Alternative to Unsolicited Proposals

Due to limited staff capacity–we currently only have three full time employees–we are not able to consider unsolicited proposals. 

We recognize and want to explicitly acknowledge that the choice of many foundations to not consider unsolicited proposals can be frustrating. Indeed, it can be a form of resource “gatekeeping” that perpetuates power imbalances between foundations with financial capital and nonprofits seeking funding. However, as a foundation with a small number of staff, we are simply unable to consider unsolicited requests while simultaneously striving to responsibly engage and develop long-term relationships with current partners who align with our mission.

In an effort to temper this dynamic, we welcome you to send us brief information about your organization through the form on our Contact Us page. We are unable to respond to every message, but if we believe that a potential partnership aligns with our mission and strategies, we will do our best to reply. We recommend that you research our mission, grant programs and current grantees thoroughly (listed under the “What We Fund” tab) before submitting a request or brief introduction to determine whether your work aligns with our grantmaking strategies. Our annual reports list our past grantees and provide overviews of our past and current grant programs.

Eligibility

NorthLight prioritizes funding organizations with the following criteria:

  • The organization is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit, or a project fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)3 organization.

  • The organization/project advances environmental, climate and/or conservation outcomes, particularly those centering justice and equity.

  • The organization/project is led by the people most directly impacted by the issues the organizations works on, and those members have clear decision-making power. If the organization is not led by those directly impacted, the organization engages in authentic partnership with those communities, and works to center their lived experiences in the solutions they advance.

  • The organization/project has the potential for high impact and systemic change.

Capital Campaigns

NorthLight does not give capital grants to fund the construction of facilities or buildings. The Foundation focuses instead on providing programmatic and/or general operating support for non-profit organizations whose work aligns with our mission, values, and goals.

Nonprofit Resources

If you are an organization seeking funding, and NorthLight cannot fulfill your funding request, please see the resources listed below:

  • JustFund provides a platform for organizations to submit a single, common proposal and interact with a host of funders.

  • Philanthropy University offers free online courses on fundraising, nonprofit strategy, monitoring and evaluation, and more.

  • GrantSpace by Candid offers tools and resources to help nonprofits become strong grant applicants and build their organizations. Candid also offers access to a foundation directory, for a fee.

  • FLUXX Grantseeker is a free online tool to manage grant applications and tasks.

  • J.M. Kaplan Innovation Prize offers multi-year support to innovators who are spearheading transformative early-stage projects in the fields of social justice, the environment, and heritage conservation.

Invited Proposals

Types of Funding

NorthLight provides both general operating support (GOS) and project support for its grantee partners. We endeavor to deploy our dollars from the John L. Tishman Fund, which is restricted to supporting education and scholarship, as often as we can, and as a result fund numerous educational projects, trainings, fellowships, internships, and scholarships. However, we understand that general operating support is crucial for organizations to build capacity, cover costs needed to run successful programs, and ensure staff are appropriately compensated for their work. Therefore, we strive to give GOS grants to our grantee partners whenever possible, and often work with grantee partners to creatively utilize both restricted and unrestricted endowment dollars when forming grants. 

While many of our grant terms are one-year grants, we aim to increase the number of multi-year grants we give to ensure our grantee partners can focus more on their important work and less on fundraising. 

Please communicate your funding needs (general operating, project support, multi-year) to NorthLight staff, and we will do our best to meet those needs in our grant recommendations to the Board. 

Invitation Process

NorthLight uses the JustFund portal for our grants management. JustFund is an innovative grants platform that connects funders and grassroots organizations. Any proposal you submit will be available not only to the NorthLight Foundation, but to hundreds of funders using JustFund, saving you time and increasing the visibility of your work to new funders and networks.

Once you have been invited by NorthLight staff to submit a proposal to be considered for board approval, the JustFund team will send you instructions for how to set up an account on the portal and how to submit a proposal to NorthLight’s current grant cycle.

Proposal Guidelines

We do not ask that you write a new proposal specific to NorthLight. We accept proposals and materials you have written for other funders. We do ask, however, that you provide an up-to-date budget and list of current/prospective funders so that NorthLight staff can accurately assess your funding needs when recommending a grant to the board. 

When submitting a proposal to NorthLight’s grant cycle, the JustFund portal will allow you the option to 1) create a new proposal, 2) use an active proposal to apply to NorthLight’s funding opportunity, or 3) copy existing proposal content and edit accordingly. The goal is to make the application process as streamlined and time-efficient as possible. For further questions about how to submit a proposal or what the proposal should look like, please refer to JustFund’s tutorial video or Help Center. NorthLight staff is also available to answer your questions and provide feedback on the written materials you submit for board consideration. 

Notification of Approval

If your grant proposal is approved by NorthLight’s Board of Trustees, the JustFund team will notify you of approval and next steps. Please refer to the Current Grantees page for further information.