The Grants Committee manages the pooled fund award process. The committee is open to all IWCF members. Members are encouraged to join at the beginning of the grant cycle in January and continue until the end of the cycle in May. The committee researches community needs in five Interest Areas: Cultural Arts, Financial Security, Education, Environment, and Health.
Any IWCF member is welcome to bring projects to the attention of the Grants Committee Chair at any time during the year. Nonprofits interested in making the Grant Committee aware of their work are invited to submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) form, posted on the bottom of Grant Seekers page. LOIs must be received by December 1 for consideration in the following year's grant cycle. IWCF funds projects that address at least one of the following criteria: responds to an urgent and critical community need; bold new venture; and/or new approaches to time-worn problems. IWCF funds nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations serving southwestern Idaho (specifically the counties corresponding to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Regions 3 and 4).
Work groups in each Interest Area convene separately to identify giving priorities and evaluate LOIs from organizations of interest. The entire Grants Committee gathers to share the results at each stage of the process. Each group selects 4-6 agencies to receive a formal request for proposal (RFP). No unsolicited grant proposals are accepted. Three to four proposals per work group are selected for a site visit. After site visits are conducted, proposals are chosen by the Grants Committee to appear on a ballot that is sent to the entire IWCF membership for a vote. Based on the results, five agencies (one from each Interest Area) receive pooled fund awards at our Annual Meeting held for members and guests each May. Award amounts depend on the size of the pooled fund.
The foundation funds broadly. It does not limit funding to womens causes. It funds agencies and projects that, in the opinion of IWCF members, are able to make the best and most innovative use of our grants, and meet one or more of our giving criteria. Awards are typically disbursed in two installments: June and December. Proposals that offer opportunities to leverage other funds and forge partnerships that will increase the impact of IWCF grant awards are of special interest.
Please see theGrant Program for additional information.
Idaho Women's Charitable Foundation | P.O. Box 6164 | Boise, ID 83707 | 208-343-IWCF