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Member Suggestion Form

To bring an organization to the attention of the Pooled Grant Committee, please take the following three steps:

  1. Tell us why you recommend the organization(s) by completing the form below.  It will be passed on to the Grant Committee for review in January.  Members are encouraged to recommend as many organizations as they wish.
  2. Contact the organization and ask them to:
    1. Go to the Foundation's website and review the Eligibility Guidelines for our Pooled Fund Grant process.
    2. Complete the Letter of Inquiry (LOI) form online if the organization fits the Guidelines.
    3. Submit member suggestion form below by November 30 to be considered in the next year's grant cycle

IMPORTANT:  A Letter of Inquiry (LOI) form is the mechanism for interested organizations to tell the Foundation about themselves; these LOIs are reviewed by the Grant Committee in January each year.  The LOI form provides Washington Women's Foundation with preliminary info only.  It is not a formal request for proposal.

Please note that these suggestions are not intended as an endorsement.  We do not encourage nonprofits to solicit members to send in suggestion forms on their behalf.

Please remember to submit your suggestion(s) by November 30 to be considered in the next year's funding cycle.

For more information about Member Suggestions, click here.

Frequently Asked Questions
about Member Suggestions for Pooled Fund Grants

  1. What does the Member Suggestion Form do?
    This form lets the members of the Grant Committee know about interesting organizations that others in WWF are involved with or are passionate about.
  2. What is a Letter of Inquiry (LOI)?
    This is a simple form that asks for basic background information from an organization and asks to tell us, briefly, how they would use a $100,000 grant from the Foundation. The Grant Committee reviews all of the LOIs in January and determines which 25 organizations they’d like to ask for a full grant proposal. Please note that an LOI is not a true grant application – it is just a way for organizations to introduce themselves to the Foundation. We receive about 250 LOIs each grant cycle.
  3. Do I have to contact the organization and encourage them to submit a Letter of Inquiry?
    We strongly urge you to contact the organization. It is very helpful, to both the Grant Committee and especially to the organization, if they enter the grant process via the LOI by November 30. There is not enough information on a Member Suggestion form alone to evaluate whether the organization should be looked at more closely; the LOI is the best way for the Grant Committee to capture this preliminary information.
  4. What do you do if you receive a Member Suggestion but no LOI from an organization?
    If it’s feasible, we’ll contact the organization and encourage them to send in an LOI. Since this isn’t always possible, it would be a great help if you take that step.
  5. How do I know if an organization has sent in an LOI?
    Email Emily Feicht  and she can check the LOIs that have been received. Note that the majority of them come in right at the deadline, so things will be a bit busy that last week of November!
  6. Is there anything else I can do to help an organization’s chances in the grant process?
    No, sending us this suggestion is great and it will be looked at seriously. In fact, further ‘lobbying’ during the grant process is not allowed. The Grant Committee will evaluate each organization in light of current needs, trends and other issues during their deliberation process.