Grantmaking Guidelines
The Summit Foundation welcomes grant applications from organizations serving the people of the Summit area. To be eligible for a grant, an organization must:
- Be tax exempt, and
- Either based in the Summit area and provide a major portion of its services to area residents, or,
- If based outside the Summit area, a significant portion of the project for which a grant is requested must be related to service to area residents.
- If submitted by or requiring the cooperation of a governmental entity or school district, include a letter of endorsement from the relevant department head in the governmental entity or superintendent, respectively, stating that the proposal is of value to the entity or school district.
The Summit Foundation is interested in the broadest possible coverage of the community’s needs, and all proposals that show promise of making a significant contribution to the welfare of the area are given careful consideration.
The funds available for distribution are limited; therefore, the general policy of the foundation is:
- To assist organizations with grants for specific programs, projects or initiatives, and other civic improvements or charitable uses.
- Not to make grants for endowments, individuals, or solely for general operating support.
- Not to make grants for
- Religious programs;
- improvements to facilities or land owned by houses of worship or other religious groups; and
- programs or projects run by houses of worship or other religious groups absent proportional participation by the broader community.
- not to fund any single organization for more than three consecutive years, nor more than once in any 12-month period.
- not to fund private or parochial schools from its unrestricted funds.
The Summit Foundation has recently made grants in the areas of education, children and others with special needs, community and civic projects, health, needs of the elderly, and the arts.
All requests for grants must be submitted electronically through The Summit Foundation website at summitforever.org. Organizations seeking grants must follow our guidelines and use our Grant Application portal to submit their application.
Completed applications must be received by April 1 or October 1. The grants committee of the board of trustees reviews requests and recommends action to the full board, which makes the final decisions at its June and December meetings.
Grants are available for well-defined programs and for projects covering a specified period of time. Grantees are expected to adhere closely to the stipulated terms of the grant.
Grantees must submit a narrative report comparing accomplishments with objectives, along with a detailed accounting of all disbursements. Grant funds must be used within one year of the award, and any unexpended funds must be returned to The Summit Foundation.
All grantees are required to provide publicity for the grant. Text must be submitted to and approved by the foundation before publication.
Grant application submission guidelines
Please ensure that you have included each of the following items with your application:
- Your organization’s current annual budget
- Your organization’s 501(c)(3) certification, including date of exemption granted by the IRS
- Most recent IRS Form 990 (Parts I through XII plus Schedules A & O only)
- Most recent financial statements (audited, if required)
- List of current officers and board members/trustees (with their affiliations)
- If you have received a grant from The Summit Foundation in the past two years, please ensure that the Program Evaluation Report for the grant has already been submitted, or is submitted, when due.
- Please note, you may attach an overdue Program Evaluation Report in the relevant section when you submit your application. If the Program Evaluation Report is not yet due, please email it to us at [email protected] on or prior to the due date.
Please refer to the Grant Applications Form User Guide/How To for directions on how to submit a grant application
Applications are confirmed when received. If you do not receive acknowledgement within a week of filing an application, please contact [email protected].
Please refer to the Grant Applications Form User Guide/How To for directions on how to submit a grant application
