Apply for a Grant

Start Application
EligibilityFunding PrioritiesEvaluation and Impact

The Foundation utilizes a one-step, online grant application submission process for receiving and considering grant requests. Direct contact with trustees is strongly discouraged, but the trustees strongly encourage potential applicants to communicate with the Foundation’s executive director prior to submission of any proposal.

The Foundation conducts a disciplined due diligence review of each grant application. Funding decisions are made through a combined effort of the Foundation staff and the board of trustees. Responsive grant requests are assessed on multiple criteria, including alignment with the Foundations key areas of focus of Access, Healthy Behaviors, Capacity Building and/or Integrated Care; as well as identified need, impact, systemic changes, and organizational performance and capacity.

Application: The Foundation seeks to use evidence of performance, in addition to demonstration of need, to make funding decisions that improve health equity in metro Atlanta. Accordingly, the application should include a description of the clients, patients, and communities who have benefitted from the requesting organization's services as well as a description of these benefits in quantifiable terms. It should also include information on why the organization is uniquely qualified to deliver health services and/or programs based on its previous performance, specific accomplishments and the community served. Also, please describe how the organization partners with community members to identify strengths and opportunities in addressing the organization’s mission and vision.

Applications for funding are submitted online. They must be signed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the organization, must specify a dollar amount for the Foundation's consideration, and should include the following as attachments:

  • A  list of the members of the Governing Board;
  • A current budget for the organization and program to be considered for funding, if applicable;
  • A copy of the organization's Internal Revenue Service letter, which attests to the organization's tax-exempt status.
  • A copy of the organization's Internal Revenue Service letter, which attests to the organization's tax-exempt status; and
  • A copy of the organization's most recent annual report or 990 and a donor listing.

Applying organizations are encouraged to contact the Foundation executive director prior to submitting a grant application. This will allow staff to develop a preliminary understanding of the organization, its mission and priorities, as well as the scope of the proposal and its alignment with the Foundation's mission and priorities.

As part of the grant application process, a site visit may be conducted so that the organization, Foundation staff, and trustees can fully discuss the grant request.

Eligibility

The following organizations may apply for a grant from Jesse Parker Williams Foundation:

  • Nonprofit organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, except those that are private foundations and non-functionally integrated supporting organizations as defined by Section 509(a) of the IRS Code.
  • Nonprofit organizations located within, or having programs focused within the five county (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton) Atlanta area.
  • Nonprofit organizations, as described above, that are engaged in the following activities:
  • Individual and population level health programming for women and children, with priority given to programs that also address the social determinants of health
  • Community-based and hospital-based services for women and children
  • Direct services for women and children that include physical, oral and/or mental health services, with priority given to integrated care models
  • Case management, patient navigation, and ancillary therapeutic services (such as health or nutrition education, weight management, fitness training, audiology, occupational, speech, or physical therapy, etc.) and custodial services (such as assisted living, hospice, and skilled nursing facilities) for women and children
  • Organizations willing to engage in peer exchange and dissemination of best practices regarding health services for women and children.

The Foundation does not fund:

  • Direct grants to individuals
  • Sectarian religious activities
  • Direct political lobbying
  • Clinical research or trials
  • Treatment or research related to specific diseases
  • Endowment funds or capital campaigns
  • Event sponsorships
  • Camps

Funding Priorities

Responsive Grantmaking:

The Foundation considers funding requests that address programmatic or operating needs, organizational capacity building, and initiatives related to improving access to quality health care. The Foundation partners with organizations serving populations with limited financial resources in the five-county metropolitan Atlanta area (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton.)

Proposals should address the following outcomes related to women and children:

ACCESS — Improved access to high quality physical, oral and mental health services for low-income and under-resourced communities to achieve health equity

HEALTHY BEHAVIORS — Communities practice healthy behaviors to improve modifiable risk factors for physical, oral and mental health outcomes

CAPACITY — Communities have increased capacity to provide access to high quality physical, oral and mental health services

INTEGRATED CARE — Increased coordination of behavioral health services in the primary care and school-based settings

Organizations should be prepared to 1) produce measurable results with the funding being requested, 2) define groups who will benefit from services proposed, and 3) explain how the defined groups will benefit in quantifiable terms.

