Q: May I invite the Foundation to see a project or facility and talk about funding opportunities?

A: Yes, our staff would be pleased to schedule a meeting with you.

Q: How do I know if a project is a good fit within the Foundation’s funding priorities?

A:  Please call on us to discuss your project.  We will give you immediate feedback.

We realize that a good way for a grant seeker to determine its “fit” with a grant maker is to review a list of past grant recipients.  Because we grant anonymously, we do not list grant recipients here.

Q:  What do you mean by “anonymous?”

A:  The Foundation requests that our grant awards receive no publicity.  This includes media, signage, publications, press conferences, websites and public presentations.  Should your organization receive a grant from the Cora L. Brooks Foundation, you will receive a letter of agreement to confirm your understanding of this requirement.  If you wish to publicly cite the source of grant funds, please use the word “Anonymous.”

Q:  Why don’t you have an application checklist that I can download?

A:  Although our application checklist is not available online or via e-mail, we have made efforts to make the process simple for any grant seeker, whether you’re part of a volunteer-run watershed association or an established institution with a paid staff.  We are considering providing applications online in the future.

Q:  May I use express services to deliver the grant request to your office in order to meet the deadline? 

A:  Yes, but note that from most locations within our grant area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland) regular U.S. Mail delivers within three days, and it may not be necessary to purchase express services.  If you must use express services, please call us to let us know you are doing so and we will provide you with our street address.

Q:  I applied for a grant, but was turned down.  May I ask why?

A:  Yes. You may contact our staff if you would like to discuss specifics and any future applications.

Please know that for every dollar the Foundation has to give, we receive about three dollars in requests.  Often, requests are declined due to the field of competition. 

Q:  The project for which I received a grant has changed in scope/timeline/focus or been canceled.  What should we do with the grant money?

A: Call our staff to discuss the situation.  Most often the grant money can be allocated to another funding need of the organization.  It is important and most appreciated when organizations communicate these changes to us.

Q: What kind of reporting and follow-up do you require?

A: We do not require any follow-up reports. However, we do appreciate and keep on file any project outcomes or brief reports that you wish to send to us.