Grantee RESOURCES
Grantee RESOURCES
As our mission makes clear, we support and engage with our grant partners to make a positive difference in our community.
Thus, quality relationships with our grantees is key to our approach and work. We strive for clear and consistent communications from an organization’s first contact with our Foundation all the way through to the closing of an awarded grant. We will provide diverse opportunities for feedback — directly in conversation, through targeted outreach, and via occasional surveys. We ensure options for anonymous feedback, knowing that sometimes it can be hard for grantees to be candid about what isn’t going well. Finally, we turn that input into action, making changes in our communications or improving aspects of our grantmaking process.
If at any time you need to get in touch, we welcome you to a 20-minute virtual chat with Kate Shirah, our Foundation executive director.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fox Family Foundation welcomes grant recipients, if they wish to do so, to publicly communicate their partnership with the Foundation. Grantees should refer to our brand guidelines regarding use of the Foundation’s name and/or logo and the pre-approval process. The Foundation, however, does not require grantees to acknowledge the Foundation in materials or publicize the Foundation’s grant, either through the media or any other communications channels.
Each grantee has full responsibility for the conduct of the project or activity supported by a Fox Family Foundation grant. The grantee shall monitor the performance of the project to assure adherence to grant purpose, time schedules, or other requirements as appropriate to the project or the terms of the grant.
Each fiscal sponsor has ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the project or activity supported by a Fox Family Foundation grant. The fiscal sponsor shall, in partnership with the grant recipient, assure adherence to grant purpose, time schedules, or other requirements as appropriate to the project or the terms of the grant.
Kate Shirah, the Foundation executive director, will generally meet with each grant recipient at least once annually. Exceptions include grant recipients with an award of $5,000 or less who choose to submit a (very) brief written update in lieu of a meeting. Grant reporting and evaluation varies based on the grantee’s goals as stated in their application and the type, size, and nature of the grant. Typically, required information may be shared as part of the annual grant meeting. For some grants, a brief written report might also be required. Regardless, all reporting and evaluation expectations will be outlined as part of the grant award notice and agreement. Fox Family Foundation does not require grant recipients to report the details of how grant funds were spent.
We encourage you to add Kate Shirah to your organizational distribution for regular news and updates. Please directly share the following with Kate: a change in the point of contact for the grant; significant organizational or staff changes or news; and any positive or negative media attention.
If you received a general operating support grant, you do not need to request pre-approval for any changes. If you received a grant that restricts the use of funds to the project or program described in the grant application, it depends on the nature of the change. Any change to the purpose of the project or program requires Foundation approval as do any significant changes in major activities described in the application. Changing the overall term of the grant also requires approval of the Foundation. Changes in the use of grant funds (budget modifications) that reflect a departure from the purpose of the grant require pre-approval; otherwise, budget changes do not need to be approved. Similarly, routine operational shifts do not require Foundation approval.
You determine who attends the meetings with your organization. Fox Family Foundation uses Calendly to schedule annual grant meetings which makes it easy for you to include other attendees as you see fit.
If you have been awarded a general operating support grant, as indicated in your grant award notice and agreement, the funds are unrestricted. You do not need to request approval for any changes.
Contact Kate Shirah, the Foundation executive director, to discuss.
All grant funds may be carried over to the next year of the grant and used consistently with the purpose and description as outlined in your grant application. If you wish to use the funds for a different purpose, you must request pre-approval from the Foundation.
If you received a general operating support grant, you may continue to use any unspent funds as you see fit in support of your organization’s mission (e.g., for ongoing operational expenses, to pay off debt, and to build up organizational reserves or savings). If you received a grant that restricts the use of funds to the project or program described in the grant application, you may continue to use funds toward that project or program. If you wish to use the funds for a purpose that represents a departure from the original grant application, you must request pre-approval from the Foundation.
Grantees should submit a signed letter indicating that the challenge has been met as laid out in their grant application and provide summary details as relevant to their proposed challenge (i.e., total $$ raised, # of new donors, # of lapsed donors, etc.). We do not need to see a detailed listing of each donation.
Yes. Contact Kate Shirah, the Foundation executive director, to discuss.
Contact Kate Shirah, the Foundation executive director, to discuss.
As you might imagine, we receive a great many invitations to community events, and we are grateful for the opportunity to participate as time and schedule allows. We encourage you to send invitations to Kate Shirah, our Foundation executive director, for events you believe will be of interest to us. These might be events related to the Foundation’s grantmaking, or where you’d appreciate our participation as a community stakeholder, or those that provide an opportunity for us to learn more about your work. Generally, Fox Family Foundation does not participate in fundraising events unless it is a celebration of a significant organization achievement and a Foundation representative is available to attend.
Page images, from top: American Dance Festival, photo credit: Ben McKeown; Student U.
