The Special Hope Foundation was created to provide financial support to organizations that champion the causes of the physically, mentally, and developmentally disabled children and adults. All applications must clearly demonstrate high degree of innovation and a profound impact on the public's perception of the disabled.
The Foundation is particularly interested in projects and programs that focus on inclusion based education and research, however, any program or project that exhibits a unique, innovative, and/or distinct approach in addressing the needs of the disabled community could be considered. Only grant proposals consistent with the Mission Statement will be eligible for funding. All applicants must have tax exempt 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. Proposals must describe an explicit, identifiable need.
There are no restrictions based upon geography. While applications from the San Francisco Bay Area may be given preferential consideration, applications from other areas will not be excluded.
Grants amounts are usually between $20,000 and $50,000. The amount granted is typically provided for a single year. However, ongoing support may be available for up to three years if annual evaluation criteria are met. Due to high demand for limited resources, the Special Hope Foundation does not encourage long-term funding relationships. Instead, we provide start-up funding for new programs, organization-wide innovation, or financial support for organizational development. As such, grants are typically for one year but may be as long as three to support programming during a well-defined organizational transition. After initial approval, all long-term grants are subject to annual review before funds for subsequent years are released.
Areas of Support:
Areas of Exclusion:
Application Procedure:
Applying to The Special Hope Foundation is a two-tiered procedure. After reviewing the above material, if your organization meets the qualifications, initial contact can be made by completing a Pre-application Questionnaire.
If selected, an e-mail and/or letter requesting a full proposal will be sent. All completed questionnaires will receive a response. Due to the high volume of interest in our foundation and limited staff, we are unable to provide feedback to ideas prior to receiving the pre-application form. We appreciate your understanding and adherence to our process.