Grant Application Guidelines

The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation funds solution-oriented projects related to four main focus areas – community, education, science, and environment. A project may be specific to one or more focus areas, and the number of focus areas included in a project does not impact the strength of the application. When applying, you will be required to specify which focus area your project falls under. If your project falls under more than one focus area, choose the area that you believe encompasses your project the most. The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation generally does NOT fund:

• Annual Campaigns
• Building or Capital Campaigns
• Endowments
• Fundraisers
• Pass-through (Umbrella) Organizations
• Reimbursement Funding
• Start-up Organizations
• Projects that exclusively serve religious purposes
• Political campaigns and legislative lobbying efforts
• Direct donations or grants to individuals
• Indirect Costs or Administrative Overhead

The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation primarily funds projects within the geographic regions of Stark County, Ohio, and southeast Florida. Applicants seeking funding outside of Stark County, Ohio, are by invitation only. An organization may submit no more than one application to the Foundation in a single calendar year. Any previous grantees must successfully complete their grant and submit a final grant report to the Foundation prior to becoming eligible for any subsequent funding. Paper applications will not be accepted. All applications must be submitted online through the Foundation’s Grant Application Process, as more fully set forth below. Only complete applications will be reviewed.

Grant Application Process

1. Read all of these guidelines, requirements, and instructions, and confirm you have read and understood all of these guidelines, requirements, and instructions by checking the box below.
2. Follow the link to begin the application process and submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) Form to the Foundation. LOIs may be submitted during the months of January, May, or September. Applicants will not be able to submit LOIs outside of these months.
3. At the close of each LOI period (i.e. the end of January, May, or September, as applicable), applicants will be notified by e-mail as to whether they are invited to submit a full application.
4. Once notified to continue the application process, the applicant will need follow the prompts to create a new account, as set forth in the applicant’s notification e-mail. After creating the account, applicants will use their email address and password to access their application information. The full application is due by the end of the month following the month in which the applicant submitted the LOI (i.e. February, June, or October, as applicable).
5. Applicants who submitted a full application will be notified of their award status by the end of the month preceding the next LOI period (i.e. April, August, or December, as applicable).

Required Information

The Letter of Inquiry form will require the following information:

• Title of Project or Program
• Summary of Project or Program
• Amount Requested
• Location (In-Stark County, or Out-of-Stark County, Ohio)
• Type of Funding
• Organization’s Mission
• Program Area (Community, Education, Environment, Science, or a combination)
• Secondary Program Area (explanation if Combination or Other)
• Target Audience
• Timeline
• Total of Project or Program Budget
• Total of Annual Operating Budget
• Whether or not your organization has Audited Financial Statements
• Tax Status
• Name of Fiscal Sponsor (if applicable)
• IRS Effective Date of Exemption (if applicable)
• Additional information to help us better understand your request

The Application form will require the following information:

• Organization History
• Board of Directors or Trustees
• Implementation of Project or Program
• Evaluation of Project or Program (measurable outcomes)
• Project/Program and Executive staff (one paragraph biographies)
• Sponsoring Organization (contact person, address, phone, and email, if applicable)
• Other foundations and organizations contacted for funding the project or program, the amounts requested, and the status of those requests (Pending, Approved, Denied, N/A)
• Detailed Project Budget
• Annual Operating Budget (if monies are to be used for general program or operating expenses)
• State issued Certificate of Continued Existence (or explanation of why you don’t have one) Click for example.
• Comments and additional project proposal information (as available)

Approved Grantee Information

• If funding is approved, the Foundation’s Grant Agreement must be signed by an officer of your organization and returned electronically to the Foundation prior to your organization receiving any funds, and if the Grant Agreement is not signed and returned to the Foundation before the date prescribed on the Applicant’s account, the Foundation reserves the right to rescind your organization’s award.
• Follow-up reports regarding the funded project or program are required. The Grantee should submit both a project or program summary as well as a financial report. The financial report should include the budgeted amount, actual amount spent, and any difference.
• Grantees must submit at least one photo encompassing their project with their final follow-up report.
• Subject to the Foundation’s prior written approval, the Foundation should be recognized in websites, press releases, and news items associated with the project or program funded by the Foundation.

The Herbert W Hoover Foundation’s contact person for grant information is Caiti Waks.