Applicants wishing to submit a proposal for a grant from The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust are required to follow these Guidelines (Proposals not providing the requested information will not be considered)

Proposal Checklist (download pdf)

The Trust requires that each proposal be

• Submitted in duplicate;
• No more than five (5) pages in length;
• Contain the following:
• • A brief description of your organziation;
  • The problem you are seeking to address;
  • How you will address this problem (including how many individuals will be served, how they will be identified, and how they will be enlisted for the program);
  • How addressing this problem matches one or more of the missions of the trust (a statement affirming that it does is not sufficient);
  • The qualifications of your organization and the specific personnel to address this problem;
  • The grant amount requested
  • • How that amount was determined (this includes requests for general operating support);
    • A budget for the program for which you are seeking support, reflecting sources of income, as well as expenses;
    • Where additional funds, if any, will come from, and contingencies if they are not provided as anticipated;
    • Where funds will come from to support the program in future years;
    • If seeking an increase from a prior year's grant, why increased funds are needed and how the additional funds will be used (your answer must provide a justification for the increased request; "to enhance or expand our current programs" is not an acceptable answer); and
  • How you will measure the effectiveness of your program; and
  • The benefit to the community
  • • Short term
    • Long term

The following must accompany each proposal, in duplicate:

• A listing of your board of directors;
• A listing of your ten largest grantors for the past year, including the dollar amount of each grant;
• A copy of your IRS Determination Letter;
• A complete copy of your most recent 990; and
• Most recent audited financial statements;
• Proposal Checklist (click for PDF download).

Please do not submit the following:

• Annual Reports
• Newsletters
• Videos
• CDs
• Calendars
• Newspaper Articles
• Magazines
• Books
• Photographs
• Binders and Folders
• Programs

The Trust generally does not fund

• Individuals;
• Organizations outside the metropolitian Chicagoland area;
• Capital Campaigns; or
• Endowment Campaigns.

The Trust does not purchase

• Raffle Tickets or
• Tables or seats at fundraising events, regardless of whether it has made past grants to the organization.

Please do not put the Trust or the trustees on any mailing lists to receive these items.

Meetings between the Trust and grant seekers

• Occur after a proposal has been submitted; and
• At the request of the Trust.

The Trust requires a written grant report (in duplicate) from successful grant seekers:

• Specifically addressing:
• • (a) how the grant from the Trust was applied; and
  • (b) if the goals of the proposal were met or, if not, why not;
• Including a budget that tracks the budget submitted with the original proposal (labeled "original") and the amounts actually received and expended (labeled "actual");
• Within six months of the date of the grant;
• The narrative report should be one to two pages in length; and
• Three months prior to any future grant request.

Proposals received in . . .	Will be reviewed in . . .
January, February	March
March, April	May
May, June	July
July, August	September
September, October	November
November, December	January

Every attempt is made to adhere to the above referenced schedule; however, review of a particular proposal may take longer than estimated.

The Trust will notify each grant seeker

• If additional information is needed; and
• The decision regarding the grant request.
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