| How much should I request? |
| When determining your request amount, we ask that you consider (a) the cost of your activities and (b) the scope of your impact. Your request amount should accurately reflect fair market-rate costs for your proposed activities. Oftentimes, applicants note that the number of activities is flexible, with more activities requiring more funds, and fewer activities requiring less funds. To determine the number and cost of your activities, please consider the overall scope of your impact. If you are seeking to create significant change at the national level or to conduct a rigorous evaluation of a high-profile organization, then a request amount over $1 million USD may be required. If you are focused on impacting change at the local level, then a request amount closer to $200,000 USD may be appropriate. There is no “right amount” to request, but our reviewers do consider the “return on investment” as a key decisioning criterion. Generally, we do not plan to invite proposals that request funds less than $50,000 USD or more than $3 million USD. |
| Can we submit an OFI for a project with a duration over 3 years? |
| The Foundation will provide funding for projects up to 36 months in duration for organizations with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. We can provide funding for projects up to 33 months in length for all other organizations. |
| When should proposed projects start? |
| All proposed projects should have an anticipated start date no earlier than July 1, 2022 and no later than December 1, 2023. |
| Do you provide overhead/indirect costs? |
| The Foundation allows for an overhead/indirect cost component within the budget, which is no more than fifteen percent (15%) of the direct costs. We welcome proposals that request a lower percentage. The overhead/indirect cost should be included in your Total Request Amount. |
| Do you support travel and lodging costs? |
| Travel and Lodging for the Personnel Employed by the Legal Organization can be completely underwritten by the Foundation for all project activities. However, the Foundation has much stricter limits for the travel and lodging costs associated with anyone who is not employed by the Legal Organization, such as a Project Co-Leader at another institution or a conference presenter from another institution. In general, the Foundation does not fund projects with budgets that exceed 10% travel and lodging costs for persons not employed by the Legal Organization. Please note that the Foundation will not pay for first class or business travel. |
| May our project team or organization submit more than one OFI? |
| Yes. A project team or organization can submit multiple OFIs. If the OFIs are on related projects or ideas, we encourage you to bundle them into a single initiative. |
| Should citations or references be included in our OFI? |
| The Foundation expects applicants to use their judgment in deciding how many citations are necessary to include as part of describing their project idea. While in-line citations for key references can be helpful, especially where the proposed project is building on or challenging a particular line of work, we do not expect a full reference list at the OFI stage. |
| Is feedback available for a declined OFI? |
| Regrettably, given the large number of OFI submissions, the Foundation is unable to provide each applicant with specific feedback. |
| What kinds of Outcomes and Outputs should we include on the application? |
| Outcomes and Outputs will vary based on the nature of the project activities. For instance, if the goal of the project is to launch a new character-focused curriculum, then outcomes should align with the goal of continued implementation of the newly launched character development curriculum. Outputs could include (but are not limited to) practice-based outputs like new curricula, trainings, meetings/conferences, and other resources. |
| For another example, if the focus of the project is to conduct an evaluation to further understand why a program works and who it impacts, then outcomes should identify how answering the research questions will impact our understanding and practice of character development. Outputs should include academic papers and conference presentations, as well as relevant practice-based outputs (updated educational material, curricula, etc.). |
| Do you have further advice for applicants? |
| Successful applications, especially those requesting more than $250,000 USD, should identify a specific opportunity or problem of practice that references a specific method to strengthen character programming. We have found that proposed activities with a unified focus are more often successful than proposed activities that are diffuse and lack an overarching narrative. |
