| How much should I request? |
| When determining your request amount, we ask that you consider (a) the potential size of the project’s audience and scope of its outcomes; and (b) the cost of your activities and personnel. Generally speaking, a project that aims to engage a larger audience will require more complex activities and more funds. Your request amount should accurately reflect fair market-rate costs for your proposed activities and should also respect any constraints or rules imposed by your organization. Oftentimes, applicants note that the number of activities is flexible, with more activities requiring more funds, and fewer activities requiring less funds. There is no “right amount” to request, but our reviewers do consider the “return on investment” as a key decision criterion. |
| Can we submit an OFI for a project with a duration over 3 years? |
| Project durations cannot exceed 5 years (or 57 months in the case of organizations that do not have US public charity status), though the Foundation prefers OFIs for projects that would not exceed 3 years (or 33 months in the case of organizations that do not have US public charity status) in length. |
| When should proposed projects start? |
| All proposed projects should have an anticipated start date no earlier than August 1, 2022 and no later than June 1, 2023. |
| Do you provide overhead/indirect costs? |
| The Foundation allows for an overhead/indirect cost component within the budget, which is capped at 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 consultants or project personnel from other institutions. 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 also note that the Foundation will not pay for first class or business travel. |
| What is Additional Funding? |
| All applicants are encouraged to consider ways in which the project might be financially supported by funding drawn from sources other than the Foundation. All such funding that can be costed toward the project’s proposed budget and during the proposed duration of the project counts as Additional Funding, including cash and in-kind support from organizations that might be involved in the project. The one exception is waived overhead expenses, which would not count as Additional Funding. |
| May our project team or organization submit more than one OFI? |
| In general, we ask that there be no more than one OFI submission per organization. We also ask that no one individual be a Project Leader on more than one OFI submission. However, a single person might be project personnel on multiple OFI submissions, and an organization might be involved in multiple OFI submissions, though not as the prime organization. |
| 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? |
| In general, Outputs are activities/products that are accomplished/delivered during the grant’s duration; more importantly, they are generally within the power of the project team to deliver upon. Outcomes, in contrast, are hoped-for changes that result, in part, from the project’s Outputs. In most cases, Outcomes are not within the power of the project team to deliver upon; other factors beyond the project team’s control must also be in place. In writing Outcomes for a proposal, we advise applicants to make plausible assumptions about such factors. |
| For inspiration in coming up with Outputs and Outcomes, we encourage applicants to consider the four items listed in the Parameters section of the Funding Competition. |
