The Application
Application Procedures
Hello!
The Foundation is moving to a new Grantee and Applicant Experience starting on August 1, 2025.
The new portal will make the application process easier. You will now have a single account to manage all funders using Blackbaud Grantmaking in one consolidated portal. If you already use a Blackbaud product, such as Raiser Edge, you won’t need to create a secondary login.
You will be required to securely sign in with a new Blackbaud ID or use an existing Blackbaud ID if you do use other Blackbaud products.
Please bookmark https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/applications to access and return to your applications and requirement forms AND add noreply@yourcause.com to your safe senders list. We are encouraging grantees to add all additional applicants that should have access to the application and subsequent forms to enable sharing.
To access the Applicant Portal Help page, go here: https://webfiles-sc1.blackbaud.com/files/support/helpfiles/grantsconnect/content/gc-applicants.html
Be advised that your application history will be starting over in the new portal, and you will not have access to your previous history of applications. You may want to download any previous applications and reports prior to July 31, 2025.
A quick reminder that the grant cycle dates have changed slightly for Education and Human Services. Be sure to scroll down for those dates.
Please carefully review all information below to follow instructions for submitting your grant application/request to the Foundation.
Process
The process to apply for possible funding is a two-stage process. The first stage is to submit an application for funding. This stage is open to any organization that wishes to submit an application for review and consideration, but we encourage you to review the Grant Guidelines and Funding Priorities on the website.
All applications are all reviewed and evaluated and then the applications that move forward to the second stage will be invited to submit additional information (detailed below) as well as a site visit and/or conversation. The Foundation does not accept any requests via email or regular mail.
To review the requirements and narrative questions on the application, please scroll down**. Note that all parts of the application need to be submitted in PDF format.
Timeline
The Foundation holds three grantmaking meetings each year: in March (Education), June (Human Services), and November (Health). All final funding decisions are made at those meetings. Grant applications/requests are accepted only during the following times and according to the primary program area of the grant request. (If the deadline for any of the grant cycle falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline to submit will be the Monday following the deadline.)
Each program area has a specific link to the Stage 1 application. You will find those here:
EDUCATION:
August 1 – September 15
https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/programs/8793b3bb-f23d-484f-93eb-c0969466c976
HUMAN SERVICES:
November 1 – December 15
https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/programs/97a52494-b99c-4310-9d4c-c3847c3c86fa
HEALTH & WELL-BEING:
April 15 – May 31
https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/programs/40a930dc-d895-4615-acb6-850e40d60d62
The opportunity to submit the application/request is only available during the dates stated above and must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the last day. Each organization may submit only one request for any given grantmaking year. For example, an organization may not submit a request during the Education cycle and again for the Human Services cycle.
Current grantees are eligible to apply for renewed funding each year according to the above cycles.
Receipt of all requests will be acknowledged via email within 2 weeks to the primary contact person indicated for the request. If an email is not received within 2 weeks of submitting a request, please contact the Foundation office using the Contact page on our website.
Each applicant will be notified regarding the status of their request within one to three months after it is received.
TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT OR SET UP A NEW ACCOUNT (if you have never used a Blackbaud product), PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://bbgm-apply.yourcausegrants.com/apply/applications
To submit a complete application for funding, the following is the outline and information you will need to include. Please do not include any additional documents or information unless you are contacted to provide additional information. There will be a brief fill-in portion and to complete the request, you will need to upload the information detailed below (and described in the grants platform as well). Parts A & B should be a single document. Part C, 1-3, should be separate documents.
ALL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ATTACHMENTS, MUST BE SUBMITTED IN PDF FORMAT. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT A SCANNED COPY.
Stage One
(Please use a font size of at least 11)
A. GENERAL ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:
1. Mission and Vision: Please state the organization’s mission and vision.
2. Programs: Please list each of your programs, starting with the program/project you are applying for (if applicable), with a one-sentence description of each program. (You can use numbered or bullet format.)
