Section I: What does Chicago Foundation for Women fund?1. What issue areas does Chicago Foundation for Women fund?
• Economic security
• Freedom from violence
• Access to health services and information
For more details, read the
Issue Areas section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines.
2. What makes an organization a good fit for a Chicago Foundation for Women grant?The Foundation seeks to fund organizations that:
• Work to intentionally benefit women and girls in underserved communities;
• Have women and girls in leadership positions on the board and staff, with diversity reflective of the community served;
• Display evidence of management integrity and sound fiscal planning; and
• Support Chicago Foundation for Women's core values.
Read more in the
Grantmaking Priorities section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines.
3. How do you define a "program intentionally designed to benefit women and/or girls?"Chicago Foundation for Women supports programs that have identified needs or systemic barriers faced by women and girls, and have intentionally designed a program to meet those needs. In rare cases, the Foundation will consider programs that strategically include men or boys in specific ways in order to ultimately benefit women and girls. The Foundation does not support programs where, although currently serving mostly women and girls, the program design would not change substantially if the majority of those served were men or boys. Read more in the
Grantmaking Priorities section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines.
4. Where are the organizations you fund?Funding from Chicago Foundation for Women supports nonprofit organizations within the Chicago metropolitan area (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties). Activities can be local, regional, statewide or in some instances national.
5. What is your renewal policy?The Foundation considers organizations for funding on a yearly basis. The application process is required for all organizations. Previous funding does not guarantee continued funding.
6. Do you offer multi-year funding?Not at this time. Currently, each of our grants spans no more than 12 months.
Section II: Application process and how to apply. 7. What is the application process?First, complete the
Grant Application Form (Word document). It consists of five pages that include a Demographic Chart and an Organizational Budget Comparison form. The Foundation will accept the organization/program's budget forms if they contain the same information. You must use the original narrative form for all other information and your responses must fit within the space allowed. At time of submission include: the Program budget (if applicable); list of other sources of support (if applicable); one copy of the organization's most recent 501(c)(3) certification, or that of its fiscal agent with a letter of approval from the fiscal agent; two copies of most recent organization audit or filed 990. For more information, read the
Applying for a Grant section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines.
8. The Grant Application Form isn't working--what do I do?The form is a Word document, and you need Microsoft Word to view and complete it. It is set up so you can only type in the gray boxes. The boxes look small but will be big enough for your answers. (Be sure to stay within length limits.) If you opened the document from our website, be sure to save your work on your computer. If you still have problems, call (312) 577-2801 and ask for the Associate Program Officer.
Download the Grant Application Form for Fall 2010.
9. What is the grantmaking schedule and deadlines?Deadlines for the current and upcoming primary grant cycles are on our
Apply for a Grant page. General Fund, Sophia Fund and other special interest fund grants are offered twice each year, in the Spring and Fall Cycles. All paperwork is due at the Foundation offices no later than 5 p.m. on the date listed—material turned in after 5 p.m. will not be accepted. Postmark dates are irrelevant. Applications for grants from the Strategic Response Fund are accepted on a rolling basis and awarded throughout the year.
10. How do I submit my application?You may mail, courier or hand-deliver submissions to:
Associate Program Officer
Chicago Foundation for Women
1 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1620
Chicago, IL 60601-3583
Please do not send in applications to the attention of the President and CEO or other staff members. We cannot accept incomplete, faxed, emailed or late applications or proposals. If you have questions about our grantmaking, please contact us at
grants@cfw.org or call 312.577.2801 and ask for a member of the Program Department.
11. Can I apply for general operating support?Yes, if your organization has a mission that aligns with Chicago Foundation for Women, i.e. specifically intentionally designed to benefit women and/or girls (
see question #3 above). Apply for program support if the program for which you are seeking funding is part of a larger organization.
12. Can I apply for direct service support?Yes, the Foundation is interested in funding programs that describe a clear need for the proposed program, articulation of the constituency to be served, proposed strategies, a project timeline and expected outcomes.
13. Can I apply for advocacy support?Yes, we expect to see proposals that have clear strategies that will affect public policy or community systems (e.g. criminal justice, health care, media, public education.)
14. Can I apply for funding in the arts or in education?Yes, as long as the agency or program's mission emphasizes social justice and is intentionally benefitting women and girls. In addition, the program must focus on the Foundation's three issue areas: economic security, freedom from violence, and access to health services and information. Some applicants and programs related to the arts and education may not be eligible—see the
Ineligible Applications section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines to learn more.
15. How do I request co-sponsorship for a conference or special event?Submit these applications to the Strategic Response Fund using the
Grant Application Form (Word document). The maximum award from this fund is $15,000, although the majority of grant awards are much less. In the program description section of the Grant Application Form, be sure to include details that describe your event, including the audience you intend to reach and how you plan to increase the visibility and access of your event to communities who might not ordinarily be reached.
16. What size are your grants?In the General Fund, Sophia Fund and other occasional special interest funds, grant amounts range from $15,000 to $50,000. Please note that the Foundation rarely makes grants at the $50,000 level. The Strategic Response Fund has a maximum of $15,000 per grant. For more details on our funds, read the
Applying for a Grant section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines. The Foundation also awards grants that are selected by our donors, which do not follow an application process.
17. Can my organization apply for more than one grant in the same year?Yes. However, due to limited resources, receipt of grants within the same fiscal year may be considered when reviewing new requests. Please note that the same program or project cannot receive support from the Foundation's competitive funds more than once in any given fiscal year.
18. Can my organization submit more than one application during the Fall or Spring Cycles?No, only one request is permitted per grant cycle.
Section III: How are decisions made? 19. How do you decide who gets funding?Read the
Applying for a Grant section of our Grantmaking Philosophy and Guidelines to learn about the grant review process. The Foundation also awards grants that are selected by our donors through our Donor Advised and Leadership Council funds.
20. What are automatic reasons for decline? • Application missing materials upon receipt. Staff will not follow up with applicants if they failed to submit any of the required materials.
• Application submitted after 5 p.m. on deadline day.
• Application submitted electronically.
• Request for 100% of project budget for General or Catalyst Funds.
• Request for funding for a new staff position.
• Already have current CFW funding for the program.
• Request amount below minimum ($15,000 for primary grant cycles) or above maximum ($50,000 for primary grant cycles).
21. Who has recently received funding from you?See a list of
our current and recent grantees from the past few fiscal years. The list includes brief descriptions of the organizations and projects we have funded, as well as links to the organizations' websites when available.
Section IV: What is required of funded organizations? 22. What is the reporting process?The Foundation requires a year-end grant report thirty (30) days following the end of the grant term. The exact due date will be stated in the award letter provided at the time the grant is made.
Report forms and instructions are available here.