Types of Grants

Grantmaking

Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation’s grantmaking is designed to be thoughtful, strategic, and deeply aligned with our mission to put God’s love into action by strengthening community. Our approach reflects both philanthropic best practices and the values that guide our family’s giving.

To ensure clarity and stewardship, the Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation offers three distinct pathways for support.

Seed Grants
General Purpose Grants
Multi-Year General Grants

Seed Grants

This is usually where we start. Seed Grants are what’s called “rolling grants” — meaning there’s no fixed deadline or single annual date to apply. You can submit a request at any time, and we review it as it comes in, rather than making everyone wait for one big cycle.

These grants typically range from $10,000 to $100,000 and are designed for timely needs — things like fundraising events or new pilot programs you are just getting off the ground.

We typically support work in three areas:

  • Education pathways for youth and young adults
  • Healthcare, including holistic and therapeutic care not covered by insurance
  • Arts and creative expression

One request per organization, per calendar year. We ask that each organization submit only one Letter of Inquiry (a short introductory proposal outlining your project and funding need) within a given calendar year, so we can give every request the attention it deserves.

Eligibility Guidelines

General Purpose Grants

This is our main open-application pathway — the one most organizations apply through.

We review Operational Grant applications twice a year, in June and October.

  • Minimum request: $50,000
  • Typical request range: $60,000–$250,000

These are one-year grants, meaning the funds are meant to be fully used within that grant year rather than carried forward or spread across multiple years. For example, if we award a grant in June, we would expect those funds to support your program’s activities and be spent by the following June — not saved for a future year or a different project.

We support the same three focus areas as our Seed Grants:

  • Education pathways for youth and young adults
  • Healthcare, including holistic and therapeutic care not covered by insurance
  • Arts and creative expression

As with Seed Grants, we ask for one Letter of Inquiry per organization, per calendar year.

Eligibility Guidelines

Multi-Year General Grants

In some cases, we offer Multi-Year General Grants — a deeper, longer-term partnership with organizations we have identified as strong, high-potential partners.

Unlike our other grants, this pathway isn’t open for general application. Instead, the Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation directly identifies and invites organizations we believe are positioned to create lasting impact over multiple years, and we reach out to them personally to begin the conversation.

These partnerships support the same focus areas:

  • Education pathways for youth and young adults
  • Healthcare, including holistic and therapeutic care not covered by insurance
  • Arts and creative expression
Eligibility Guidelines

The Full Grant Journey — From First Inquiry to Final Report

A quick note before you start: the steps below outline the process for General Purpose Grants, our main open-application pathway. Seed Grants follow a lighter version of this process since they are rolling and reviewed as they are received, rather than on a fixed cycle. Multi-Year General Grants are invitation-only, so invited organizations typically begin at Step 4 (Full Proposal) rather than starting with a Letter of Inquiry.

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Register in the Grants Portal

Before you can submit anything, you will first register in our online Grants Portal — this is simply the website where all applications are submitted and tracked. Once you register, our team reviews your registration before granting access to submit a Letter of Inquiry.

Submit a Letter of Inquiry

A Letter of Inquiry (or "LOI") is a short introductory proposal that outlines your project and funding request — think of it as your first conversation with us on paper.
  • For General Purpose Grants: Letter of Inquiry is due by 5:00 PM EST on the posted deadline, ahead of our June and October review cycles.
  • For Seed Grants: there is no fixed deadline — submit your Letter of Inquiry at any time, and we will review it as it comes in.
  • Either way, we accept one Letter of Inquiry per organization, per calendar year.

Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation Review

Our team reads through every Letter of Inquiry we receive. Organizations whose projects align with our focus areas and funding priorities are then invited to take the next step: submitting a Full Proposal.

Submit a Full Proposal

If you are invited to move forward, you'll submit a more detailed Full Proposal — think budget, program details, and expected outcomes — through the Grants Portal by the deadline included in your invitation.

Due Diligence

This is our internal review process to make sure a partnership is a strong fit on both sides — things like verifying your organization's financials, governance, and track record. If your organization has a physical, on-site location, this step also includes a site visit from a member of our team.

Committee Review

Our Grant Selection Committee — a group of Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation representatives responsible for evaluating proposals — independently scores each Full Proposal using a 100-point framework (outlined below), so every organization is assessed against the same clear criteria.

Committee Deliberation & Decision

The Committee then meets to discuss the scored proposals together and make final funding decisions.

Notification & Disbursement

All applicants — funded or not — are notified within 4–6 weeks of the Full Proposal deadline. If awarded, funds are disbursed within 60 days of executing the grant memorandum of understanding (MOU) — a signed agreement between your organization and the Brian & Patricia Giese Foundation that outlines the terms of the grant.