Grant Guidelines

The Goldwin Foundation's Mission

The Goldwin Foundation (“Foundation”) was founded in 2013 by Lawrence Chatters and group of individuals interested in advancing medical research, medical technology and access to medical care for children.  Accordingly, the mission of the Foundation is to provide financial support to medical facilities, organizations, clinics, hospitals and related health care organizations that serve the needs of children with special or serious medical conditions including assistance to enhance and support medical research to improve medical care and the treatment of children.  The Foundation primarily makes grants to charitable organizations that have been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as Section 501(c)(3) organizations that are exempt charities under 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code or to governmental agencies or units located within the United States.

Grantmaking Focus

The Foundation is committed to enhancing and enriching the lives of children who suffer from special or serious medical conditions and diseases through improvements in medical technology, access and treatment.  Through our grant making, we support innovative medical organizations, leaders in those organizations and the underlying communities who are impacted by the grant.  

The Foundation supports programs and medical organizations that work to advance medical technology specifically focused for children with special or serious medical conditions.  The Foundation believes that access to specialized health care for children in the United States should be more readily available and should not be cost-prohibitive to those children who require such services.  Of particular interest to the Foundation are efforts to advance medical research, treatment options and support for programs and medical organizations that strive to address the problems associated with underserved children.  By way of example, the Foundation supports activities and organizations in the following areas:

• Medical research institutions whose primary focus is on advances in medicine for children.
• Medical clinics or hospitals specializing or focusing on the needs of children.
• Medical organizations that strive to ensure better access to medical treatment and disease diagnosis for children.

Eligibility & Types of Support

Most of the grants made by the Foundation are to those organizations invited by the Foundation to apply for grant funds by submitting a grant application or letter of inquiry, depending upon the size of the request.  While the Foundation may allow organizations the ability to apply for grant money, grants will primarily be by invitation only.  The Foundation primarily makes grants to charitable organizations that have been recognized by the Internal Revenue Services as being described in Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code or to governmental agencies or units located within the United States.  The Foundation will primarily make grants to the following types of organizations and projects:

• General operating and capacity building hospitals or medical facilities with annual operating budgets over $5 million;
• Medical research projects for specific physical health problems affecting children;
• Capital campaigns for upgrades in medical technology necessary to expand or increase the effectiveness of treatment options for children or access to medical technology for children; and
• Organizations who cannot invest in particular projects without private support due to cost-prohibitive licensing or reimbursement guidelines.

Grants range from $10,000 to $1.5 million.  Applicants may apply for one-year or multi-year grants for their project or operating activity.  On a rare occasion, the Foundation may decide to make grants to organizations that are not Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) public charities, such as private businesses or newly formed charitable organizations that have not yet obtained charitable organization status from the IRS.  Grants to these organizations will only be made after the Foundation has exercised expenditure responsibility as required by Section 4945(h) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 53.4945-5 of the Treasury Regulations to ensure that the grant is made and utilized exclusively for charitable purposes.

Grant Funds Must Be Used Solely For Charitable Purposes

The activities the Foundation supports through grants and program-related investments must be charitable, educational or scientific as defined under the appropriate provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations.

As the Foundation pursues its mission and goals, the Foundation will take all reasonable measures to fulfill its responsibilities as a tax-exempt charitable organization. The Foundation wants to make sure that its funds are used for their intended charitable purposes and do not support any activities that violate the U.S. tax code or anti-terrorism laws.

Any applicant for a grant from the Foundation acknowledges that the Foundation has the authority to withhold or recover grant funds in the case those grant funds are, or appear to be (in the discretion of the Foundation), misused.

Application Procedure

​For grant applications for $50,000 or less, the applicant shall submit a letter of inquiry and the Foundation will notify the applicant whether the request has been approved.  For grant applications in excess of $50,000, the applicant shall submit a completed grant application to the Foundation if it has been invited to do so by the Foundation in substantially the same application form.  

Letter of Inquiry

The first step in applying to the Foundation for a grant of $50,000 or less is a short letter of inquiry (“LOI”).  LOI’s may be submitted at any time during the year, although they will only be reviewed on a quarterly basis.  LOI’s should be one to three pages long and should include the following:

• A brief statement of the issues to be addressed, the history and goals of the organization, and the organization's involvement with these issues.
• A brief summary of the activities or the organization for which you are requesting support, including an outline of the organization’s objectives, and anticipated outcomes and implications.
• The approximate starting date and duration that the funding will cover.
• The total amount of funding needed, the amount requested from the Foundation, and information about other sources of support, both assured and requested. 
• Contact information and EIN for the organization and IRS tax determination letter recognizing the exempt status of the organization. 

All LOI’s are first reviewed to determine if they fall within the Foundation’s program guidelines and mission.  Those that do not are immediately declined.  LOI’s that are within the guidelines are then reviewed to determine the following:

• The priority of the proposed activity within the Foundation’s goals.
• The impact of the likely results of such activities.

The Foundation tries to acknowledge the receipt of all LOI’s. If an applicant does not receive an acknowledgment of the Foundation’s receipt of the LOI within one month after sending the letter, feel free to contact the Foundation to inquire as to its status.

Full Grant Application

Full grant applications will be accepted by invitation only and are only for funding requests in excess of $50,000. Because the Foundation requests more applications than it can fund, the applicant should not interpret such a request as an indication of likely support. To be considered, the grant application must be complete and reference all areas identified in the attached grant application form which can be downloaded from the Foundation's website by clicking this link.

https://goldwinfoundationorg.presencehost.net/file_download/40ae4953-8971-43b7-b303-8fba28cbd8a2

The Foundation may request additional information in writing from applicants. The Foundation might also consult with persons knowledgeable about the proposed activities and the Foundation welcomes the applicant’s suggestions as to who might be qualified to assist the Foundation in its review of the application. As part of the review, the Foundation will likely request to have its Executive Director or another representative of the Foundation meet with applicant in person to overview the facilities or potential use of funds. 

Completed applications will be discussed at the next quarterly board meeting. Applicants will be notified of the Board’s decision to approve or deny a grant within two weeks following the Board meeting. If a grant is awarded, the applicant will be asked to sign a Grant Agreement that lays out reporting and other requirements.

How We Monitor Grants

To ensure the appropriate use of grant funds and compliance with the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and U.S. anti-terrorism laws, the Foundation has extensive procedures for making and monitoring all grants.  These include the following:

• Pre-Grant Review.  All potential grantee organizations and their programs are assessed by the Foundation to determine the organization’s capacity to undertake the work identified in the grant application or letter of inquiry.
• Legal Review.  All proposed grants and written submissions by the prospective applicant undergo a legal review.
• Compliance with U.S. Anti-Terrorism Financing Rules.  Under applicable law, the Foundation checks all prospective grantees against available lists of terrorist groups.  These checks also take place throughout the life of all grants.
• One or More Site Visits.  A representative or representatives of the Foundation will visit the grantee during the term of the grant to review the actions taken by the grantee with the grant funds.
• Financial and Narrative Reports.  During the grant term, grantees are required to submit reports that are reviewed by a program officer and a grants administrator for compliance with the terms of the grant.

Contact Information of the Foundation

Please send LOI’s, grant applications and any other questions to:

 Goldwin Foundation

10736 Jefferson Blvd

#963 Culver City, CA 90230