Application Process
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Step 1: Determine Eligibility and Review Timeline
Before applying, we ask that you review our funding guidelines and frequently asked questions, and review the entire application process below. Please do not submit an LOI if you are outside of our geographic funding region or focus areas. Otherwise, any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Puget Sound region and working within our funding guidelines is eligible to submit an LOI at any time (see note below on waiting periods).
Timeline
The Medina Foundation accepts applications on an ongoing basis, year-round. All requests begin with an LOI. Selected LOIs will be invited to submit full applications. After LOI submission, you will typically be notified within one to three months. If invited, applications are due within one year of invitation date. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. After your application is received, you will be contacted to set up a site visit as part of the application review process. Notification of grant awards are typically made within two to three months of initial application submission (but can take up to five months), depending on our meeting schedules and the volume of requests we receive.
NOTE: If you have previously applied for funding, we ask that you wait at least 12 months after you last decision date (or one year from the last payment date, in cases of capital or multi-year grants) to submit a new LOI. If your previous grant was approved, you must also submit your one-year final report before a new LOI can be considered.
Step 2: Register or Log In
Since 2013, the Medina Foundation has used an online application (e-grant) system. Please do not submit LOIs via mail or email.
Feel free to contact the Grants and Operations Manager at (206) 652-8783 or [email protected] at any time if you have any questions.
If this is your organization’s first time applying for a grant with the Medina Foundation, please review our grant guidelines / eligibility quiz and contact us if you have any questions about your eligibility. When you are ready to begin the application process, you may register a new account by clicking “Create New Account” here.
Tips for User Registration
E-Grant System Tips
Step 3: Submit Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
The first step in the application process is to submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) through the e-grant system. This is a short form, approximately one to two pages, providing an overview of your organization, the requested grant amount, and a description of how funds would be used.
LOIs are reviewed in the order they are received. Upon review of your LOI, the Foundation will invite selected organizations to submit a full application. Invitations to submit an application are sent via email to the contact person associated with your grant request. Typically, you will receive a response within 1-2 months of submitting your LOI.
Tips for Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
Step 4: Submit Full Application
If invited, the applicant will receive an email from “Medina Foundation Grants ([email protected]).” Please reply to this email to confirm receipt of your invitation. Your organization has up to one year from the invitation date to submit your full application through the e-grant system.
After submission, Medina Foundation staff will carefully review your full application and will request a site visit, which is an opportunity for our program staff to meet with your organization’s executive director and a board member to have a conversation about your work. After the site visit, the application is considered complete, and will be reviewed at the next Trustee meeting, when Trustees review applications and make grant decisions.
Trustees meet several times each year, and consider LOIs and applications in the order in which they were received. A grant decision is typically made within two to five months after receipt of a completed application, depending on the number of requests in our queue. You will receive notice of the final grant decision via telephone call and through email at the address provided in your online account.
Tips for Grant Application
Step 5: Follow Up
If your grant request is approved, you will receive a Grant Agreement (via email/DocuSign, directed to the Executive Director/CEO), including instructions regarding the signature, and how to complete the final report for your grant, which is due one year after your grant is disbursed. Once your signed Grant Agreement is received, your grant check will be disbursed. Please ensure that the mailing address on your contract is correct, in order to receive your grant check.
Tips for Follow Ups
Application Assistance
After reviewing the grant guidelines, above application process, and frequently asked questions, feel free to contact the Foundation if you need assistance or have any questions.
Please contact:
Medina Foundation - Grants and Operations
(206) 652-8783
[email protected]
Before applying, we ask that you review our funding guidelines and frequently asked questions, and review the entire application process below. Please do not submit an LOI if you are outside of our geographic funding region or focus areas. Otherwise, any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Puget Sound region and working within our funding guidelines is eligible to submit an LOI at any time (see note below on waiting periods).
Timeline
The Medina Foundation accepts applications on an ongoing basis, year-round. All requests begin with an LOI. Selected LOIs will be invited to submit full applications. After LOI submission, you will typically be notified within one to three months. If invited, applications are due within one year of invitation date. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received. After your application is received, you will be contacted to set up a site visit as part of the application review process. Notification of grant awards are typically made within two to three months of initial application submission (but can take up to five months), depending on our meeting schedules and the volume of requests we receive.
