The Heising-Simons Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals in any of its grantmaking areas.
If you have been invited to submit a letter of inquiry or a proposal to the Foundation, please contact your program officer for additional instructions, and view our For Invited Grantseekers webpage.
If you are a current grantee looking for report guidelines or other tools, visit our For Current Grantees webpage.
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Program staff proactively seek out new opportunities and aligned partners in accordance with their programmatic strategies and initiatives, as well as the Foundation’s values and equity framework. In addition, we believe in preserving nonprofits’ time by soliciting proposals only after the organization has been invited to apply for a grant.
Program staff actively look for new grantees that fit their program strategies. Staff do this in a number of ways, including but not limited to: 1) attending conferences and events aligned with their program strategy; 2) sourcing potential leads through current grantee partners, advisors, and other funders; 3) continuous monitoring of the field; and 4) researching organizations that we learn about to see whether there may be programmatic alignment.
Program staff look for organizations that are well-aligned with their program strategy. Information about program strategies can be found on the program webpages.
Program staff are always monitoring work by organizations in their respective fields. However, programs may not be taking on new grantees due to budget or capacity constraints. If program staff are taking on new grantees and believe your organization is a fit, they will reach out.
If a program officer does not reach out to your organization, they may not be accepting new grantees, or you may not be a programmatic fit.
Program staff may have very small budget openings for funding leading to tough decision-making choices. We uncover more aligned organizations than we can fund with our budget and capacities.
On rare occasions, some Foundation programs have held open RFPs. We announce any open RFPs publicly on our blog and via email. You may subscribe to email announcements here.
The Foundation does not make grants to individuals.
Foundation staff may or may not attend sponsored events, depending on calendar availability.
You can contact the Foundation through the Contact page with questions.