B. REQUEST NARRATIVE
1. General Operating/Unrestricted Operating support: If you apply for General Operating/Unrestricted support, how will funding from the Crail-Johnson Foundation help the organization achieve its mission? For example, meeting goals/objectives/anticipated outcomes, evaluation, sustaining operations, professional and/or board development, new programs/projects or pilot programs, future plans, launching a capital campaign in the future, etc. (Limit 500 words)
OR
2. Program/Project support: If you are applying for support for a specific program or project, please provide a detailed description of the program/project including implementation. (For example, year-round, summer, three days per week, 2 hours each day, is there a set curriculum, how do individuals or families connect into the program (outreach), etc.). If you provide programs/services in partnership with schools, please add an additional page to the narrative with a list of the schools. (Limit 500 words, not including additional list of schools, if applicable)
3. Community Context and Need: Name the communities this program (or for general operating support, the organization) serves. (Please be specific in identifying those communities/neighborhoods. You can use numbered or bullet format.) and provide a description of the community/communities and population(s) you serve. You may include basic demographic data (age, income, education, etc.) along with any context or narrative that explains why your services are important to this community. (Limit 300 words)
4. Community Connection: How does your leadership, staff, board, and/or volunteers engage in the community you serve? How does this engagement inform your work? This may be anecdotal and/or specific. (Limit 300 words)
5. Community Outreach: How does your organization connect with and reach the people it serves? Describe how participants learn about your programs or services, and how you ensure accessibility for those most in need. (Limit 300 words)
6. Partnerships/Collaboratives/Advocacy: Please describe any formal and/or informal partnerships, collaborations, or advocacy efforts that strengthen your work. This may include schools, government agencies, or peer organizations. (Limit 300 words)
7. Impact: Please share several stories that demonstrate the impact of your work. You can also include testimonials directly from individuals. (Limit 300 words)
8. Data: What data does the organization collect to demonstrate the effectiveness of its programs? How does your organization use data to improve the organization’s work? Please give an example. (Limit 250 words)
9. Photos: One page of photographs that may include, but not limited to, your facility or places that you deliver programs, programs in action, leadership and/or staff. (Maximum 1 page)
C. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
1. Organizational Budget: A detailed budget for the organization for your current AND last completed fiscal year. (Budgets should reflect BOTH revenue and expenses for the organization. Revenue should be listed by type of support, e.g. Government/Public, Foundation, Individual, Corporate, Special Event, Earned Income, etc.)
2. Project Budget (only required for specific program/project requests): A detailed project budget for the current fiscal year. (This should reflect the budget for the whole program or project. You may also include a separate column to show how Crail-Johnson Foundation funding would be used, but it is not required.)
3. Impact Report (optional): If you have a one-to-three-page impact report (such as an infographic or other similar document) for your last completed fiscal year, please feel free to include it here. (Please do not upload a full Annual Report or Impact Report that is longer than three pages.)
Stage Two (by invitation)
1. Board of Directors: A roster of the Board of Directors, including affiliations. Please also include a line item with the whole Board’s TOTAL amount (not individually) of giving for your last completed fiscal year.
2. Funding Sources: List of foundation and corporate support, including grant amounts, for your current and most recently completed fiscal year. If this request is for a specific program/project, please include a separate list of secured funding sources and grant amounts for the program/project.
3. Balance Sheet: A balance sheet (Statement of Financial Position/Assets & Liabilities) for the organization’s most recently completed quarter.
4. Audited Financials: The organization’s most recently completed audited financial statements. If your organization does not conduct an audit, please upload a Profit & Loss statement (Income & Expenses) for the organization’s most recently completed quarter.
5. 990: The organization’s most recent 990.
6. Salary Information: Please provide a list of the Top 5 paid staff of the organization. Please include name, title, and total salary (including benefits). If you are an affiliate of a national organization, please include a list for both the national organization AND the local affiliate.
7. Program Materials (optional): You may include up to 10 pages of representative materials including social/digital media links, outreach collateral, educational tools, or program resources, that show how your organization connects with and serves the community (Maximum 10 pages)