The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | Benefit from funding
COVID-19 ruined many plans and put many organizations, especially philanthropic ones, in an unfavorable financial condition. But in the case of Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, things worked oppositely. The Foundation, on the contrary, increased the total amount of its grants from 300 mln. $ to 500 mln. $, and promises to keep the increase in the funds, as the pandemic challenges need stronger assistance to overcome.
Therefore, you have additional opportunities to receive the Foundation's grants, focusing on arts and humanities spheres. The rest of this article will give you the permanent information necessary to benefit from the grants:
- The Foundation's mission
- Main funding programs
- Eligibility criteria
- Application steps
How did the Foundation emerge?
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation emerged due to the merge of the two foundations, both created by Mr. Mellon's family members. In 1940, his daughter Alissa Mellon Bruce founded the Avalon Foundation. One year later, the Old Dominion Foundation came into the stage under Mr. Mellon's son, Paul Mellon. In 1969, the two organizations united under Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with total assets of 273 mln. $.
Throughout history, the Foundation's presidents had successful careers in the fields that the Foundation mainly supports. The Current president Elizabeth Alexander, who is in charge since 2018, has more than 20 years of experience in education, philanthropy, and related fields.
To better understand the Foundation's commitment, you can read about the paths of its former presidents and their investment in the Foundation programs.
What does the Foundation fund?
Higher Learning
The initiative of Higher Learning supports equal opportunities for all students who gain education in universities, colleges, and other educational institutions. The program works with traditional graduate and undergraduate studies and paradigm-shifting interdisciplinary studies, which can improve the conventional education system.
Arts and Culture
This program aims to support creative and cultural initiatives such as cultural scholarships, conservation of arts, promotion of cultural ecosystem, etc. The program's stakeholders are artists, curators, scholars, cultural organizations, etc.
Public Knowledge
The program works with all the sources and communities where there is a storage of the public information, such as archives, press, national and global libraries, universities, and similar. Within the scope of the program, specialists focus on preservation and successful transition of information between generations.
Humanities in Place
Humanities in place are about refreshing the American history's role by expanding the public expression of history. In this regard, the program cooperates with historical and memorial spaces, museums, and other institutions in charge of conserving and disseminating general information.
How do I navigate my way to all the grant opportunities?
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports the above four main programs. By clicking on each of them, you will find the available grants of the program. Also, the description of the programs will allow you to understand whether your organization's fields of activity and direction fit the Foundation's priorities.
However, even if you filter the information in advance, the key role is of the Foundation staff. They review all the applications, and only by finding out that certain companies have more potential to become grantees, the invitations are made and send to process further with the grant application. Let's sum up the whole process into the following steps.
Review guidelines
The first and essential step is to review the Foundation's primary four programs to understand whether your organization appears as a prospective grantee. You should work in the field that lies under the Foundation's support and has long-term goals and strategies similar to that of the program. Once you're certain there are chances to receive the grant, move on further.
Submit an inquiry of the Grant Support
The interested organizations who found themselves qualifying for the grant should later submit the inquiry via Mellon Foundation's Grant Portal. Scroll down to the "Submit new proposal inquiry" button to start the process. The staff will review the inquiry and contact the organization with further details of organizing the grant proposal if they find the organization fits the program requirements.
Prepare the proposal
You should properly manage your account on the portal, as the Foundation staff's invitation will come through the platform. Once the invitation is received, the applying company should start working toward the proposal, the detailed guidelines provided by the staff members. It's in your best interests to prepare a good proposal. So, be ready to refine it multiple times if needed.
Wait for the results
The applicant organization and the staff prepare the final version of the proposal. If it qualifies for the application standards accepted by the Fund, the staff will decide to bring a grant recommendation to the Board of Trustees. There are quarterly meetings where this can happen, including March, June, September, and December.
What makes the organization eligible for the grants?
There are two important eligibility factors:
- The Foundation does not support individuals. The grants are for the organizations only.
- The staff will consider only applications which were collected by invitation.
The organizations should ensure they clearly understand how the Foundation can contribute to their individual programs and how they can, in their turn, help the Foundation to realize the central grants within the frames of the programs.
Depending on the specific program, the expenses that the Foundation covers also differ. However, the general rule is that the Foundation does not cover overhead and indirect costs, as well as it does not fund capital costs such as construction, renovation, etc. The Grants database of the program will help you better navigate among the available funding opportunities.