PATRICK & ANNA M. CUDAHY FUND
Letter of Inquiry Process
The LOI process is a way for organizations that are not current grantees seeking a renewal grant to introduce themselves to the Cudahy Fund to be considered for funding. Organizations that are current grantees do not have to submit a LOI and can skip to the proposal process with the exception of discretionary grants. This Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is not a formal proposal nor does it guarantee that a proposal will be invited. Please keep in mind that we receive LOI's from many organizations that fit our guidelines and do not receive a proposal invitation due to the high volume of requests we receive. LOI's are accepted year-round on a rolling basis; however, to guarantee that an LOI is received with enough time to be reviewed at the next meeting on the calendar, send it at least three months before the proposal due date for that meeting.
A mother reads to her children in her apartment at New Moms in Chicago
Your LOI may be considered at the subsequent meeting depending on whether or not we had sufficient time to review the LOI before the upcoming meeting. Organizations will receive an e-mail confirming the receipt of the LOI, but will not be contacted a second time unless the Fund is extending an invitation to submit a full proposal, if there are questions, or if we would like to arrange a site visit.
LOI UPDATE- We are now current on LOI review. If you have not been contacted by the Fund, it means a proposal cannot be accepted at this time. You may submit another LOI one year from the time your LOI was submitted.
​
Proposal Process
The Patrick & Anna M. Cudahy Fund does not accept unsolicited proposals. Your organization must have been formally invited to apply by a Cudahy Fund staff member or director. However; with the exception of discretionary grants, current grantees can automatically reapply one year from the previous grant without submitting a Letter of Inquiry form. If you are unsure whether your previous grant was a discretionary or a community grant, the grant agreement letter for the current grant clarifies if your grant was discretionary. Most of our grants are community grants. You can also contact our office if you have any questions.
Submit your proposal online by clicking here:
You can still submit your Proposal through e-mail as in previous years. Please click the link below to download the Proposal form which will need to be e-mailed to us along with:
-
a cover letter
-
an organizational budget from your most recent fiscal year
-
a program budget (if applicable)
-
a list of your board of directors,
-
a list of major funders,
-
your organization's 501(c)3 tax exempt designation letter.
​
This form will open as a Word Document in Protected view. You will have to enable editing to utilize. If you would like the questions e-mailed to you, just let us know.
