Altman Foundation
Application Process

We recommend you carefully review our guidelines and the results we seek in our program areas before submitting an application.

Requests for grants should be submitted using the application forms below. The Foundation has no submission deadlines. Proposals are reviewed in the order they come to the Foundation, and grants are approved by our Trustees at regularly scheduled Board meetings throughout the year.

The Foundation makes three types of investments:
  1. Investments in Direct Service
    In this area we support programs and projects that create human gain for people in our areas of focus. Historically, most of the grants in our portfolio have fallen into this category.

    Organizations seeking support for Direct Service should download the application below:
    Application Form:DOWNLOAD
    Application Guide:DOWNLOAD

  2. Investments in Organizations (Capacity Building)
    At times we believe that making an investment in an organization so that it can achieve and sustain stronger gains for those served is the best investment we can make. In general, these investments are reserved for organizations with which we are already working.

    Organizations seeking support for Capacity Building should download the application below:
    Application Form:DOWNLOAD
    Application Guide:DOWNLOAD

  3. Investments in Systems Change
    At times we believe that the most pressing need is to make an improvement in the larger context of factors and forces that affect programs and organizations. The Foundation will allocate limited grant dollars to strategic policy, advocacy, and applied research initiatives that advance the Foundation's grantmaking priorities.

    Organizations seeking support for Systems Change (i.e., applied research, policy, and/or advocacy work) should download the application below:
    Application Form:DOWNLOAD
    Application Guide:DOWNLOAD


FOR ALL APPLICANTS:

Please include with your application the following:

  • A cover letter signed by a senior executive or the board chair of your organization;
  • A copy of the grantseeker’s 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Service tax exemption letter;
  • The organization’s most recent audited financial statement;
  • If the last completed audit is more than a year old, please also send unaudited financial statements for the fiscal year most recently ended;
  • For your current fiscal year, please provide a year-to-date profit & loss statement that compares budgeted and actual income and expenses, and a current balance sheet;
  • A budget for the proposed project and for the organization as a whole for the year in which the requested funds would be used;
  • Sources of income corresponding to the program budget and the organization budget: pending and secured public, corporate, and foundation supporters to date for the current fiscal year, with amounts; and a list of supporters, with amounts, for the most recently completed fiscal year;
  • A list of the organization’s governors, trustees, or directors with their professional affiliations; and
  • If applicable, a final narrative report on your previous Altman grant and a budget indicating how grants funds were expended.


All requests should be submitted by mail to:

Karen L. Rosa
Vice President and Executive Director
Altman Foundation
521 Fifth Avenue, 35th Floor
New York, New York 10175

The Foundation will not accept
applications submitted by email or fax.

PLEASE NOTE

February 2010

As is the case with so many foundations, the value of our endowment declined in the economic downturn, and we are still experiencing the effects. Our Trustees maintained our grantmaking budget at $12 million in 2009 (approximately the same level as in 2008) in order to help our grantees weather the storm. Our commitment to giving current grantees priority consideration combined with a substantial amount of multi-year commitments left almost no funds for new projects. Trustees did, however, also award a special, board-initiated $1 million program-related investment (PRI) to the Fund for the City of New York to support bridge financing to help nonprofit organizations in New York City with cash flow while they await payments on approved contracts and grants. This year, our grantmaking budget will be slightly smaller than last, and we will have to make difficult funding choices.

We will continue to give special consideration to high-performing current grantees seeking renewed funding, and we will again have little, if any, money available for new programs or projects. However, if after reviewing our guidelines and grants lists, you believe that your work and the results you achieve are directly and measurably in line with the Foundation’s priorities, we want to know about what you are doing.

Given the very limited funds we will have for new grantmaking, we are not requesting complete applications at this time. Instead, we ask that you send a letter of inquiry that introduces your organization and the program or project you would like the Foundation to consider; states your track record of achievement in the area for which you seek support; and outlines both the results you anticipate being able to achieve for those you serve and how those results are aligned with the results the Foundation seeks. We will follow up with you if we need more information.

This does not apply to current Altman grantees, who should prepare full applications using the forms on this website as usual.

Thank you for all you do.

Karen L. Rosa
Vice President & Executive Director
Altman Foundation
521 Fifth Avenue, 35th Floor
New York, NY 10175

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