b'APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONSWe encourage you to contact the Foundation to discuss your idea before applying.STEP 1: DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY Matchingfundsorotherconditionsmayberequired.We generally do not provide support directly to individuals or units of To be eligible for a grant, your organization must: government, nor for loans, grants to support religious activities, capital projects, research (unless solicited by The Foundation), Betax-exemptundersection501(c)(3)oftheInternalfundraising events, or conferences. The amount requested should Revenue Code and not a private foundation. bebasedonthesizeandscopeoftheorganizationaland Have a current financial audit conducted by an independentprogram budget and the anticipated impact of the program. We certified public accountant. generally do not fund 100 percent of a programs cost. We will Have total revenues of at least $100,000 for the precedingconsider multi-year grants where appropriate. year.In policy and practice not discriminate based on age, race, creed, gender, gender identity, religion, disability, sexualSTEP 3: SUBMIT A LETTER OF orientation, and ethnicity. INQUIRY THROUGH OUR WEBSITEA Letter of Inquiry (LOI) may be submitted at any time. Grants STEP 2: DETERMINE PROGRAM FIT generally are approved at our board meetings in March, June, Please review our grant guidelines to determine whether thereSeptember,andDecember.LOIsmustbesubmittedthrough is a potential match between your organizations work and ourour website; e-mail and paper inquiries will not be accepted. Foundations interests. Our geographic area includes Wayne,Pleasenotethatourrequirementforanonlineapplicationis Oakland, and Macomb Counties and the watersheds impactingnot intended to minimize communication but is simply one way these areas and Bayfield, Ontario.for us to exercise environmental stewardship by reducing the amount of paper we generate. Feel free to call us if you have Wewillconsiderrequestsforthedevelopmentorsignificantquestions about how to complete the online application form, if expansionofprogramsthatmeetourdesiredoutcomesoryou need assistance with Internet access, or if you would like to general operating support for organizations whose core workdiscuss your program ideas before you submit your application. fits our mission.You should be notified within two to four weeks whether we are able to invite a Proposal. Foundation staff may contact you for additional information or a site visit at any point in the review process.DetailedinstructionsontheLOIandProposalare included in the Grant Application Instructions on our website.30'