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For Grant Seekers

ATTENTION GRANT SEEKERS: The Lovell Foundation is no longer accepting Letters of Inquiry for funding. Our sunset is almost complete and the foundation will officially cease operations by the end of 2024. We apologize for those of you who are seeking grant funds and we wish you the best of luck in your search. The information below will remain on the website for historical purposes only.

Steps for Making an Inquiry

Step 1: Read “Eligibility and Exclusions” first! (See below.) We will not consider stand-alone programs unless they are already associated with one of our Initiatives. 

Step 2: Read Types of Grants (see below) and choose which one most closely fits your proposal.

Step 3: Click here to access the log-in page for our online application process. Click on the “Create New Account” button and submit the requested information about your organization. After creating your account, you will receive a confirmation email. You can then log back in and submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) for an Initiative Grant or Social Impact Media Grant. Be sure to select the correct form, as they are reviewed in separate processes. If you have questions, please email info@lovellfoundation.org. Emailed, typed, or handwritten Letters of Interest (i.e., those not entered into our online system) will not be reviewed but we are happy to provide technical assistance to make our process accessible to all.

If your proposal is of interest to the Foundation, you may be invited to submit a full application. This may require speaking directly with a Foundation representative, providing additional information, or potentially hosting a site visit.

Review Process

All proposals are reviewed by Foundation staff and a Grants Committee. The Grants Committee makes recommendations to the Lovell Foundation Board to either decline or approve the proposal at a particular level of funding. Before deciding, the Board may invite the applicant to make a presentation (virtually or in person). After Board review, you will be contacted by Foundation staff about the status of your proposal, typically within five business days of the meeting. We appreciate your patience during these busy times and ask that you do not contact the Foundation directly for updates.

Timelines

Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time, and we try to get back to you within 30 days. However, November-January and April-June are our busiest times of year, so it could take longer to hear back from us during those periods. Recognize that if you are asked to submit a full application, as much as six months may pass between the time you submit your LOI and a final determination is made on your proposal. Successful awardees typically receive the funds within 45 days of Board approval. 

Eligibility and Exclusions

Eligibility

We will only consider Letters of Interest from/for:

  1. Organization Status: Applicant organizations must either be a 501(c)(3) public charity in good standing with a determination letter from the IRS, or a tax-exempt faith-based organization, school or government entity that meets our other eligibility guidelines.
  2. Geography: Proposals that are national in scope or those that have a direct impact in Arizona. Exception: Toledo, Ohio area organizations working in Mental Health may be eligible for grants through our Donor Advised Fund at the Toledo Community Foundation. Please visit www.toledocf.org for information. 
  3. Type of Grant: Initiatives or Social Impact Media requests (see “Types of Grants” for our definition of these grants). No program or capital requests, please.
  4. By Invitation Only: Full applications are only invited by the Foundation following review of a Letter of Interest submitted online.
  5. Compliance & Reporting: Applicants must comply with all narrative and financial reporting requirements as outlined in our Application Instructions and Grant Agreements. If you are a previous or current grantee, you must be in good standing with all reporting requirements and use of funds, as determined by Foundation staff. 

Exclusions

We will not invite applications from/for:

  1. Organizations that discriminate based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, political affiliation, or religious belief;
  2. Faith-based organizations that condition receipt of services on belief in a particular faith or refuse services to persons outside of their membership;
  3. Programs of any type (i.e., ongoing operating funding for established work) unless they are already associated with one of our Initiatives);
  4. Campaigns for endowments or Board-designated reserve funds;
  5. General fund drives, such as United Way annual campaigns;
  6. Debt retirement or relief of operating deficits;
  7. Institutional indirect rates (i.e., university development fees) unless fully disclosed as a line-item in budgets and pre-approved by the Foundation;
  8. Lobbying or political campaigns;
  9. Direct donations or grants to individuals;
  10. Building or capital campaigns;
  11. Organizations primarily supporting individuals or programs located outside of the United States.

Types of Grants

Initiative Grants

We define Initiatives as efforts that attempt to:

  • address the root causes of an issue in one or more of our four Focus Areas, either through elimination of a problem or creation of a solution;
  • alter a structure or a system so that it can better address the root causes of an issue; or
  • transform an organization or group of organizations so they are better equipped to alter the structure of a system and/or address the root cause of a social issue, 
  • or some combination of the above.

Social Impact Media Grants

Social Impact Media (SIM) Grants are for creating and disseminating different forms of media: documentary film features, documentary film shorts, episodic documentary series, web series, multi-media projects for web, and trans media projects (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, or other) designed specifically to make a social impact. They must either qualify as Initiative Grants themselves, for example, using a documentary film feature aligned with one of our four Focus Areas to make a sustainable impact on a particular social issue, change a system, or transform an organization; or they must be created in collaboration with and in support of an ongoing or proposed Initiative Grant, for example, broadly disseminating a multi-media project in support of education and outreach in a multi-partner initiative effort. These grants are extremely competitive and there are limited funds available annually. SIM proposals are eligible for the following purposes and amounts:

  • Development: As the Foundation nears sunset, we have decided to no longer accept development requests as we have a narrowing window of time in which to invest in projects.
  • Production and Post-Production: A range of $25,000 to $100,000 (generally no match is recommended for this stage, although there will be exceptions). As above, due to our impending sunset, we are most interested in projects that are very near completion or already complete.
  • Distribution/Outreach: A range of $25,000 to $100,000, with the possibility of an additional match of up to $50,000

IDEA Capacity-Building Grants (Only Lovell Foundation Grantee Partners Eligible)

In early 2020, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation recognized a growing interest in organizational capacity building among our Grantee Partners in the areas of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA). This work falls within our Gender Parity focus area, as so many of the disparities facing women and girls disproportionately impact people of color and other marginalized communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has cast even greater focus on these disparities.

These capacity building grants are to aid existing organizations in their journeys toward a more equitable workplace and accessible services.  In conjunction with Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and Vitalyst Health Foundation, nine southern Arizona non-profits have taken advantage of these funds to date

These by invitation only grants must have a focus on organizational change and internal planning and development.  IDEA efforts such as nonprofit organizational training and support, human resources policy development, as well as outreach and marketing to diverse constituencies and potential employees can be supported. Funds may be used for staff salaries, consultation, and accompanying expenses.

The grant range is $3,000-$15,000 for initial exploration of IDEA initiatives, planning, or implementation of an initiative already in process.