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General Information[Please read this Section carefully and note 2010 change in approach]Who We Are The Beirne Carter Foundation was established in 1986 exclusively for charitable purposes and commenced grant making in 1989 with an initial funding of $14.0 million. Grant funding emphasis over the years has centered upon health, education, local history, nature, ecology and youth. Grant Making to Date Since 1989, grants totaling $20.8 million have been made to organizations and institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. See historic grant distribution by areas of interest and by geographic area. Applicant Qualifications To be eligible for grant consideration, an applicant must qualify under IRS regulations as tax exempt and not be a private operating foundation as defined by the IRS. Except under rare circumstances, grants are limited to Virginia organizations and institutions. Generally, grants will not be made to organizations supported primarily by government funds or to religious organizations. Grants are not made to individuals. Approach to Grant Making The Foundation has two grant making cycles per year – spring and fall. It employs a two step approach: an initial preliminary proposal which if approved will be followed by a formal application. This process is fully explained in web site section entitled Grant Making Process. Most grants have been made in response to organization initiated requests using this process. 2010 – A Change in Approach Beginning in 2010, the Foundation will increase the number of grants and grant amounts to organizations identified internally by the Board of Directors (“Board Directed Grants”). As a consequence, numbers of organization initiated grants and their dollar amount will be reduced. Given its new emphasis upon Board Directed Grants, the Board urges any organization considering submission of a preliminary proposal to the Foundation to review the guidelines contained in this section with care. In the past, many organizations have prepared proposals for “interests” and “purposes” inconsistent with the Foundation’s guidelines. In 2009, in response to 141 preliminary proposals, 12 grants were made (9%). Foundation Interests Despite its original broad purpose guidelines, the Foundation has given grant emphasis in recent years to the following: (i) educational institutions with which the Carter or Hutcheson families have been or are currently connected; (ii) the Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research; (iii) organizations involved in environmental/ conservation/preservation activities that directly benefit Virginians; and (iv) organizations that have limited access to outside funding and whose missions address unmet needs or underserved/un-served persons (e.g., youth, elderly, disabled/handicapped, etc.) Grant Purposes Although the Foundation has not adopted hard and fast rules governing purposes for which it will award grants, years of grant making have tended to focus and refine the Foundation’s interests. Grants have been made to: · support Virginia Institutions involved in critical medical research and treatment; · assist organizations seeking to begin new and ultimately, self-sustaining programs; · leverage established and successful programs in innovative ways that may broaden benefits provided and persons served; and · support capital projects, including equipment acquisition and facilities (e.g., new construction, renovation, preservation/restoration, etc.). The Foundation will not consider requests · to support operating expenses associated with ongoing programs or activities (e.g., camper-ships, scholarships, stipends, retreats, etc.) or other general administrative expenses (e.g., salaries, rent, office supplies, materials, etc.); · from organizations located outside of Virginia; · from local chapters of national associations and societies; · from educational institutions unless there is a direct Carter-Hutcheson family relationship; and · for endowment funds (including scholarship funds), debt reduction, or funding of deficits. Grant Request Frequency There is no frequency limitation on the submission of preliminary proposals. However, only one proposal per organization will be considered in a single cycle. Generally, declined proposals should not be resubmitted for the same purpose. Organizations that have been awarded a grant should wait at least three years before submitting a new grant request. Web Site Organization The major links within the Foundation’s web site are the (1) Grant Making Process (a general overview of the process and deadline dates); (2) Preliminary Proposal (the first step in the grant application process); and (3) Formal Grant Application (for approved Proposals, the formal grant application step). Next Deadline Date For our fall 2010 cycle, the deadline for physical receipt of Preliminary Proposals in the Foundation offices is Monday, August 1, 2010 at Noon.
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1802 Bayberry Court, Suite 401, Richmond, Virginia 23226-3773 Phone: (804) 521-0272 • E-mail: bcarterfn@aol.com |
