Economic Mobility Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Richard King Mellon Foundation

What is the first step in the application process?

The first step is to check your organization’s tax status and verify that you are eligible to receive philanthropic funding. After that, review the Foundation’s 10-year strategic plan & funding programs pages. If you feel that your project/program is a good fit, feel free to review the application requirements on the Foundation’s Apply page. […]

Can I meet with a program officer before submitting an application?

In general, program officers are not available for a discussion until after a proposal has been submitted. You can also email [email protected] with questions. […]

Our organization is based outside of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, but we’d like to bring our programs to these counties. Would the Foundation still consider our application?

Yes, we consider applications from organizations that are not based in Allegheny or Westmoreland counties. In your application, you should be clear about why you are interested in serving children and young adults in these counties. […]

Does the Foundation only fund in communities with higher rates of poverty?

We recognize that children who are economically disadvantaged reside in all communities. We foremost serve these children, regardless of the community where they live in Allegheny or Westmoreland counties. We also understand that children whose low-income household is in a middle- or upper-income community may have difficulty accessing the resources present in that community. […]

What if the children or young adults that my organization serves only meet one or two of your population criteria?

All three criteria (household income, age, and county of residence) are important to our funding consideration. Applicants who only meet one or two of these criteria are less likely to receive Economic Mobility program funding. […]

Does a grantee have to verify the household income of each child or young adult they serve?

We do not require grantees to verify the household income of each child they serve. Grantees may use proxy measures to estimate the number of children who reside in low-income households. For example, if a grantee is serving a representative sample of a school population, and 70% of the students in the school are identified […]

How does the Foundation define “low-income households”?

We do not have a specific definition of “low-income” that we require all grantees to use. Our grantees describe the children and young adults they serve by using widely established definitions such as free or reduced-price lunch eligibility or the federal poverty level. […]