The Staten Island Foundation’s grant-making is directed solely on efforts that will improve the quality of life for Staten Island residents, especially those who are least advantaged.
To ensure that Foundation dollars are used to their best advantage, the Foundation has developed targets in each of its focus areas that ask grantees to address some of our community’s greatest challenges and an application process that is more of a conversation than a form to complete.
We acknowledge that every nonprofit has limited time and resources to raise funds for important services, and we ask that before writing an application, potential applicants review our guidelines to see how their work aligns with the Foundation’s targets and think about the anticipated results of the work and how it will be measured.
After reviewing our targets and thinking about your proposal and its anticipated results, please contact Foundation staff with an email that provides a few paragraphs about your proposal and how it might align with a Foundation target. A Foundation staff member will respond providing next steps.
Please note that The Staten Island Foundation Board meets at the end of January, March, June and September. In order to submit a proposal for their review, potential requests must be discussed and substantially completed two months prior to the Board meeting of when applicants are seeking funding. That means that applications:
- For the January meeting, must be ready by November 1st
- For the March meeting, must be ready by January 10th
- For the June meeting, must be ready by April 1st
- For the September meeting, must be ready by July 15th
The timeline for submission of late applications is subject to the discretion of the Foundation’s small staff, taking into consideration the amount of applications on that meeting’s docket, the applicants history with the Foundation, and whether there are emergency circumstances.
Applicants who put forth a proposal that aligns with Foundation guidelines will be asked to have a call with Foundation staff or sent a link with an access code to our software portal.
During the call with Foundation staff, potential applicants will provide additional details about the proposal, be asked to submit outstanding reports, and receive suggestions about ways to strengthen a proposal or connect with potential partners.
The Foundation makes one grant per applicant each year. Generally, the grant period is one year and applicants must complete a grant year before making a new request.