How to Apply

Great leadership makes a difference. That’s why investing in the nonprofit sector’s most precious asset--its people--is among the Annenberg Foundation’s highest priorities. In any given year, the Annenberg Foundation receives as many as 3,000 or more proposals. Due to finite resources, about one in 10 requests are approved for funding.

Regions We Fund

The Annenberg Foundation places the highest priority on nonprofits serving constituents in the five-county region of Greater Los Angeles (these include Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino and Ventura Counties). Agencies who serve the Greater LA region but are headquartered elsewhere can apply for a grant. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that funding will be offered to an organization, initiative or project that falls outside of this area.

Nonprofits in the Greater LA region with budgets of $5 million or less are also encouraged to learn more about the application process for Annenberg Alchemy, our free nonprofit leadership training. Please click here for more information.

What We Fund

The Foundation generally awards grants in the following programmatic areas:

  • Arts, Culture & Humanities
  • Animal Welfare
  • Civic & Community
  • Environment
  • Education
  • Human Health & Wellness
  • Military Veterans

Grants typically range from $10,000 to $250,000. In the first six months of the Foundation's 2012 Fiscal Year (January 1 through June 30, 2012), the members of the Board of Directors approved 217 grants totaling $16,335,913. The average grant size was $75,280. Equal consideration is given to applications for awards for general operations or program support. Requests for capital campaigns (building construction) and multi-year commitments are discouraged.

What We Don’t Fund

  • Grants to individuals
  • Grants to nonqualified agencies
  • Grants that fall outside the guidelines set by the board of directors

THE STEP-BY-STEP APPLICATION PROCESS

We accept proposals on a rolling basis. However, applications must be submitted no later than 45 days after the creation of an online grant application account.

STEP 1: Download a copy of our VISION+ Grantmaking Guidelines

The VISION+ Guidelines will help you understand how the Annenberg Foundation will assess your proposal. Our online grant application asks questions specifically related to these guidelines. Make sure to address each of the VISION+  aspects of our analysis in your proposal.

STEP 2: Download a reference copy of our online grant application for review.

Our grant application asks questions about leadership and governance that may require input from your leadership team prior to completing the application online. Please note the word limits for some of the responses.

STEP 3: Download the Checklist, Financial Templates and Reference Materials

We have provided a checklist and the four templates below to assist you with formatting the financial documents that we request in our application. The use of these templates is not mandatory, nor will it positively/negatively affect your application. It will, however, help expedite the process.

STEP 4: Create an account and complete the online application.

This is the final step in the application process. Visit the following link to create an account and complete the online application: https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_1249?SA=SNA&FID=35015

Any online applications that are created and not completed within 45 days will be deleted. To help you meet this deadline, please do not start the online application process until you’ve reviewed the reference copy of the application, our VISION+ Grantmaking Guidelines and the financial templates.

Returning applicants, please use the following link to access information you have already entered into the application: https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_1249. Otherwise, you will not be able to access information you have already entered into the application.

What's Next?

If your proposal is deemed to be competitive, you may receive a phone call from the Annenberg Foundation’s program or grants team. Also, a site visit may be scheduled.  Neither of these steps is an indication of funding.

The Annenberg Foundation will communicate a decision about your proposal within 90 days of submission, depending on the volume of proposals received. Grant decisions are subject to Board-adopted guidelines and action.

The work of nonprofits like yours strengthens our communities, and we are thankful for your efforts.  We know how valuable your time is, and we understand the time commitment involved in completing a grant application.  As a result, the Annenberg Foundation is committed to responding to your grant request in a timely manner.  Additionally, we are continuously refining our application in order to streamline the process.

Questions?

If you have questions related to our grant guidelines, submitting a grant application or other issues, please email us at requests@annenbergfoundation.org  or call 213.403.3110.

We will respond to all inquiries within three business days.