The Gordon Charter Foundation makes cash grants to charities that provide education, healthcare, medical research and other human services that fulfill other needs for people primarily in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Charities must pass an eligibility quiz to be able to apply. The Trustees of The Foundation determine which grants will be approved.
Who is not eligible for grants from The Gordon Charter Foundation?
The Foundation does not give grants to individuals, political, fraternal and/or civic organizations, or other private foundations. Additionally, we do not participate in annual appeals, annual event sponsorship requests or other letters of solicitation. Please see Priorities for Grantmaking on this website for a complete list of exclusions.
Who selects the grant recipients?
The grant recipients are selected by the Trustees of the Foundation.
Does the Foundation support capital campaigns, equipment purchases, endowment or operating funds?
The Foundation will consider requests for capital expenses, equipment purchases, endowment or operating costs. Please see the the answer to the Who is Not Eligible question above.
Are there any program areas The Foundation will not support?
The main focus of the Foundation is to help people through health, human services and educational initiatives. Please see the Grants tab on our website for further explanation. We generally will not fund grant applications for customary environmental initiatives. See the Environment link under the Grants tab.
Does The Gordon Charter Foundation make multi-year grants?
The Foundation will consider multi-year grants. However, these will be limited by our existing commitments and limited resources.
Will we need to arrange a site visit prior to being considered for a grant?
There will be times when we will request a site visit. The Trustees conduct their own site visits. This will usually occur during the time period when the application is going through its initial review process. However, some applications will go to the Trustees and be held open pending a site visit and requests for further information.
Does the Foundation want recognition for its grants?
The Gordon Charter Foundation does not seek or want publicity for the grants we make. The Foundation reserves and requests the right to review and approve all written or spoken public announcements which use The Gordon Charter Foundation’s name. Please contact our Executive Director with your announcements so that we may approve them.
What if I need help with the process?
Please click on the attached link for a tutorial which will show you how to use the portal. Tutorial Link
How do I find the forms I need to provide following receipt of a grant?
All forms are in the portal of the contact who requested the grant. While other contacts have access to historical documents, only one person will be assigned to accept the grant terms, verify receipt of the check, and the provide the follow up on how funds were spent.
What if there is staff turnover and we no longer have access to our portal?
We recognize that staff will turn over. Please email us at [email protected] with the names, email addresses, phone numbers and organization addresses for who you would like as your contacts and we will update our system giving them logins. Please indicate who should be the primary contact for grant follow ups. We also ask that you send us information for your ED.
What if the person filling in the grant request or a follow up needs help from a different department or outside source?
There is a collaborate button when you are in the application on the top right of your portal to add someone into your process.
How can we see our application history or the application we submitted that requires a follow up?
The top of your screen has an organizational history tab. You can see your past requests, contacts, address and any documents we have made viewable to you.
How would we know if we should submit an LOI?
If you have more than three years of financials including filed 990’s, you are in our giving area, you think you fall into one of our priority giving areas, and your organization has 100% Board participation in annual giving, then you are eligible to submit an LOI. There is no guarantee that you will be invited to submit an application, this is just the first step.
How often can we submit an LOI and grant application?
If you received a grant, or payment on a multi-year grant from the Gordon Charter Foundation in the current or prior calendar year we respectfully ask you to wait another year before applying for a new. We will only fund on an every other year basis. You also must have filed all three follow ups to your prior grant.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Foundation does not give grants to individuals, political, fraternal and/or civic organizations, or other private foundations. Additionally, we do not participate in annual appeals, annual event sponsorship requests or other letters of solicitation. Please see Priorities for Grantmaking on this website for a complete list of exclusions.
The grant recipients are selected by the Trustees of the Foundation.
The Foundation will consider requests for capital expenses, equipment purchases, endowment or operating costs. Please see the the answer to the Who is Not Eligible question above.
The main focus of the Foundation is to help people through health, human services and educational initiatives. Please see the Grants tab on our website for further explanation. We generally will not fund grant applications for customary environmental initiatives. See the Environment link under the Grants tab.
The Foundation will consider multi-year grants. However, these will be limited by our existing commitments and limited resources.
There will be times when we will request a site visit. The Trustees conduct their own site visits. This will usually occur during the time period when the application is going through its initial review process. However, some applications will go to the Trustees and be held open pending a site visit and requests for further information.
The Gordon Charter Foundation does not seek or want publicity for the grants we make. The Foundation reserves and requests the right to review and approve all written or spoken public announcements which use The Gordon Charter Foundation’s name. Please contact our Executive Director with your announcements so that we may approve them.
Please click on the attached link for a tutorial which will show you how to use the portal. Tutorial Link
All forms are in the portal of the contact who requested the grant. While other contacts have access to historical documents, only one person will be assigned to accept the grant terms, verify receipt of the check, and the provide the follow up on how funds were spent.
We recognize that staff will turn over. Please email us at [email protected] with the names, email addresses, phone numbers and organization addresses for who you would like as your contacts and we will update our system giving them logins. Please indicate who should be the primary contact for grant follow ups. We also ask that you send us information for your ED.
There is a collaborate button when you are in the application on the top right of your portal to add someone into your process.
The top of your screen has an organizational history tab. You can see your past requests, contacts, address and any documents we have made viewable to you.
If you have more than three years of financials including filed 990’s, you are in our giving area, you think you fall into one of our priority giving areas, and your organization has 100% Board participation in annual giving, then you are eligible to submit an LOI. There is no guarantee that you will be invited to submit an application, this is just the first step.
If you received a grant, or payment on a multi-year grant from the Gordon Charter Foundation in the current or prior calendar year we respectfully ask you to wait another year before applying for a new. We will only fund on an every other year basis. You also must have filed all three follow ups to your prior grant.