GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation awards grants to eligible tax-exempt organizations serving greater Indianapolis, Indiana, in our three focus areas: Education, Health, and the Vitality of Indianapolis.

To maximize its impact, the Foundation directs its resources toward the focus areas and associated goals and strategies identified by the Board. The Foundation also establishes and continuously monitors key metrics to guide our work, track our progress over time, and help us adapt our strategies in response to new information and other external factors. This means that some causes, while very worthwhile, do not fit within the scope of our focus areas.

Please note the Fairbanks Foundation is not inviting proposals or accepting inquiries in our Health or Vitality of Indianapolis focus areas at this time.

Learn more about our grantmaking process below, or contact us for more information.

We support organizations that are classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and as public charities under section 509(a)(1), (2), or (3) of the Code, or to public organizations that are designated under section 170(c) of the Code. We do not support certain Type III 509(a)(3) Supporting Organizations, as prohibited by the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, we do not make grants to any individuals, nor do we consider grant requests for initiatives outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. For a list of other restrictions, please refer to the Grants FAQs.

The Fairbanks Foundation is only accepting inquiries in the Education focus area at this time. If you are interested in inquiring about a potential grant, we encourage you to first review our Education goal and strategies. You may also consider reviewing the list of previous grants.

If you feel your organization, program, or project strongly aligns with the Foundation’s current funding strategies within our Education focus area, you can consider submitting an inquiry.

Inquiries provide our staff with information about your organization, program, or project, and overall alignment with the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. Inquiries may be submitted at any time during the year and are reviewed on a continuous basis by Foundation staff. The Foundation’s staff welcomes the opportunity to meet with prospective grantees; however, we often prefer to wait until after receiving an inquiry to determine whether a meeting would be useful for both the requestor and the Foundation. We value your time and our own, and we aim to minimize the time required to submit an inquiry as much as possible.

Once an inquiry has been received, Foundation staff may conduct further due diligence, including but not limited to a site visit, follow-up meetings, and program or financial assessment. Following review of your inquiry, Foundation staff will contact you to inform you whether your organization may be  invited to submit a proposal. Please note the Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

We make every effort to respond to inquiries in a timely fashion.

Inquiries may be submitted to Stacia Murphy, Senior Program Officer, via telephone, email, or brief written letter.

Please send letters to:

Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation
820 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 1365
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Stacia can also be reached at (317) 516-0388 or smurphy@RMFF.org. You are welcome to call or email with questions prior to submitting your inquiry.

Download Inquiry Submission Guidelines

Following careful review of an inquiry, an organization may be invited to submit a proposal. Please do not submit a proposal unless you have been requested to do so by Foundation staff. The Foundation recognizes the considerable effort required to write a proposal and would like to determine alignment between a potential grantee and the Foundation’s current funding priorities before requesting a proposal.

If you have been invited to submit a proposal, Foundation staff will share specific proposal guidelines and assign a due date for submission. In addition, we recommend reviewing the attached general proposal submission guidelines and checklist.

Proposal Submission Guidelines

Proposal Submission Checklist

Foundation staff will notify you when your proposal will be presented to the Board of Directors and when to expect a funding decision. The Board of Directors approves grants four times a year, at Board meetings held quarterly. Applicants are typically notified of final funding decisions within one business day of a scheduled Board meeting. Meeting dates vary from year to year.