In our ongoing periodic series on sources for grants, we have focused on foundations tied to the great tech companies of our day. In this installment we present a foundation not obviously linked to that sector of the economy, though in fact it is intimately entwined. The Lawrence Foundation was established by Jeff Lawrence and Diane Troth (spouses) in 2000 with some of the proceeds received from the acquisition of Trillium Digital Systems, which was a company Jeff started, by Intel Corporation. Over the last decade-plus, the foundation has offered over $3 million to projects concerning education, health, the environment, and disaster relief (local and international). How would your organization benefit from a relationship with the Lawrence Foundation?
The foundation receives about 400 proposals a year, so the competition will be tough. But the practicalities of the application process are not. Your application is presented in Common Grant Application website, where you will register your charity or nonprofit so that you can apply to numerous grants from the same set of resources stored on the site. The organization awards grants via two cycles through the year with deadlines on April 30th and November 1st. If you ‘miss’ a deadline, your application is automatically turned over into the new cycle.
Environmental and educational programs have received the greatest percentage of awards from the foundation since its inception. Health and human services programs have been supported as well. Like many charitable foundations, the Lawrence Foundation will not give to individuals or or to organizations that do not enjoy tax-exempt status from the IRS. Nor will they fund fundraising or the development or dissemination of promotional material. Further guidelines can be found here.
Develop your nonprofit’s story, fine-tine your application materials, and get registered on the Common Grant website. And we encourage you to share your experiences with our readers in the comments below!
