Lithuanian Foundation Grant Program - Application Guidelines

The 2012 grant application deadline - April 20, 2012.   Please review the following information, before completing the application

The Lithuanian Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects that contribute to the preservation of the Lithuanian heritage in émigré communities. As such, the Foundation concentrates its resources on those projects that demonstrate the potential for far reaching benefits to the Lithuanian community and the community at large.

  Funding Priorities

The Foundation invests in new, innovative programs as well as established programs in the émigré community, with an eye to supporting those grant requests that collaborate with other programs to provide a synergistic benefit to the community. In striving to achieve these goals, the Foundation concentrates its giving in the following areas:

Education:  The Foundation believes that education will ensure the continuity of the richness of our Lithuanian heritage.  Therefore, we favor programs that contribute to the strengthening of our heritage school system as well as research that enriches the knowledge base for future generations.

Culture:  The Foundation believes that the Lithuanian culture is the bond that unites us.  Therefore, we favor projects that accentuate the vibrancy of the Lithuanian culture and invest in projects that create opportunities for cultural expression and a venue for broad participation.

Community:  The Foundation believes that it indeed “takes a village”. Therefore we favor projects that unite and augment the community and invest in projects that create a vital means of partnership for those who value the Lithuanian heritage.

Youth: The Foundation believes that the future of the heritage rests in the hearts of our youngest members. Therefore we favor projects that instill a love of culture and a sense of community in the younger generation and consider it crucial to invest in the support of youth organizations, summer camps, artistic performances geared to younger audiences and the like.

  Restrictions

The Foundation will  not consider the following types of grant requests:

1. Routine organizational/operational and/or travel expenses. 
2. Media (print, television or radio) in Lithuania.
3. Private for profit businesses, for profit organizations or for profit individuals. (Specific non-profit projects may be submitted by the for profit sector, only if accompanied by a detailed explanation of how the project meets non-profit requirements as well as detailed description of how non-profit funds will be segregated from the for-profit funds).
4. Lithuanian institutions, organizations in the USA that do not have valid “federal tax exempt” or “not-for-profit” status.
5. Lithuanian governmental agencies, institutions or political organizations.
6.   Lithuanian organizations in the USA requesting funding for capital improvements or repair of buildings and infrastructure if they are not the sole legal owners of the property.
7. Private charitable causes.

  Review Process

All requested documentation submitted by the application deadline will be reviewed by the LF Grants Committee, which might also request supplementary documentation during the review process.  The Grants Committee, comprised of 3 members from the Lithuanian Foundation and 3 members from the Lithuanian American Community, Inc., meets once per year to review all grant applications received by the deadline and make recommendations for funding.  Scholarship recommendations made by the Scholarship Sub-committee are also reviewed. The decisions are made based on LF GRANTS COMMITTEE GUIDELINES.

  Approval of Grants

After all scholarship and project grant recommendations are finalized by the Grants Committee, they are presented to the Lithuanian Foundation Board of Directors, which has final approval.

Generally, an applicant should expect notification by email or post of whether a grant has been allocated on or before July 30.  If a grant is approved, the applicant will be asked to present receipts and other documentation indicating that the funds were used for the purposes it was granted.  After pay-out is approved by the Chairman of the Grants Committee, checks are issued only in the name indicated on the application and mailed to the said address.

The Foundation can only fund a fraction of the requests that are received.  In some cases, excellent proposals cannot be funded because they fall outside of the Foundation’s current focus or because of funding limitations.  A denial of a funding is not a reflection on the applicant or the value of the project.

  How to apply

The Foundation uses an electronic application process which stipulates that all specific supplementary files/documentation be uploaded to the application before the application can be submitted.  All supporting documentation must be in Lithuanian or English.  A translation must accompany documents in any other language. Completion of the application form in Lithuanian is preferred, though not required.

Applicants may submit their completed application with all required attachments at any time after the posting of the 2012 grant application. However, in order to be considered for the current granting period, completed applications must be submitted by midnight on April 20, 2012. 

In order to remove their application from “draft” status, applicants will have to click “submit”.  If any of the required documentation is missing, the submission will not go through.  Applicants should, therefore, begin collecting required documentation as soon as possible.  If technical difficulties interfere with attachment of a document, the Foundation must be contacted by email at admin@lithfund.org by April 17th for an extension code.

Applications received after April 20 will be deemed late and will not be considered by the Grants Committee.Special second allocation meetings are not the norm at the Lithuanian Foundation.  Additional funding will not be available until applications are once again accepted in 2013.

  Recommended steps

Please review the information above, before selecting the LF Grant Application link below. Register as a grant applicant using this link. Only those who are registered on this site will receive any special notices by email.

 

2012 LF GRANT APPLICATION

 

Download, complete and upload to the appropriate part of the application:

1. "2012 LF PROJEKTO SAMATA_PROJECT BUDGET".
2. "2012 LF ZINIASKLAIDA_MEDIA".  ONLY if you are applying as a member of the Lithuanian émigré media.

Request/obtain all other required documentation in time to be uploaded to the application and submitted by April 20th  .  You will need to upload:

1.  "2012 LF PROJEKTO SAMATA_PROJECT BUDGET" form
2.  "2012 LF ZINIASKLAIDA_MEDIA" form.  ONLY if you are applying as a member of the Lithuanian émigré media
3. Organizations 2011 end of the year financial balance sheet.
4. Copy of the latest IRS 990 form and Part IV of Schedule A (USA)
5. Copy of the Articles of Incorporation
6. IRS letter showing certification of Federal tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of Internal Revenue Code (USA)

  Additional information

Applicants who completed online applications in 2011 can log on using the same user name and password and print the packet to see information from previous years.  The packet will be in PDF format.  If you have not saved uploaded documents in your computer, you can select portions of the PDF and copy/paste into separate documents.  If you sent documents you need for the current application process directly to the Foundation office by mail, you will not be able to see them.

 

Updated: 01/27/2012