
- An organizational budget
- A current board roster
What is your indirect cost policy?
We allow indirects at the rates listed below. We also allow grantees to itemize expenses instead if they prefer. If indirect rates are unfamiliar, you do not need to use them. They are primarily used by universities and other large institutions.
Indirect costs are general overhead and administration expenses that support the entire operations of a grantee and are shared across projects. Examples include executive management, accounting, grants management, legal expenses, utilities, technology support, and facility maintenance.
You may either choose to itemize these expenses in project support requests, or use a flat indirect rate, but not both.
The Foundation has determined the following general maximums for indirect cost rates:
- 10% for university grants
- 15% for non-profit and non-governmental organizations
If an organization’s published or audited indirect rate is less than the maximum allowable indirect rate set by the Foundation policy, the grantee should apply its published or audited rate for proposal budgeting purposes.
If you have questions about what qualifies as an indirect or direct cost, or what is the best way of accounting for these costs for your specific project proposal, please contact us. Grantees may request grants without indirect costs if they wish, and all indirect costs need to be included in the total requested project budget. As an example, if your total project request is $20,000 and you are a non-profit, you may choose to use up to 15% of that amount ($3,000) to go towards indirect costs if you wish, leaving you with $17,000 for direct costs for the project. Indirect costs are not added on top of the requested grant amount.
Relationship Development
How do we develop a relationship with the foundation?
Relationships are not required to receive a grant from us and our open grant application process is the main way we learn about new organizations. Due to our small staff size, an email is the quickest way to receive answers. Prior to emailing or requesting a call, we ask that you read our entire website, in particular our funding priorities and FAQ sections, which answer the majority of questions asked by new applicants. This also allows you to decide if your organization might be a good fit for the foundation.
Beyond that, we often hear about great organizations from other funders and your fellow organizations, so we encourage you to work in partnership with others as often as possible, and sing each other’s praises regularly. We’re not shy about reaching out if we hear about someone doing great work that might align with our funding priorities, and often relationships develop naturally in this way.
May we visit with you?
We deeply appreciate the offers to fly out to meet us in person, but it is not necessary and we regretfully cannot accommodate in-person meeting requests from potential grantees at this time.
In the spirit of the work being the most important thing, we encourage existing grantees to use their limited funding and time for their critical daily work rather than traveling to meet with us.
We are always happy to answer questions via email or schedule a phone call if you have complex questions about applying. We can be reached at info@baughfoundation.org.
Who We Are
The Baugh Foundation is a family run organization that supports progressive, inclusive, non-profit organizations that reflect the love of Christ by providing grants to organizations which enrich lives of children and youth, keep faith communities informed and engaged, and guard the wall of separation between church and state.