The foundation’s mission is to secure equal opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. Equal opportunity is defined as the absence of barriers to LGBT people in the following areas:
- Equal relationship recognition and protection
- Equal support for parenting & adoption
- Safe, supportive families, schools, and streets
- Equal healthcare access
- Freedom from stigma & prejudice and from religious vilification
- Equal access to government services and education
- Equal treatment in employment
The Gill Foundation supports organizations working on policy, advocacy, and education efforts to achieve equality in Colorado for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. The Gill Foundation also supports LGBT services and efforts to build safe, supportive LGBT communities.
SPECIAL EMPHASIS
Within the above funding areas, proposals that include the following have an enhanced chance of being funded:
- Efforts to create informed and civically engaged LGBT communities.
- Efforts to educate LGBT communities on legal and policy protections and efforts to implement as well as enforce these protections.
- Efforts to educate the non-LGBT community on the daily lived experiences of LGBT people.
- Efforts that effectively engage and include people of color and address racial disparities.
- Coalitions that include a broad range of allied and progressive non-LGBT organizations.
LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
Please be aware of the following limitations or exclusions on funding from the Gill Foundation:
- Proposals that meet these funding guidelines are not guaranteed funding.
- Organizations may submit only one letter of inquiry and proposal to the Gill Foundation every 12 months.
- Grant requests should not exceed 15 percent of an organization’s total budget or 50 percent of a project budget.
- First-time grantees rarely receive grants in excess of $10,000.
- Funding is limited to programming within Colorado.
- The Gill Foundation does not provide grant money for lobbying and does not support efforts to influence the election of candidates for public office.
- The following are ineligible for funding under these guidelines: endowments, capital projects, pride events, arts and cultural programming, individuals, scholarships, and debt relief.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
All organizations receiving funds from the Gill Foundation must meet the following requirements:
- Possess current IRS 501(c)(3) determination.
- Have a board-approved nondiscrimination policy inclusive of sexual orientation and gender expression in effect. Click here for more details.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Grant proposals are by invitation only. Unsolicited grant proposals will not be accepted. Current grantees should contact their program officer.
To be considered for an invitation to submit a grant proposal, organizations that are not current grantees should submit a letter of inquiry via email to grantsmanager@annualreports.gillfoundation.org. LOI’s can be submitted at anytime throughout the year from January to September.
Letters of inquiry should be limited to 1000 words and include the following (attachments are not allowed):
- A brief summary of the organization.
- A description of the proposed project and how it meets these guidelines specifically the special emphasis section of the guidelines.
- The grant request amount, total project budget, and total organization budget.
- Other major committed and projected funding for the project.
An invitation to submit a full grant proposal does not imply or guarantee funding. If you have questions regarding this process or the application, please contact our Grants Administrator at 303-292-4455 or grantsmanager@annualreports.gillfoundation.org.
Mail or email complete letter of intent and all additional information to:
Gill Foundation
Attn. Courtney Lake
2215 Market Street
Denver, CO 80205
REVIEW PROCEDURE
- Staff will review all letters of intent. A decision on whether applicants should submit a full proposal will be determined within 90 days of the application deadline.
- The Gill Foundation will initiate all contact with applicants if further clarification or information is needed.
- A request for a full proposal does not imply or guarantee funding.
ADDITIONAL HELP
If you have additional questions about the application process, please call 303-292-4455 or email grantsmanager@annualreports.gillfoundation.org.
