Here are the answers to frequently asked questions about The Wallace Foundation.
Q: What is The Wallace Foundation’s legal status?
A: Wallace is a private foundation designated by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. More information on this designation is available from the IRS (see http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/) and The Foundation Center (see http://fdncenter.org/learn/faqs/html/pfandpc.html).
Q: What is The Wallace Foundation’s primary area of focus?
A: Our mission is to support and share effective ideas and practices that enable institutions to expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people. To achieve this, we are focusing exclusively on three major areas:
- Strengthening educational leadership in ways that significantly improve student achievement.
- Helping selected cities make after school learning opportunities available to many more children.
- Making the arts a part of many more people’s lives by working with arts organizations, schools and other providers of arts education and experience to build both present and future arts audiences.
In each of these areas, our approach is to select and invest in innovation sites willing to test promising new approaches, while commissioning and sharing independent research that could benefit the work in those sites as well as many others who are interested in pursuing similar changes but who may never receive our direct funding. In most cases, we identify and evaluate prospective grantees through the issuance of Requests for Proposals or other careful screening processes. While we believe this approach strengthens the effectiveness of our investments, it also means that unsolicited proposals are rarely funded.
Q: How often does The Wallace Foundation’s board meet?
A: There are four regularly scheduled board meetings throughout the year.
Q: Can I make an appointment to meet with one of the Foundation’s program staff to discuss my organization?
A: The Foundation prefers initial contact in writing. If a proposed program or grant request is consistent with the Foundation’s priorities, you may be asked to provide more information or subsequently be invited to meet with a program staff member. Please see Funding Guidelines for more information about contacting the Foundation with a funding query.
Q: How can I apply for a grant from The Wallace Foundation?
A: The Foundation typically makes grants to nonprofit, public charitable organizations that are invited to apply for funding, generally as part of initiatives or programs that have far-reaching national, regional or multi-state impact. For more information, see Funding Guidelines.
Q: Does the Foundation give scholarships for school?
A: Scholarship funding is not within the scope of the Foundation’s investments.
Q: How can I find other foundations that support projects similar to mine?
A: One place to start is with foundations and corporate giving offices in your region. Local organizations are often focused on projects in their communities, whereas a national foundation such as The Wallace Foundation concentrates more on programs that have multi-state or broader impact.
Another comprehensive source of information is the Foundation Center in New York City that provides comprehensive information about foundation and corporate grantmaking activities, as well as about fundraising. The Center can be accessed at, www.fdncenter.org, or its toll-free telephone number is 800-424-9836. The Foundation Center also publishes a Foundation Directory, which is a valuable resource for researching philanthropies that might match an organization’s fundraising needs.