Getting Money from DRF

DRF focuses on transforming the regional economy and creating a prosperous culture to benefit citizen in citizens the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County, Virginia, as well as Caswell County, North Carolina. DRF does this by making long-term investments in four focus areas:

• Education
• Economic Vitality
• Health and Wellness
• Community Engagement

How to Apply

There are two ways to apply: Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and a Proposal. They are related.

• Submit a LOI when you are not sure of the fit between what you are proposing and DRF. Some applicants with very limited staff or volunteer time like to submit a LOI before they invest in the development of a full proposal.
• Submit a full proposal if you want a larger opportunity to tell your story and show the connection to DRF's interests.

An LOI should be no more than three pages and include:

• Name and address of organization & contact person
• Tax exempt status
• Purpose of grant
• How grant aligns with DRF mission, values and focus areas
• Need, opportunity and impact of request
• Sustainability of request

If the letter of inquiry is accepted, DRF will request a full proposal. The entire process can take up to six months, depending on how many other requests are under review.

A full proposal should include:

• Name and address of organization and contact person
• Request summary
• Organizational information
• Need and opportunity of request
• Use of resources
• Impact
• Other funding
• Budget
• Supplementary Information
• Negative Information (Grantmaking is about trust and DRF needs to be aware of any issues, such as lawsuit or high staff turnover)

Staff and Board Committees will review the proposal and may have additional questions. The process of proposal review and action often takes four to six months.

Applicants submitting either a LOI or proposal are encouraged to meet with DRF staff before submission, but this is not required.

DRF Does Not Fund:

DRF, like other grantmaking foundations, has its focus areas and cannot fund all types of grants. DRF does not fund:

• Programs operating or benefiting primarily those outside DRF's geographic focus area.
• Grants to organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable or government status.
• Grants to individuals.
• Grants to faith-based institutions for religious purposes.
• Dinners, benefits, and other fundraising events.
• Requests that seek to substitute or supplement funding that is the legitimate responsibility of government. (However, on occasion DRF will consider requests to supplement government funds when major benefits to the region and DRF's mission are apparent.)
• Grants to fire departments, rescue squads, and public safety organizations unless extraordinary circumstances exist and it is apparent how such projects produce one or more of the Foundation's four outcomes. The projects would also need to have a significant multiplier effect upon a substantial portion of DRF's region. In the unusual circumstance when DRF does choose to fund a capital project, funding is normally limited to 40% or less of the project's estimated cost.
• Capital projects, such as building construction, debt reduction, and endowment, unless they are explicitly tied to one or more DRF outcomes, benefit a significant portion of the region, demonstrate broad-based support, have a significant multiplier effect, significantly increase the core capacity of an organization, or have an extraordinary impact in the region.
• Broad, unfocused requests.
• Requests from units of government that have their own capacity to raise funds, or requests that are intended to reduce the funding responsibilities of taxing authorities.