Grant Application Procedure
Thank you for your interest in applying to the Vidda Foundation. The Vidda Foundation receives hundreds of inquiries every year, and has developed the following procedures to help streamline the application process.
The Foundation considers grant applications from organizations primarily in the New York metropolitan area, and only after having responded favorably to an initial letter of interest from the grantee. Before an application can be considered, documentation of an exempt classification will be required as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, the applicant must be considered “not a private foundation” within the meaning of Section 509(a) of the Code. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals, and the Foundation does not make multi-year grants.
Please read and follow the instructions carefully.
Only applicants following these procedures will be considered as grantees.
Letter of Interest
- The first step in applying for a grant from the Vidda Foundation is submitting a Letter of Interest.
- Your Letter of Interest should not exceed two pages in length, and should include your organization’s mission statement, the grant amount requested, and the details of the project for which your organization is seeking funding, or a statement that the grant request is for the general support of the organization.
- Please do not include any additional supporting materials, such as videocassettes, brochures, letters of reference, financial statements, etc., with your Letter of Interest. They will not be considered at this point in the application process, and can not be returned.
- Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on an ongoing basis.
- Full proposals (the next step in the application process) are considered at our Funding Meetings, usually held in May and November. If a Letter of Interest is submitted less than 10 weeks prior to a funding meeting, we can not guarantee that you will receive a response from us with sufficient time to submit a full grant proposal by that meeting. Please see the grant cycle calendar below.
- We encourage applicants to submit Letters of Interest early in the grant cycle in order to avoid a last minute rush, and to ensure that your Letter can be given complete consideration.
- We discourage FedEx, certified mail, express delivery packages, or any method of delivery that requires a signature, unless specifically requested by the Vidda Foundation. It is the position of the Trustees that unnecessary use of these methods of delivery is neither a prudent use of charitable funds, nor does it reflect sound planning on the part of the applicant.
- We do not accept faxed or e-mailed Letters of Interest.
Full Proposal
- If your Letter of Interest is chosen for further consideration, your organization will be invited to submit a Full Proposal, consisting of a five-page application. We use the New York/New Jersey Area Common Grant Application Form from Philanthropy New York. Application materials will be sent along with the invitation letter. Please note that the Foundation requires potential grantees to provide a copy of the latest IRS Form 990 return.
- Full Proposals will be reviewed twice a year, in May and November. Invited applicants have up to one year to submit a Full Proposal, and Full Proposals are accepted for either of our proposal deadlines. Deadlines to submit a Full Proposal (for invited applicants only) are March 31st and September 30th. The invitation to submit and/or acceptance of a Full Proposal should not be construed as the conference of a grant by the Foundation.
- Final grant decisions will be announced approximately 12 weeks after each deadline. Funding decisions can not be expedited.
Grant Cycle Calendar
- The Vidda Foundation considers grant applications in two cycles per year:
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jul
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
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Feb. 28
Deadline for Letters of Interest
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March 31
Deadline for Full Proposals
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Funding Meeting #1
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Grantees Notified by Aug. 30
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Grantees Notified by Feb. 28
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Aug. 30
Deadline for Letters of Interest
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Sept. 30
Deadline for Full Proposals
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Funding Meeting #2
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‹------------------------- Letters of Interest accepted and reviewed year-round --------------------------›
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