The Beldon Fund focuses project and general support grants in two programs: Human Health and the Environment and Key States. These programs are designed to work together to achieve the vision and mission of the Fund. Proposals that work synergistically across programs are encouraged.

HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

For many people there is a distinction between personal health and environmental health. For the Beldon Fund, there is no such distinction. The Fund seeks proposals that engage new constituencies in exposing the connection between toxic chemicals and human health and in promoting public policies that prevent or eliminate environmental risks to people's health, particularly through application of the precautionary principle. The program focuses grant making in three areas: New Advocates, Human Exposure to Toxic Chemicals, and Environmental Justice.

New Advocates: Broaden and strengthen the environmental movement by including new, and potentially powerful, voices for change.

Goal: To encourage new-constituency groups to speak out, become advocates for environmental health and work for lasting improvement in health protections. The Fund will place high priority on the following specific constituencies: doctors, nurses, public health
professionals, health-affected people, parents, and teachers.

Work the Fund supports:
• Expanding the capacity of new-constituency organizations, particularly those with a demonstrated commitment to civic engagement, to mobilize public support for environmental health.
• Environmental health campaigns that significantly involve new constituencies.

Human Exposure to Toxic Chemicals: Reveal to the public the connection between toxic chemicals and health so that people understand the importance of taking action now to protect their health and to advocate for change.

Goals: To increase people's awareness and understanding of the connection between environmental toxins and personal health. To strengthen right to know policies and protect the integrity of science. To develop initiatives aimed at reforming chemical policy.

Work the Fund supports:
• Translating new developments in environmental health science (such as body burden data) into accessible tools for advocates, the media, and policy makers.
• Efforts that help environmental advocates strengthen their communication capacity, design effective issue campaign messages, and build environmental health issues into nonpartisan civic engagement activities.
• Specific issue campaigns on chemicals policy reform that channel public concern about chemical exposure and health into policy reform.
• Defense against the undue influence of special interests on scientific research and science-based environmental and health policy.

Environmental Justice: Train young leaders.

Goal: To train a cadre of young leaders from the environmental justice movement in
advocacy and civic engagement skills, and to provide them with the tools they need to lead the diverse constituencies engaged in environmental issues that affect human health.

Work the Fund supports:
• Environmental justice advocacy and capacity building through youth organizing and
leadership development.
• Fostering participation of low-income communities and communities of color in
nonpartisan civic engagement activities.

KEYSTATES
The Beldon Fund believes that states hold the key to bringing about rapid, real change on environmental issues and policy in the United States. By strengthening public upport for environmental protection in several states the Fund hopes to transform our nation's approach to environmental protection.

The Fund accepts Letters of Inquiry from Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin for this program. The Beldon Fund believes that the most effective way to ensure consistent policymaker support for environmental protection is to support collaborations of advocacy organizations that focus on building strength and effectiveness at the local, state, and national level.

Goals: Achieve stronger pro-environmental support by national, state, and local
policymakers through public education and advocacy in selected states. Help advocates in these states develop adequate resources to replace Beldon's support when the Fund sunsets in 2009.

Approach: Beldon Fund makes grants to organizations that focus on organizing to secure public and policymaker commitment to environmental protection at the local, state and federal level. This means educating the public and mobilizing public support around key environmental issues. In some states, the Fund also makes grants to statewide collaboratives to achieve these objectives.

The Beldon Fund currently supports work in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin on behalf of:
• Broad coalitions that promote pro-environmental decisions by policy makers.
• Strengthening the advocacy, organizing and media capacity of organizations
promoting environmental protection.
• Developing the fund-raising capacity of groups involved in environmental
advocacy, including donor development, planned giving, membership development,
and major donor fundraising.

These efforts need not be tied to any one particular issue, but should show direct
connections to other statewide organizations that seek to build public support for the
environment and add clout to the environmental community statewide. We ecommend
that an organization interested in Beldon Key States funding contact existing Beldon Fund grantee organizations in the state or, if one exists, contact the applicable Beldon
collaborative to begin a dialogue on how the organization’s efforts might help build
statewide clout. To see if your organization fits within the Beldon Fund’s Key States strategies in a particular state and to find the collaborative for that state, click here. Please keep in mind that there are more qualified applications than there is funding available, so even a good fit with our strategies and collaborative efforts are not a guarantee of funding. To see a list of work the Beldon Fund specifically does not offer grants for, click Exclusions. From time to time, the Fund may add and remove states from this program.

