The Foundation supports IRS-registered, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organizations with a public charity status of 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2), or public universities under section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Only online grant applications will be accepted. The Foundation has two grant cycles per year. The spring and fall deadlines are posted here. Late submissions will not be accepted. Decisions for funding are made in early June or early December respectively. Notifications and payments are made shortly after the decisions. An award agreement letter must be signed to accept payment.
Funding is highly competitive and priority is given to organizations with whom the Foundation has a previous relationship. Thus, it is difficult to receive funding if the organization has never been funded before.
There is an initial screening step for Medical Research Study requests from institutions that have not received a medical research study award in the past eight years. There also are eligibility requirements for the various categories of funding. Please go to the individual category pages for further information and guidelines.
Project support beyond a period of three years will generally not be considered. The Foundation Directors strive to select projects and programs where funding will have the greatest impact.
As a general policy the Foundation does not support:
- Individuals;
- Community, health and education organizations that serve clients outside of Kleberg and its adjoining counties of South Texas;
- Operating or general endowments;
- Deficit financing;
- Appeals for religious purposes or organizations limited by race or religion;
- Propaganda organizations or committees whose efforts are aimed at influencing legislation;
- Table sponsorships;
- Fundraising events or advertising;
- Indirect costs or overhead allocated to projects;
- Other granting agencies, foundations, or pass through organizations.
Guidelines for Consideration of Capital Requests
- The Foundation rarely supports capital projects such as the purchase or renovation of facilities, repairs and maintenance of physical infrastructure, or the purchase of major equipment.
- Capital requests should be preceded by a formal conversation with Foundation staff to determine the project’s fit with the Foundation’s priorities. A pre-request, similar to a Letter of Inquiry, may be required to determine Trustee interest before submitting a full application.
- As a general rule, the Foundation will not consider capital requests before at least 50 percent of the total project costs have already been committed from other sources.
Recognition and Mementoes
- The Foundation is open to considering potential naming opportunities associated with a grant, as applicable. However, naming opportunities have no bearing at all on the Trustees’ decision to fund a project.
- With regard to mementoes, the Foundation desires that all resources of any grantee be dedicated to accomplishing its philanthropic purposes. We ask that grantees not recognize the Foundation, its board members, or staff with any commemorative gifts or tokens.
Reporting Requirements
Grant recipients must submit evaluation reports to the Foundation by the date specified in the Award Agreement Letter as follows:
- Single-year funding initiatives – a final report is due upon completion of the grant period.
- Multi-year funding initiatives – interim reports are due annually with a final report due upon completion of the grant period.
Evaluation reports consist of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the project and lessons learned, and include the Project Budget form, the file originally submitted with the application, updated with actual revenues and expenditures for the project. The Evaluation Report is completed online and submitted through the online application system. It can be found in the Follow-Up Section for the award.
Grant Redirection and Extension of Time
If at any time during the grant period it becomes apparent that the grant cannot be completed as originally presented and approved, or that the funds will not be fully spent during the grant period, contact Foundation staff immediately to discuss potential options for a grant redirection or extension of time.
