• General grants
• Special Initiative grants

General grants:

• Are awarded in a variety of program areas (see grants lists under Funding Interests)
• Are typically for general operating support
• Generally are for smaller grant amounts
• Are considered in June and November unless applicant has been previously funded (see below)
• Comprise the majority of grants awarded

Special Initiative grants:

• Are awarded in only three program areas:

• Community Development
• Environment
• Youth Violence Prevention
• Are typically for programs designed to achieve specific measurable outcomes, particularly those that substantially advance the mission of the applicant (see guidelines for each Special Initiative under Funding Interests)
• Generally are for larger amounts (see grants list under each Special Initiative)
• Are considered in June and November
• Represent ~15 percent of all grants made annually

Applicants who are unsure whether to apply for a Special Initiative or General grant should:

• Review the Special Initiative guidelines carefully
• Inquire about a General grant if the proposed project does not fit within the program guidelines

New Applicants                                                                                   Applicants who have not received funding from the Foundation:

• Should submit a preliminary letter of inquiry - one page maximum
  (unsolicited proposals are not encouraged)

• Must include a surface mail return address if inquiry is emailed (emailed inquiries are not answered via email)
• Will be considered for the next grant cycle if the inquiry is received too close to the proposal submission deadline (e.g., two weeks or less) for the current grant cycle

Previously Funded Organizations                                           Requests from organizations that have received General grants within the past five years:

• Are considered only in November

• Do not require a preliminary letter of inquiry or an invitation to submit

• Do not require a full proposal
• Do require:

• a completed application form (link upper left)
• simple letter request
• most recent audited financial statements
• two copies—one to the Foundation office and one directly to the trustee of record (each appropriately cc’d)
• the overall fund-raising strategy and results to date toward the dollar goal if the request is for a capital campaign

Previously funded organizations seeking Special Initiative grants should send a letter of inquiry to the Foundation's Executive Director.  A full proposal, if invited, is required (click on Guidelines).  Requests for Special Initiative grants are considered in both June and November.

Mailing/Transmission Instructions

• Inquiries and invited proposals for General grants should be sent to the Foundation's Executive Director, Beatrice C. Carter, at the Foundation’s Pittsburgh office.

• Inquiries and invited proposals for Special Initiative grants also should be mailed directly to the Foundation’s Executive Director.
• Inquiries may be emailed to info@rahuntfdn.org and must include a surface mail return address

• Applicants who are invited directly by an individual trustee to submit a request for a general grant must send a complete duplicate of all materials to the Foundation’s office as well as to the trustee who extended the invitation (both copies appropriately cc’d)

• Emailed or faxed proposals are not accepted

For invited proposal application instructions please follow the guidelines link at left.