EXCLUSIONS

The Beldon Fund does not offer grants for:
• International efforts.
• Academic or university projects, unless they are directly linked to environmental
advocacy and have impact well beyond the academic community.
• School- or classroom-based environmental education.
• Acquisition of land.
• Forest, wildlife habitat/refuges, land, marine, river, lake, wilderness preservation,
protection or restoration.
• Film, video or radio production.
• Endowments.
• Capital campaigns.
• Deficit reduction.
• Acquisitions for museums or collections.
• Service delivery programs.
• Capital projects.
• Research.
• Arts and/or culture.
• Individuals.
• Scholarships.
• Publications.

GRANT APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Organizations seeking grants from the Fund should begin the process by taking the
eligibility quiz on our website, www.beldon.org. If the eligibility quiz suggests that you may be eligible for a grant from the Beldon Fund please submit a letter of inquiry in accordance with our Program Guidelines. The Fund grants both general support and project-specific support for one year or for multiple years. Content requirements and deadlines for letters of inquiry and invited proposals are specified under Deadlines. We require letters of inquiry from all organizations seeking grants from the Fund, including former grantees and current grantees seeking renewal. There is no specific limit on the number of requests we will consider from a single organization, nor is there a limit on the number of years we will continuously fund an organization. The amount granted depends on the scope of the project and the size of the applicant’s budget. (To learn more about the kinds of grants we provide, please review the List of Grants that we have awarded in the past ww.beldon.org/beldon/grantees)

The Fund makes grants to public charities classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. If you do not have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status please indicate the name of the public charity that serves as your fiscal sponsor.

Deadlines
The Fund’s staff reviews grant requests and makes recommendations to the Board of
Trustees, which makes funding decisions three times a year at its meetings, usually in
winter, spring, and fall. Letters of inquiry and, at the Fund’s invitation, proposals must be received in our office within the specified dates to be considered at the next Board meeting. Upcoming deadlines for letters of inquiry and proposals are listed under “Deadlines” in the Grant Applications section of our website. Letters of inquiry and proposals received outside the specified dates will not be considered by the Fund. If a grant is awarded, we will inform you of the Board's decision immediately following the Board meeting at which your proposal is discussed. Requests for funding may be denied at any time.

Preparing Letters of Inquiry
Grant seekers should familiarize themselves with the Fund’s Program Guidelines. Proposals are considered in two programs: Human Health and the Environment and Key States. Applicants should consult the Exclusions section of the Program Guidelines to make sure that their type of project is one the Fund supports. If, after reviewing the Program Guidelines and the Exclusions, you wish to apply for a grant, you should submit a letter of inquiry to begin the process.

Please send us two copies of a letter of inquiry of no more than three pages typed in a legible typeface, 12 points in size.

