About Grants:

Who selects your grant recipients?

The Foundation's Board of Directors selects grant recipients.

What type of things does Fourjay fund? What type of things does it reject?

The Foundation supports non-profit organizations whose chief purpose is to improve health, education, and human service within Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks counties, in southeastern Pennsylvania. A more detailed list of the kind of things we support, and also the kind of things we don’t support, can be found in our guidelines.

Does Fourjay Foundation make multi–year grants?

No. We award grants on an annual, case-by-case basis to qualified applicants. Some non–profits may receive funding in consecutive years, but each annual grant is applied for and considered separately.

What‘s an average-sized grant? What‘s the range of grants made?

The average grant is about $5,000. Grants generally range from very little to about $10,000. However, grantseekers should assess the realistic needs of their own organization – relative to its funding base and other factors – and approach Fourjay Foundation with a figure it deems appropriate.

Do you fund operating expenses or capital budgets?

Yes – both. Fourjay Foundation believes each is necessary for the long-term viability of an organization, and we’ve underwritten each type of funding request.

We have many types of funding opportunities that seem to meet your guidelines. Which would be best for us to focus on?

We believe each organization knows best its own needs and priorities. We ask grantseekers to choose among their own competing concerns and seek the funding it really needs, within the framework of our guidelines.

What is a “grass roots” organization and why do they get funding preference?

Generally, “grass roots” means people or society seeking to solve problems at a local level, rather than as part of larger national or international organization. Grass roots programs usually involve local “social entrepreneurs” or groups who‘ve found effective ways to build (or rebuild) their communities, fix what‘s broken, and make a portion of society better. Fourjay Foundation seeks to give these kinds of organizations support over larger, better–known charities that have greater avenues for funding sources, or more entrenched ways of doing things.

Back to Top of Page

About the Application:

What's a cover letter and why do you want one with our application?

A cover letter prefaces your application. It‘s basically a formal, one-page letter you attach to the front of your application when you submit it. It clearly provides for us the name of your organization, a contact person, a brief summation of the request – with its purpose and amount – and allows us to quickly identify your application materials.

Why do you want 6 cover letters but only 1 proposal?

We distribute the cover letters directly to board members with other general consideration materials; the proposal itself is reviewed in a different process and gets separate, more targeted consideration.

What's a “funding history” and why do you ask we incorporate it as part of our request?

An agency’s funding history helps us better determine the level and sources of support contributed from the larger community. It also helps us gauge a non-profit's ability to raise money, and hence, be able to meet its needs and objectives. Typically, funding histories are lists of various types of donors, with dollar amounts, for a period of a few years; we like to see donor lists going back 2 to 3 years.

Tell us more about the financials submitted with proposals e.g., date of audits; size of budgets; agencies using an audit of its parent organization; start–up organizations?

• Whenever possible, audit should be for the last completed fiscal year. When this is not possible (if proposal is submitted immediately following the close of the fiscal year), internal figures of income and expense for the just completed fiscal year should be submitted along with the prior year’s audit.
• When an agency submits the audit of its parent organization, it should also provide its own internal figures for income and expense for the last completed fiscal year.
• Fourjay does not have a hard and fast rule for budget size but rather assesses the overall financial picture.
• In the case of startup organizations, on a case–by–case basis, the board might opt to provide seed money to help an agency through its early stages before it can provide an audit; however, an accountant’s review or IRS990 is still required.

Can our proposal be accepted if we’ve postmarked it on the day its due in your office?

No. Per our guidelines, grant applications must be received in our offices by one of the following quarterly deadlines: March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1. If the 1st of March, June, September, or December falls on a weekend or holiday, proposals are due in our administrative offices on the last preceding business day. Exceptions aren’t made and proposals received after the dates listed above are held for the next quarter’s meeting.

We’ve just been given your funding decision – when can we reapply?

Per our guidelines, applicants may apply only once each calendar year – at least 12 months after the time of the last application. For example, applicants who apply in the first quarter of a given year must wait to re–apply in the first quarter (or later) of the following year. This is our protocol regardless of whatever funding decision was last made.

Back to Top of Page

Other Questions:

How are site visits arranged?

The Foundation initiates its site visits. Visits are normally scheduled after a grant’s been awarded, or if a request has been deferred pending more information. Fourjay directors seek to experience charitable operations in action, i.e., visits are made to meet the beneficiaries of charitable work, to see services delivered firsthand, and to observe projects or programs specifically funded.

The Foundation handles many more requests than it can accommodate with visits; therefore, staff and directors prioritize scheduling.

What kind of publicity does the Foundation seek for its grants?

Our statement on publicity can be found here.

What’s your logo supposed to be – and does it symbolize anything?

The logo’s an artistic rendering of the letter “j” intersected with parts of the number “4.” With the dot of the “j” representing a human head, one can imagine the logo depicting the torso of a person holding their arm in the shape of a hug – denoting caring, compassion, and responsibility.

If you have other questions, please email Ann Bucci, Grants Coordinator, at abucci@fourjay.org.

Back to Top of Page