NOTE: If you have previously applied for funding, we ask that you wait at least 12 months after you last decision date (or one year from the last payment date, in cases of capital or multi-year grants) to submit a new LOI. If your previous grant was approved, you must also submit your one-year final report before a new LOI can be considered.
Step 2: Register or Log In
Since 2013, the Medina Foundation has used an online application (e-grant) system. Please do not submit LOIs via mail or email.
Feel free to contact the Grants and Operations Manager at (206) 652-8783 or [email protected] at any time if you have any questions.
If this is your organization’s first time applying for a grant with the Medina Foundation, please review our grant guidelines / eligibility quiz and contact us if you have any questions about your eligibility. When you are ready to begin the application process, you may register a new account by clicking “Create New Account” here.
Tips for User Registration
- The first step for new applicants is to register a new account for the nonprofit organization seeking funding. This includes the organization’s name and tax ID number, the applicant contact information, and the executive director of the organization.
- Please be sure that the organization’s address listed is the mailing address; important decision information may be mailed to this address.
- The applicant is the person responsible for initiating/completing the grant request for the organization (this may be the Development Director, Grantwriter, Executive Director, or other staff). The primary contact is the Executive Director/CEO.
- Your email address will be your login and you will set your own password. This email address will receive important notifications regarding the application. Please add "[email protected]" to your safe senders list.
- To add a user within your organization, re-assign a specific grant request to a different user, or to make changes to your organization’s mailing address or other information at a later time, please contact us.
- If your organization has a fiscal sponsor, you may apply under the fiscal sponsor's EIN. Typically, we ask that you enter the organization name as "[Organization] - fiscal sponsor: [Name]" for clarity. There is an area on the LOI to upload your fiscal sponsorship agreement, if applicable. Please reach out with any questions.
- If your organization has previously applied for a grant with the Medina Foundation, but you do not know your login or password, please contact us. This includes applicants prior to our 2013 transition to the e-grant system, and applicants who are unsure if their organization has ever applied before. Please do not register a new account.
E-Grant System Tips
- If you are new to an organization, please do not overwrite the previous login information with your own. Instead, contact us to be added as a new user within your organization.
- Important: To ensure you receive all emails from the Medina Foundation, including those through our e-grant system, please add [email protected] and the domain @medinafoundation.org to your safe senders list.
- If your password is lost, you can contact us to reset it, or click the “Forgot Password” link on the login page.
- Once you are logged in, you can change your password by clicking the “Edit Profile” link in the dropdown menu (displaying your name) in the upper right corner of your dashboard. You may also update your email address/phone number in this area.
- To view grant request history for your organization, click "Organization History" from the upper menu on the applicant dashboard. By default, the dashboard will only show previous grants that were submitted under the applicant currently logged in.
- To reset your password or change other contact information, click "Edit Profile" from the dropdown menu with the applicant's name in the top right corner of the dashboard.
Step 3: Submit Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
The first step in the application process is to submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) through the e-grant system. This is a short form, approximately one to two pages, providing an overview of your organization, the requested grant amount, and a description of how funds would be used.
LOIs are reviewed in the order they are received. Upon review of your LOI, the Foundation will invite selected organizations to submit a full application. Invitations to submit an application are sent via email to the contact person associated with your grant request. Typically, you will receive a response within 1-2 months of submitting your LOI.
Tips for Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
- To begin a new LOI, click the “Apply” link in the menu after logging in.
- The Medina Foundation does not have deadlines to apply. However, we ask that you wait at least one year after the last grant decision (or final payment date, in the case of capital or multi-year grants) before submitting a new LOI. If your last application was approved, we must also have received your final report for the previous grant before considering a new LOI.
- Character limits on forms include spaces. However, we have increased character counts on most form questions to the maximum of 10,000 to alleviate the need for excessive editing. Please see the notes on each form/question for the recommended length of response.
- We recommend preparing responses in a Word document, and then cutting and pasting the information into the form, to avoid any loss of data. However, the system does auto-save all work every few minutes. There is also a "Save" button at the bottom of each form if you would like to return later to finish your request.
- Required fields are denoted with an asterisk (*). If a required field is left blank on the LOI form, the e-grant system will not process the request. A dialog box will appear on the screen and list the field(s) that require a response. Fields with missing information will be denoted with “Field is required” in red lettering.
