If your organization falls in one of the categories bulleted below, you must provide information and documentation in addition to, or different from, what is normally required:

• Local affiliate of a national organization and operates under the 501(c)3 determination of the national organization
• School district or university/college
• Program, project, department, or individual school within a school district or university/college, or
• Foundation that is a the fundraising arm for another nonprofit organization or is an organization that raises funds for another nonprofit

In these circumstances, it is very important that you get the special information that you need (from our website or the Associate Grants Manager) before you submit your grant proposal.  Failure to do so may result in an incomplete status or declination of your proposal.

We require all applicant organizations have a current (issued within 5 years) 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS. However, in rare cases it is possible for an organization who does not have 501(c)(3) status to apply using a fiscal sponsor. A fiscal sponsor is another organization that is a 501(c)(3) and is willing to take fiscal responsibility for the grant, should it be awarded. In this case, it is necessary for you to reference the special condition sheet for using a fiscal sponsor for additional materials you will need to provide in your application. Please visit our website or call the Grants Manager before applying for a grant.

We require that all proposals include all of the listed information and attachments. The only exception to this is if your organization is less than 12 months old and therefore does not have fiscal year-end financial statements. In this case, please be sure to include a page explaining this situation or the application will be deemed incomplete and automatically withdrawn from consideration.   

The Foundation funds many faith-based organizations. However, we do not fund religious activities or programs that require religious activity as a condition of receiving services. We do not fund organizations that “further religious doctrine” – having as one of their primary goals to further a specific religious belief, for instance. Our anti-discrimination policy states the Foundation will not fund organizations that discriminate, including discrimination based on religion. For instance, the Foundation will not fund organizations that limit service to people of a particular religious faith.

From our perspective, both of these entities represent the same organization, and for the purposes of our Community Grants Program, we consider them one entity. Any 501(c)(3) organization that meets the Foundation’s basic requirements can apply for a grant, so assuming both meet this requirement, either the foundation or the organization for which it raises funds can apply – but not in the same 12-month period. We recommend that the same entity apply in subsequent years so that The Denver Foundation can develop a better understanding of programs and services.

With very few exceptions, donor-advised funds do not accept unsolicited grant proposals. The few donor-advised funds that do accept proposals are listed on The Denver Foundation’s website.  Please reference the website for any application guidelines or restrictions when inquiring about donor-advised funds.