FAQ
Grant Requests
The Powell Foundation does not fund initiatives focused solely on areas other than Harris, Travis, and Walker Counties, Texas but does consider multi-county or statewide initiatives that will benefit these specific counties.
The Powell Foundation will consider funding requests for operating costs, agency programs, or specific projects. We do not accept requests for debt retirement or to cover past operating deficits. We do not accept requests for any type of fundraising events or advertising.
The Powell Foundation will consider requests for capital projects on a case-by-case basis. Please note that capital projects on average represent less than 2% of the Powell Foundation’s annual grant awards.
Application Process
An organization may apply once per year. Current grantees may reapply in the same cycle they were last funded.
Organizations whose grant requests were denied may reapply no sooner than one year from the last cycle they applied.
We meet with prospective grantees on a case-by-case basis depending upon fit and alignment of proposals to our areas of interest. We recommend that you first submit a pre-application for review. We will follow-up to learn more based on the Foundation’s interest in the proposed body of work.
Pre-applications are accepted from new and past grantees year-round and reviewed on a rolling basis. While we do our best to share status updates as quickly as possible, please note that review times will vary depending on when the pre-application was received. Please see our website for grant cycle consideration deadlines. Organizations whose pre-applications are advanced will be invited to submit a full proposal and assigned an application form.
Current grantees will be notified when they are eligible to submit a pre-application. Organizations will be notified of the status of their pre-application before the application is scheduled to open for that cycle (generally 3-4 weeks after the pre-application deadline).
Please note, our process takes approximately 6 months from the time of initiating an application to award. We appreciate your advance planning and patience.
Declined Requests
The Foundation carefully reviews all requests considering its grant guidelines, priority issue areas, geographic focus areas, and the amount of funding available for each grant cycle. Because of these variables and the high volume of applications received, it may be difficult to provide each applicant with a specific reason why a pre-application or application is denied. If you do contact the Foundation for feedback, please note that it may not be possible for staff to respond to inquiries immediately, especially following a board meeting.
Yes, you may reapply one year from the most recently declined request.
New organizations or past grantees
Submit a pre-application via the website.