YOUR LETTER MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
• Date
• Name and address of organization.
• Executive director and contact person(s); telephone and fax numbers; and, if
available, e-mail and web addresses.
• Name, address, telephone number, and executive director of your fiscal
sponsor, if applicable.
• A paragraph summarizing the organization’s mission and work.
• A paragraph summarizing the purpose of your request and the activities to be
supported (indicate whether you seek general or project support, and include
the project title, if project funding is requested).
• A paragraph describing the outcomes (goals) to be achieved by your project or
organization.
• A paragraph summarizing the proposal’s relevance to the Beldon Fund’s
Program Guidelines, identifying the Beldon Fund program(s) to which your
request applies.
• Total dollar amount requested and time period the grant will cover.
• Total dollar amount committed or requested from other funding sources and
the names of those sources.
• Total dollar amount of your organizational budget for the current fiscal year.
• Total dollar amount of your actual organizational expenses for the most
recently completed fiscal year.
• Total dollar amount of the project budget for the current fiscal year, if
applicable.
• The tax-exempt status of your organization or its fiscal sponsor.
Mail two copies of your letter of inquiry to: Letters of Inquiry, Beldon
Fund, 99 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Please note that your letter of inquiry must be received in our office within the dates
specified under “Deadlines” on our website. We do not accept applications electronically or
by fax at this time. Please do not submit examples of past work, articles, reports, books,
videos, CDs or other supporting materials with your letter of inquiry. Our staff will
promptly acknowledge the receipt of your letter of inquiry and give it careful consideration.
The Fund’s Response to Your Letter of Inquiry
Within one month of the closing date for submission of letters of inquiry, organizations
whose programs or projects fit the Beldon Fund’s Program Guidelines will be invited to
submit a full proposal with supporting materials. All other applicants will be notified that
the Beldon Fund will not be able to support their request.
If you have questions about our Program Guidelines or Grant Application Procedures, or
about the status of a letter of inquiry you have submitted, please feel free to contact our
Grants Manager, Holeri Faruolo, toll free at (800) 591-9595, or via email at
info@beldon.org.
Preparing a Full Proposal
If your organization is invited to submit a full proposal, it need not be elaborate. Your
proposal should include a narrative of five-to-seven pages, and supporting material as
detailed below. Proposals prepared for other foundations are acceptable as long as they
include all of the Beldon Fund’s required information and attachments. Also acceptable are
the National Network of Grantmakers’ Common Grant Application or an application used by
another regional association of grant makers.
Please send us two complete copies of the proposal package. The proposal
package should consist of the narrative plus financial information and
attachments.
YOUR FIVE-TO-SEVEN PAGE NARRATIVE SHOULD BE TYPED IN A LEGIBLE
TYPEFACE, 12 POINTS IN SIZE, AND INCLUDE:
• Organization background, including accomplishments and qualifications,
particularly as they relate to the purpose for which you are requesting
support.
• Immediate problems or needs to be addressed by your project or
organization.
• The target population or community served by your project or organization
and how that constituency is involved in the design and implementation of
your work.
• Long-term systemic or social change being sought.
• Strategies for implementing the work and a timetable for achieving outcomes
(goals).
• Plan for evaluating the work (including criteria for success), and for
disseminating the findings.
• If appropriate, a plan for continuing the work beyond the grant period.
• If you are applying for renewal funding, submit a brief year-to-date narrative
describing your use of the previous year’s grant. (We will still expect a final
grant report at the end of the year.)
YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION SHOULD INCLUDE:
• Organizational budget for the current fiscal year.*
• Actual organizational income and expenses for the past two years.*
• List of your organization’s (and, your project’s, if applicable) ten largest
foundation sources of funding and the dollar amounts committed or pending
for the current fiscal year.
• List of your organization’s ten largest foundation sources of funding over the
last five years and their cumulative grant totals.
• For project grant requests, an annual project budget (for multi-year requests,
include an annual budget for each year for which you request funding).
• For project grant requests, a statement of actual project income and expenses
for the past two years, if available.
INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ATTACHMENTS:
• IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter and all IRS rulings or notices regarding the
tax-exempt status of your organization.
• If your organization does not have 501(c)(3) status, send the name and IRS
501(c)(3) determination letter of its fiscal sponsor.
• A letter from the fiscal sponsor, if applicable ,confirming its Board’s
authorization to sponsor your project or organization and that your project or
organization’s purpose is consistent with the fiscal sponsor’s exempt purpose,
and a letter of agreement between your organization and the fiscal sponsor
outlining the terms of this re l a t i o n s h i p
• Most recent audited financial statements.*
• Most recent IRS Form 990, including any schedules and attachments.*
• Most recent annual report describing your organization’s activities, if one is
published.*
• If your organization has made a 501(h) election, please include a copy of
Form 5768 (Election to Make Expenditures to Influence Legislation).*
• List of member organizations, if applicable.
• List of your organization’s Board of Directors and staff (describe Board and
staff responsibilities, work and leadership experience, and criteria for board
selection).*
* - The Beldon Fund provides grants to public charities. If your organization is not a public
charity that has received tax-exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and intends to operate as a project of another organization, please supply
all of the information requested above for that organization. If you have any questions
about this issue, please contact our Grants Manager, Holeri Faruolo, toll free at (800) 591-
9595, or via e-mail at info@beldon.org.
We encourage you to submit an environmentally sensitive application: avoid folders, plastic
covers, or binders and use double-sided copying where possible.
Mail two complete copies of the proposal package to Grant Proposals,
Beldon Fund, 99 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
(Because proposals require a number of attachments, we do not accept
proposals electronically or by fax.) Please note that your proposal must be
received in our office within the dates listed under “Deadlines” on our
website.
Our staff will promptly acknowledge receipt of your proposal. During our review of your
proposal, we may contact you for additional information or material. An invitation to send a
proposal and any requests for additional information should not be interpreted as a
guarantee of future support. If a grant is awarded, you will be asked to sign a Grant
Agreement that describes the reporting and other requirements of the grant.
If you have questions about the status of the proposal you have submitted, or if there are
significant changes or news that you would like us to know about during the course of our
review, please feel free to contact the program officer who invited your proposal toll free at
(800) 591-9595.