Priority Considerations and Grant Criteria:

The Foundation has identified several priority considerations that apply as review criteria for every Grant Application. In addition to compliance with the Foundation’s stated priorities, objectives and guidelines, requests will be assessed on factors including, but not limited to:

  • Demonstration of need.
  • Demonstration of strong organizational leadership, financial management, and solid governance.
  • Demonstration that a project is grounded in evidence-based practices or is a new idea rooted in promising practices.
  • Clearly defined and measurable program goals, objectives and outcomes.
  • Demonstration of the ability for the program to be financially sustained following the grant award period.
  • Demonstration of the requesting organization’s ability to make a measurable improvement in health and healthcare in the Atlanta community.

Collaboration:

The Foundation may periodically engage in collaborative activities to share collective impact on a specific issue. At the Foundation's discretion, it will seek to collaborate with other funding partners to strategically align resources with others who share the Foundation's commitment to improving health and expanding access to healthcare in the community. From time to time, the Foundation may consider supporting projects that include focused advocacy efforts and/or other strategies that attempt to address systemic challenges as part or all of a collaborative effort.

The Foundation May Also Consider:

  • Multi-year funding. Funding requests spanning more than one year will be awarded on a year-by-year basis, contingent upon satisfactory completion of stated performance goals and objectives.
  • Participation by other partners, such as community-led organizations, non-profit organizations, foundations, government, businesses and academic institutions, and/or the inclusion of matching funds.
  • The time period for expected results to be achieved.
  • Program Sustainability. While the Foundation should not be considered a source of perpetual support, it seeks to encourage programs that have a high potential for becoming permanent.

Other Instructions, Policies and Information:

  • The Foundation will not review proposals and applications that are incomplete or that do not meet the Foundation’s guidelines.
  • Grant Applications must be received in the Foundation’s office by 5:00 p.m. on the stated deadline.
  • Materials received after the stated deadline will be deferred to the next funding cycle.

Application Timelines:

Applying organizations are encouraged to contact Foundation staff prior to submitting an application. This will allow staff to develop a preliminary understanding of the organization, its mission and priorities, as well as the scope of the proposal and its alignment with the Foundation’s Mission and Priorities. The Foundation intends to administer bi-annually grant cycles per year. Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year and will be considered during the next appropriate grant cycle.  At the discretion of the Foundation, emergency or out-of-cycle proposals may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Grant Cycle:

  • September 15: Deadline for submission of applications to be considered at the Foundation’s December Board Meeting
  • First week in January: Grant awards announced by foundation staff

Conditions for Accepting Grant Awards:

Grant recipients will execute a Letter of Agreement with the Foundation. The Letter of Agreement defines the scope of the grant award as well as the terms, objectives and any conditions associated with the grant award. The Letter of Agreement will establish evaluation criteria, reporting procedures, and payment schedules to be employed during the grant period.

Funding Rights:

The Foundation may from time to time, in whole or in part and at their sole discretion, take actions that deviate from these guidelines. The Foundation reserves the right to unconditionally amend, modify or waive these grantmaking procedures if the Foundation deems it is in its best interest to do so.

Foundation Staff:

For more information about Jesse Parker Williams Foundation or the Foundation’s grant guidelines, please contact the Foundation Offices through:

Bonnie S. Hardage
Executive Director
Jesse Parker Williams Foundation, Inc.

One Riverside
4401 Northside Parkway, Suite 925
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
404-842-1311

Bonnie.Hardage@JPWF.org
www.jpwf.org

Evaluation and Impact

The Foundation expects recipient organizations to provide evidence of performance in order to understand the impact that its grantmaking is having on the community.  Organizations that invest in evaluation are better able to use the results to improve services, demonstrate impact and communicate their achievements to their stakeholders.  Accordingly, grant requests may include an amount designated for program evaluation. Preference may be given to applicants that allot at least 10% of the requested grant budget to evaluation - either for an external evaluator or to support the time of the organization’s staff who have evaluation responsibilities.

Evaluation tools and resources may be found at the Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s Evaluation Resource Center website at www.georgiaerc.org

PhotoVoice training workshops are being offered to grantees interested in learning and implementing community-based participatory research and evaluation. Learn more about PhotoVoice at The Community Tool Box, a service of the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. Using creative tools such as Photovoice can help changemakers understand the lived experiences of disadvantaged communities and give a voice to underprivileged individuals. This section describes the Photovoice process, the populations that it might benefit most, and how it can be used to help people make their voices heard and change their situations.

Apply for a Grant

The Foundation intends to administer two grant cycles with deadlines for submission of applications on February 15 and September 15. Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year and will be considered during the next appropriate grant cycle.

Start Application

Download a copy of the Foundation's Grantmaking Guidelines and Application Procedures for deadline information here.

Download Here