The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes. The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.

We have two grant cycles a year. The deadlines are April 30 and November 1.

Grant Guidelines

The grant guidelines provide background information about the minimum requirements that must be met to be eligible for us to consider your grant application. The grant deadlines provide detailed information about the schedules and deadlines of the grant application process. The grant guidelines and deadlines are subject to change.

The foundation is focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes although our interests are fairly diverse and may lead us into other areas on an occasional basis. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographic restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or public schools and libraries are eligible for contributions or grants.

Grants Made by the Foundation

The foundation makes grants to US based qualified charitable organizations. To date we have funded organizations that address the following areas of interest:

• Environment (US headquartered organizations operating programs in the US or elsewhere in the world),
• Human Services
• Disaster relief (US headquartered organizations responding to disasters in the US or elsewhere in the world on an occasional basis),
• Other (US headquartered organizations operating programs in the US or elsewhere in the world).

Grants That the Foundation Will Not Make

The foundation will not make grants to international charitable organizations that are not qualified in the US or to for-profit businesses.

The foundation does not typically make grants for the following purposes. Requests to fund the following purposes are likely to be denied:

• Computers or software,
• Audio or video equipment,
• Designing and producing videos, kiosks or promotional material,
• Music programs or musical instruments,
• Gardening programs or equipment,
• Physical education programs or equipment,
• Recreational programs,
• Theatre arts or performance arts programs or equipment,
• Hospice or old age home programs,
• Churches,
• Religious, charter or magnet schools
• Individuals for any purpose,
• International organizations that do not have a qualified domestic 501(c)(3) representative,
• Political lobbying activities or other political purposes,
• Voter registration,
• Private foundations,
• Dinners, balls, or other ticketed events,
• Purposes outside of the foundation’s funding priorities as listed in the prior section.

Other than legal requirements, these lists are not absolute and may not always apply, but they provide some guidance about our interests.

Please also note that Program Related Investments are not currently made and that we do allow grant requests for indirect costs.

Deadlines

Grants are awarded twice a year. Grant applications are open to any organization that wishes to be considered for a grant that meets the grant guidelines. Generally, the online grant application will provide us sufficient information to make a decision. In some rare cases we may ask for additional information to make a decision. The calendar for this process is:

Any grant applications received after a deadline will be considered for the next grant cycle.

Application Process

The grant application provides the opportunity for you to introduce your organization, tell us what problems you face, and how we can help. It also allows us to determine whether the purpose or project for which you are seeking funding has aims consistent with our mission and areas of interest. The grant application is subject to change.

The Lawrence Foundation is required by IRS regulations to grant a minimum percentage of its net assets to nonprofit organizations on a yearly basis. Grants are awarded twice a year. Please carefully review the Grant Guidelines to determine your eligibility for consideration.

If you meet our grant guidelines you may apply for a grant by using the Common Grant Application. If you haven’t opened an account then please register at the Register tab. If you already have an account, go to the Login tab.

All grant applications that are received will be collected together and reviewed by the trustees for the funding cycle. There may be discussion between the organization and the trustees to understand or comment on elements of the grant application. After the review is complete, the trustees will select the projects that will be funded. We will notify your organization by the date specified in the Grant Guidelines page if we have decided to fund your project. We will also notify your organization by email if we decide not to fund your project.

Any grant applications received after the deadline for the current grant cycle will be considered for the next grant cycle.

After a project is selected for funding there may be some additional discussion between the organization and the trustees after which a check will be issued to the organization by the date specified in the Grant Guidelines page.