- When the LOI is complete, do not forget to click “Submit” at the bottom of the form!
- After the LOI is submitted, the applicant will see a Confirmation Page indicating the form has been submitted, and the applicant will receive an automatic email from the e-grant system acknowledging the submission. If you do not receive the confirmation email, your form has not yet been submitted (or you should check your junk filters to be sure you are receiving emails from “[email protected]”).
- Once the LOI has been submitted, the responses entered into the form fields can no longer be edited. Be sure to make all necessary edits prior to final submission of the LOI.
- If you do need to make any changes, contact us as soon as possible.
Step 4: Submit Full Application
If invited, the applicant will receive an email from “Medina Foundation Grants ([email protected]).” Please reply to this email to confirm receipt of your invitation. Your organization has up to one year from the invitation date to submit your full application through the e-grant system.
After submission, Medina Foundation staff will carefully review your full application and will request a site visit, which is an opportunity for our program staff to meet with your organization’s executive director and a board member to have a conversation about your work. After the site visit, the application is considered complete, and will be reviewed at the next Trustee meeting, when Trustees review applications and make grant decisions.
Trustees meet several times each year, and consider LOIs and applications in the order in which they were received. A grant decision is typically made within two to five months after receipt of a completed application, depending on the number of requests in our queue. You will receive notice of the final grant decision via telephone call and through email at the address provided in your online account.
Tips for Grant Application
- As with the LOI form, please pay close attention to the instructions and character limitations for each field in the Application form. Character limits do include spaces. We recommend saving your responses in a Word document first, then cutting and pasting your answers, to avoid any loss of data.
- You may save your application and return to work on it later by clicking the “Save” button at the bottom of the form.
- Be sure to upload all requested documents.
- Budget Template: Our board finds it helpful to review your financial reports in a side-by-side format (last year's actual income/expenses next to current year's budget). You may submit this report in your own format, if available, or use our Budget Template. If your application is for Project funds, please be sure to fill out the Project Budget on the second sheet of the Excel template as well.
- Balance Sheet: please attach a recent copy of your Balance Sheet, showing net Assets and Liabilities.
- When you are finished, be sure to click “Submit” or your application will not be received.
- Once your application is submitted, you will see a confirmation screen and receive an automatic email from our system confirming your submission. If you do not receive confirmation of submission, please check that the form was submitted or contact us.
- You will not be able to make changes once the application is submitted; please contact us if you need to change anything on a submitted application.
- The deadline to submit the application is one year from the invitation date, but you may submit your application as soon as you like after your invitation.
- If you have any questions regarding the application, please feel free to contact the Grants and Operations Manager or your assigned Program Officer prior to submission.
Step 5: Follow Up
If your grant request is approved, you will receive a Grant Agreement (via email/DocuSign, directed to the Executive Director/CEO), including instructions regarding the signature, and how to complete the final report for your grant, which is due one year after your grant is disbursed. Once your signed Grant Agreement is received, your grant check will be disbursed. Please ensure that the mailing address on your contract is correct, in order to receive your grant check.
Tips for Follow Ups
- There are typically two follow-ups assigned in our e-grant system once a grant request is approved:
- Grant Agreement
- Final Report
- Grants made for Capital Campaigns, or multi-year grants, may have differently-named or additional interim reports assigned.
- Once we receive your signed Grant Agreement, your grant check will be disbursed.
- You will also be assigned a Final Report for your grant, due one year after grant disbursement. The final report is also submitted through the e-grant system. You will receive an automatic reminder via email two weeks prior to your follow-up due date.
- To complete a Final Report, log into the e-grant system and click the blue “Edit” link next to the form name “Final Report,” and click “Submit” when finished.
- If an applicant/user leaves an organization while a grant request is active, contact us to add the new contact person, and we will re-assign the grant request and any follow-ups to a new user.
- You can view and manage your follow-up requests by logging into the e-grant system and managing your current grant from the applicant dashboard.
Application Assistance
After reviewing the grant guidelines, above application process, and frequently asked questions, feel free to contact the Foundation if you need assistance or have any questions.
Please contact:
Medina Foundation - Grants and Operations
(206) 652-8783
[email protected]