Grantmaking

Bethany Legacy Foundation will not fund:

• Health care levies, lobbying or political campaigns, scholarships, or endowments.
• Projects where BLF grant funds account for more than 40% of the total operating budget of the lead organization. BLF grant funds are not intended to replace existing funding sources.
• Organizations, programs, or projects that discriminate in any way based on participation or membership in a specific religious faith, race, gender, citizenship status, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Important Attributes of the Grant Proposal - Please note BLF will not fund all applications it receives.

All applications will be assessed for:

Mission Appropriateness
How much the organization has a clear health equity* component with use of BLF funds that align with our current Impact Framework (Vision for Home). The proposed initiative or project should help promote resident independence and self-reliance.

Grant Budget
The budget request should be commensurate with its anticipated impact. The budget may include reasonable indirect or overhead costs. The application will ask for other sources of funding and opportunities for BLF’s grant to leverage new sources of funding.

Plan for Assessment and Evaluation
Proposals should clearly identify the target population(s), the number of clients served, and the specific outcomes grantees seek to achieve, both within the grant period and long term.

Sustainability
BLF grant funds are not intended to replace existing funding sources. Grantees should always demonstrate how they are working toward supporting the development, implementation, and sustainability of promising programs.

In addition, we will prioritize proposals that have one or more of these factors:

Hopeful, Strengths-Based Culture
BLF is the outgrowth of generations of women who served others with dignity, empathy, compassion, and respect. We seek partners who have that same culture and who help Jefferson County residents find hope and build on their personal strengths.

Potential for Systems Impact
BLF seeks proposals that promise significant enhancement of existing services, especially those that ultimately lead to self-reliance for Jefferson County residents. We understand that in order to get there, we need to adopt an approach that addresses root causes rather than just symptoms. We welcome opportunities for systems change – altering how policies, practices, resources, relationships, and mindsets hold a problem in place.

Collaboration
BLF places high value on collaboration and is open to funding collaboration grants which involve a cohort of multiple organizations or groups of stakeholders working together towards a specific goal. We also look for ways in which applicants collaborate with their customers, clients, and residents in developing and implementing solutions.

Multi-Generational and Peer-Supported Approaches
Health and self-reliance are easier to achieve and sustain when a person has the support of caring peers and family members. BLF welcomes approaches that involve a whole family (biological or family of choice) and/or peer support.

Innovation
BLF is willing to fund experimentation with new approaches and innovations that question the status quo and break from previous practices. We’re willing to take smart risks with grantees. We want our grantee partners to succeed and we know that the priorities listed above will be a stretch for many organizations. Because of this, BLF welcomes requests to pay for strengthening your organization’s knowledge, skills, systems, data and evaluation capacity, and ability to leverage additional resources.