Application Procedure

I.	Qualify		How?
II.	Submit a Letter of Intent (1 Copy)		How?
III.	Submit a Grant Application (2 Sets: 1 original plus 1 copy)		How?

1. Your organization must be exempt from Federal taxes under Section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
2. Your mission must fit ours: primarily support formal medical services, research or education
3. 1 Year must have passed since our last payment to you, or since your Letter of Intent or Application was rejected.
4. Your organization must be operating in Arizona, California, or Nevada.
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II. Letter of Intent:
1. Submit a BRIEF 1-page Letter of Intent stating who you are, how much you need, and what you need it for.
2. Attach a copy of your IRS Determination letter. To download a Sample IRS Letter in .pdf format CLICK HERE
3. Attach our Contact Information Form. To download the Contact Information Form in PDF format CLICK HERE <-- Contact Information Form
Within 1 week you will receive a written response stating either that
    We cannot give your request further consideration
or
    We will invite you to submit a formal proposal which we must receive within 90 days from this invitation.

Mail your LOI, Contact Info, and IRS letter to our office.
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III. Grant Application:
Include the following items:

1. The Application Check List. To download the Application Check List in Word .doc format CLICK HERE <-- Application Check List
2. A completed Application Form. To download the Application Form in PDF format CLICK HERE <-- Application Form
3. A statement of your MISSION, history, and current activities.
4. A statement of the NEED for your project.
5. A list of all officers and directors/trustees.
6. A statement from your CEO authorizing submission of this grant request.
7. A detailed description of the project:
8. 1 copy of your most recent 990 tax return (emailed PDF preferred to Grants@DEWF.org)

    1. The TOTAL cost of the project
    2. How much of the project will be funded by this grant
    3. The sources and amounts of all other funds committed to or solicited for this project
    4. A time schedule for project completion
    5. If the grant is primarily for equipment, a list of the equipment including description, supplier, and cost

8. Finally, a copy of the most recently completed audited financial statements, not older than 15 months, including a signed copy of the Independent Auditor's Report cover letter showing the name and address of the company who completed the audit, together with all the accompanying notes. Financial statements prepared by other than independent auditors must be signed by two officers of the Board of Directors or Trustees. All accompanying notes to the statements must be included. If you do not have audited statements, include current internal financial statements.

ALSO: Even if you DO have a formal audit report, please include CURRENT internal (un-audited) financial statements. These would typically show assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. These must not be more than 6 months old (from the date of your application), and must be signed by an officer.

The original plus 1 copy of this formal application must be MAILED (not emailed) to our office. (Single-sided, letter size copies work best for us. Please avoid the use of staples and special bindings.) If your application is approved, we require that you send us a "Completion Letter" when your project is finished, or when the funds we provided have all been spent. This letter must contain:

1. The date and amount of the grant check
2. The purpose of the grant (as previously stated on your application)
3. A statement that 100% of the grant money was spent for the stated purpose
4. A statement about the success of the project
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To see a flow chart of the application process CLICK HERE

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Disqualifications:
Grants are only awarded to organizations operating in the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada.
Grants will not awarded for political, sports, music, arts or religious activities, galas or other fund-raising activities, or to reduce debts .
Grants will be rejected if any member of our board shares any financial interest with any member or your organization.

When the Foundation considers a grant to an organization, 100% of the grant money must be used for the purpose stated in the application. No fees for overhead, asset management, fundraising costs or percentages to development personnel may be taken out of the grant money. If it is the formal position of an organization that some percentage of grant monies is always deducted for some purpose other than what is stated in the application, the grant will be denied.

Employer Identification Number (EIN):
Letters of Intent and Grants are only considered from an organization once a year. In the simplest case, an organization has one unique EIN. However, large organizations may have many different groups all operating under the same EIN. And, in some cases, each group may have a unique EIN and still be operating under the same large organization. If, for instance, your hospital has its own EIN but is operating along with other hospitals under the umbrella of a larger organization, and one of those other hospitals has submitted a Letter of Intent or Grant Application within the last 12 months, your letter or grant request will be disqualified.

