Grants

Philanthropy Grants | Collaboration Grants | Philanthropy & Collaboration Grants

We are among the very few foundations that focus on process rather than on specific fields of interest. A central feature of our focus on process is encouraging nonprofits to utilize efficient business practices in their operations.

We are interested in building the overall capacity of the nonprofit sector by strengthening organizations that encourage philanthropy, volunteerism and public service in the community. We support nonprofits that have as a primary mission the desire to (a) grow philanthropy, (b) promote and train volunteers, and (c) support, encourage or train citizen engagement in public-service activities.

On the collaboration front, while we applaud all forms of collaborative and cooperative activities by nonprofits, we have chosen a very specific niche in which to fund – we fund only efforts that are intended to lead to long-term collaborative activities of nonprofits working in the same area, that is, nonprofits that otherwise might be considered competitors. Within this niche, we have funded a wide variety of projects, ranging from innovative joint-use facilities to cooperative ventures to new organizational structures such as coalitions and mergers.

Once we have determined that a prospective grantee fits within the scope of our mission, we fund organizational capacity-building activities as well as specific projects and programs; we will support capital projects only if they directly advance our mission. Many of our grants are multiyear commitments.

Our grants are designed to leverage Lodestar’s assets to the fullest extent possible. Not only do we try to maximize strategic impact by focusing on projects that support systemic changes in the way nonprofits conduct business, we generally leverage our funds by establishing challenge and matching fund requirements which often are applicable to our grantees and their boards as well as third parties.

Along with our financial support, we provide substantial technical assistance to our grantees through our own staff and through outside consultants. We work with prospective grantees, often over extended time periods and in incremental funding steps, to help them achieve their goals.

We encourage you to review descriptions of our most representative grants by type.

Grants by Type:

• Philanthropy Grants
• Collaboration Grants
• Philanthropy & Collaboration Grants