5-Step Process

STEP 1: Determine if your project fits our guidelines and priorities

Please read our giving categories and eligibility overview completely and carefully.

If you have a question regarding your project, you may contact the Foundation staff prior to submission of a Letter of Inquiry.

STEP 2: Submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI)

If your project meets our criteria, we encourage you to submit a Letter of Inquiry using the attached form. This step must be followed by organizations applying to the Foundation for the first time, as well as previous grantees.

  • The Letter of Inquiry (LOI) form requests basic information about your organization and project.
  • Click here to complete your LOI.
  • After you have completed the form, please follow instructions for submitting the letter. Once the Foundation has received the application, you will receive a message via email confirming receipt along with a copy of the LOI for your records.

PLEASE NOTE: The attached online Letter of Inquiry (LOI) form is the ONLY format which we will accept. The Foundation does not accept mailed, faxed or otherwise transmitted copies of this application, and we cannot accept additional attachments such as brochures, videos, etc.

There are no application deadlines. Letters of Inquiry (LOI) are accepted at any time.

When an LOI is submitted, it will be acknowledged immediately and is usually fully processed within three to four months.

Criteria for Evaluating Letters of Inquiry (LOI)

The LOI gives our board the opportunity to assess the proposed project's feasibility/sustainability and evaluate the organization's capacity to plan, implement and sustain the project.

Evaluation factors include:

  • Alignment with our giving categories and priorities
  • The project's alignment with your organization's mission
  • The strength and experience of the project's staff and the ability to deliver an effective program
  • Adequate planning - both financially and otherwise, including:
    • The project's scale in relation to an organization's overall budget.
    • A credible and diverse funding plan. The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation does not fund an entire project; we expect to be one of multiple funding sources. Each applicant must demonstrate the ability to derive a match - either financially or through human capital.
    • Ability to sustain the project beyond the grant period. Generally, the Foundation does not provide multi-year grants.
    • Funding does not include general operating support, but may include specific costs associated with well-planned start-up ventures.

Other considerations:

  • The Foundation's capital campaign funding does not include endowment or ongoing operating support beyond the project's first year.
  • For the most part, we expect projects to be launched and completed within 12 months of the award.
  • We can award grants for which payment is conditional on a specific achievement of a total fund goal or other event.
  • All grantees must adhere to stipulated grant terms and reporting guidelines.

STEP 3: Submit a final application (by invitation only)

If your LOI is accepted by the Board of Directors, the Foundation's staff will contact you by email and invite your organization to submit a final grant application for further review. At that time, you will be provided the necessary information to complete the final application. Please note - a request in this phase does not guarantee funding for the project.

STEP 4: Final review and funding determination

The Foundation's Executive Director will review each proposal carefully, and will often request a one-on-one meeting with the applicants in order to review requests and project plans. In addition to determining whether your proposal meets the Foundation's priorities, staff will assess the feasibility and sustainability of the proposal.

If your proposal satisfies our evaluation criteria, it will be forwarded to the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation Board of Directors for further review and a funding decision.

The Foundation awards grants throughout our fiscal year. The proposal solicitation, due diligence review, funding determination, and formal notification process takes approximately four to five months.

Notification: All applicants receive notification of the Board's action.

STEP 5: Arlington Tomorrow Foundation Grantee Reporting Guidelines

Foundation grantees may be required to provide periodic reports to the Foundation to demonstrate progress and financial accountability. These reports will be requested by the Foundation's staff in accordance with grant contracts and will be utilized to, among other things, request grant payments from the Foundation and account for spending of grant funds.

If reports are requested, please refer to your grant agreement for a schedule of due dates. If the grant to your organization supports a particular project, the report must focus on that project. Please note: A close-out report is not the appropriate venue for a subsequent grant request.

The Foundation reserves the right to cancel grants if grantees have not satisfied the conditions of the gift or if the project has not proceeded within nine months of the award.