501(c)(3) Classifications:
Your organization must be a public charity described in section 509(a)(1), (2) or (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. You can determine your organization's public charity status by referring to your IRS Determination Letter. If you cannot tell from your determination letter what your classification is, you may call the IRS at 1-877-829-5500 and ask for a current determination letter showing your classification.
Tax-Exempt Organization Reference Chart
Derived from IRS Publication 557 : "Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization (1997)"

I.R.S.Tax Code (1986)
Section	Description
501(c)1	Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress
501(c)2	Title Holding Corporation For Exempt Organization
501(c)3	Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, etc. Organizations
	Section	Description
	509(a)	Private Foundations
	509(a)(1)	Charities supported by the public
		170(b)(1)(A)(i) Church
		170(b)(1)(A)(ii) School
		170(b)(1)(A)(iii) Hospital
		170(b)(1)(A)(iv) University Foundation
		170(b)(1)(A)(v) Government
		170(b)(1)(A)(vi) Community Trust
	509(a)(2)	Charities supported by the Exempt Purpose Activity
	509(a)(3)	Supporting orgs for 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) charities
		Sub-Section
		Type I
		Type II
		Type III Functionally Integrated
		Type III Other
	509(a)(4)	Public Safety Charities
There are many other tax classifications. Those shown here relate to tax exempt grants from private foundations.
Those shown in GREEN need send us only a copy of their IRS Determination Letter.
Those shown in YELLOW must must contact us before submitting a Letter of Intent.

For a discussion on Supporting Organizations, see the Council on Foundations website, and IRS Form 1023, pages 10 & 11, Part X 5 .

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Your organization will be researched by information found on:
Your website
The Council on Foundations
The Foundation Center
Guidestar
IRS Pub 78
The IRS Business Master File

What NOT to include
Your Articles of Incorporation
Your Bylaws
Newsletters
Brochures

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Mailing considerations
There is no deadline for receiving the one-page Letter of Intent.

The deadline for receiving the formal Grant Application is 1 month before the next meeting. Meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of the 1st month of each quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct). To see our Current Calendar CLICK HERE

Please try to get your application to us before that deadline. If you ship your application at the last minute by any means that requires a signature receipt and we just happen to be out of the office when it arrives, it can take an hour or more to get to the Post Office and wait in line to pick up your package. Drop off mail is left in a secure area of our building - normal postal service handling works best.

Please submit 2 copies, an original plus 1 copy: 2 sets TOTAL. The applications are 3-hole punched to be put into binders. It's not a requirement, but it helps us if none of the materials you provide are already bound or stapled - clips are OK, one-sided copies work best for us. Please do not send un-collated copies.

If you are receiving installment payments (on grants of $100,000 or more), quarterly reporting is required. Quarterly reports are due within 30 days from the end of each quarter. All installment payments are made in the first week of January. If we have not received your last quarterly report, the check will not be mailed. Quarterly reporting is only required until the project is finished or all the grant monies are spent. At that time a COMPLETION Letter is required. This closes the grant.

If your organization has more than one location and all are shown on your letterhead, please indicate which location is to be used for correspondence regarding this grant request.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How long should the Letter of Intent be?
A. One page. 1 page. Only one page. And it must be on your Letterhead.

Q. What is the range of amounts of your grants?
A. $1,000 to $1,000,000 but that's not a hard rule.
    Please round your amount up to the nearest $1,000.

Q. Will my project fit your guidelines?
A. If it fits our Mission Statement.

Q. Who should the contact person be?
A. The contact should be someone who knows the details of the request.

Note that ALL our communication will be with the contact person you identify on our Contact Information Form. If you receive a grant that will be paid in installments, that person will be contacted BEFORE each check is mailed. If we cannot contact that person, the check will not be mailed.



Q. How are the checks sent?
A. All checks are sent registered with a return receipt requested.
    Checks are made payable to the name on your IRS Determination Letter.

Q. What if the name or address on my IRS Determination Letter is not current?
A. Call the IRS and ask for a new letter with your current name and address.
    Exempt Organizations Help:
    Toll-Free: 1-877-829-5500
    M-F 7:00am-5:30pm Central
    The process is fast and free.

Q. How soon will I know if my request was accepted or rejected?
A. You will be notified by mail after your grant is voted on at our board meeting. The letters are mailed by the end of the week of the meeting.

Q. What are the chances of my proposal being accepted?
A. That depends on your need and our current ability to help.
    Please note that if your proposal is declined, it is NOT any reflection on you, your organization, or the appropriateness of your request.
    It will most likely be because we are simply unable to help at that time.
    Also, we CANNOT provide any information about why your Letter of Intent or Application was declined - please do not ask.

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Resource Links

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Updated 2010-07-21