Grants Process
The Women's Impact Fund Grants Committee, made up of approximately 55 members, researches community needs and emerging issues in five focus areas: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health and Human Services.
In September of each year, the Committee convenes to begin the research phase of the grant process. Committee members gather information from experts in the community, newspaper articles and other resources on the critical needs and emerging issues in the five focus areas. Based on this information, the Committee identifies giving priorities and analyzes information on organizations of interest. (Organizations interested in making the Grants Committee aware of their work are invited to submit a Letter of Inquiry form for possible consideration by the Committee.)
The Committee then selects up to a maximum of 20 organizations to receive a formal Request for Proposal, or RFP. No unsolicited RFPs are accepted. The Committee reviews the Requests for Proposal and conducts site visits. Once the site visits are complete, the Committee chooses ten proposals to be placed on a ballot that is sent to the entire Women's Impact Fund membership for a vote. Based on the results, five organizations (one from each focus area) are selected to receive grant awards in May.
| Grant Timeline | Deadlines |
| Letters of Inquiry accepted on a rolling basis as of | August 23, 2011 |
| Final deadline to submit Letter of Inquiry | October 24, 2011 |
| Final deadline to submit Request for Proposals | January 23,2012 |
| Proposals evaluated and site visits conducted | February 6 - 24, 2012 |
| Ten finalist organizations selected for ballot | March 26, 2012 |
| Members vote on five organizations to receive grants due | April 27, 2012 |
| Grant recipients notified | May 9, 2012 |
A Letter of Inquiry is a form to be completed by an organization that wishes to make the Grants Committee aware of a potential program or project. The Grants Committee will review the Letters of Inquiry during the research phase of the grant process.
The Letter of Inquiry process has ended for 2011 - 2012. The Women's Impact Fund will begin accepting Letters of Inquiry for 2012 - 2013 in September, 2012. If you have questions or want your organization added to our non-profit email list for information, please contact Susan Ehrman, Program Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (704) 707-4292.
IMPORTANT: Letters of Inquiry are not grant proposals. They are strictly for preliminary information-gathering purposes. Submitting a Letter of Inquiry does not guarantee formal consideration for funding.
Please read the Letter of Inquiry Procedures before you begin working on the form. The 2011 Letter of Inquiry Form is a writeable PDF - save it to your computer to complete and return by e-mail along with the required attachments.
If you are unable to download the Letter of Inquiry form, please contact the Women’s Impact Fund office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 704.707.4292 and we can e-mail you an attachment with the Letter of Inquiry form.
Submitting the Letter of Inquiry Form
Letter of Inquiry forms must be submitted to the Women’s Impact Fund electronically. Organizations may submit only one Letter of Inquiry per grant cycle.