Strengthening Emergency Preparedness in Santa Barbara County


Screening for Fit

When considering whether to approach the Orfalea Foundations for grant funding, it is important that you first review the following:

To further ensure the likelihood of a match between the goals of your program and our funding interests, we also ask that you use the following questions to screen your proposal:

The Orfalea Foundations are more likely to elevate the priority of proposals that answer these questions affirmatively.

Submitting a Letter of Inquiry

Based on the above self-screening process, if you feel your organization has a strong fit with the goals and focus of the Orfalea Foundations, the next step is to fill out our online Letter of Inquiry (LOI).

A complete Letter of Inquiry will very briefly outline:

  1. The full contact information for the organization/person submitting the LOI
  2. The mission of your organization
  3. The title and short description of the program for which you are seeking support
  4. The dollar amount of funding requested
  5. The expenses this funding will pay for and over what period of time
  6. The number of people to be served by the grant funding
  7. The goals and intended results of the grant

In 2007, the ORFALEA FOUNDATIONS began using a new software to assist the grant management process. If you have not yet applied to us online during 2007 (and therefore through this new software), please log in as a new user (by creating a new user name and password) even if you have received funding from us in the past. You will only need to do this once; for subsequent requests you will log in as a returning user. Please record the user name and password for your future reference.

To complete and submit a Letter of Inquiry to the Orfalea Foundations, please click on the link below:

Online Letter of Inquiry Submission Form
(You will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and create a password before accessing the form.)

All Letters of Inquiry must be submitted online at the latest by:

Letters submitted after the February 29 deadline will be held for review until the next cycle deadline, which is July 10, 2008. These dates are firm. Materials must be submitted by midnight of the deadline date to be eligible for that grant cycle.

Due to the volume of inquiries at this preliminary stage, we discourage personal visits to the foundation office by prospective grantees. In addition, we do not accept requests for introductory meetings. Upon approval of your letter, you will have the opportunity to submit detailed proposals and supplementary materials, such as line-item budgets, visuals and references, to further support your grant application. Please do not send these materials with your initial Letter of Inquiry, as they will slow the processing of your request.

The Letter of Inquiry process outlined above helps agencies better target their valuable time and resources before submitting a full application, and allows the Orfalea Foundations to concentrate on the priorities we have identified. All Letters of Inquiry will be reviewed and organizations will be contacted regarding the outcome within two weeks following the Letter of Inquiry deadline.

Completing the Grant Application

Upon approval of a Letter of Inquiry, we will send the applicant an email with instructions to access our online grant application. All applicants must complete the application online by the appropriate deadline (February 15 or August 15) to be considered for a grant award. Supplementary materials can be dropped off at our office or sent via U.S. mail.

Once we receive an agency’s complete application, we will begin the review process. We will contact applicants with questions, clarifications, and to schedule possible site visits or meetings. Please wait to hear from us for this follow-up.

Board Review

Following the grant application deadline, the Orfalea Foundations' Board of Directors meets to render a decision on the applications presented. All applicants are notified within several days following the board meeting regarding the status of their request. If the Board determines a grant will be awarded, the Orfalea Foundations will draft grant agreement documents for review and signatures.

We are unable to fund many proposals because they do not fall within our current focus areas, or they do not rank as high within our programming priorities as other requests and ongoing projects, not because there was anything lacking in the application or LOI.

If an LOI or application does not match our priorities, we suggest grant seekers identify other potential sources of funding. Please contact the Santa Barbara Nonprofit Support Center or the Foundation Center.

Ongoing Grantee Evaluation

To ensure accountability and compliance with the terms of the grant agreement, all of our grantees are required to submit mid-term progress and final evaluation reports outlining the extent to which they are meeting their financial and program goals. The grant agreement outlines the evaluation requirements and our online reporting procedure. Failure to complete these reports on time will disqualify the grantee from future funding.