The Foundation’s Board of Trustees currently considers requests for grant funding 2-3 times per year. Dates are subject to change therefore prospective applicants should check back occasionally for updates. Unless specified, the grant process involves two phases: a letter of inquiry (LOI) followed by the full grant application. After review of LOIs in each cycle, grant applicants will be notified whether or not the organization is being invited to submit a full grant application for further consideration.
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2025 SPRING Grant cycle
January 10, 2025 - Portal to open for LOI submission
February 14, 2025 - LOI Submissions Due for 2025 Spring Cycle,11:59 PM CT
March 2025 - LOI Status Notifications Emailed (Decline, Defer, or Invite for Full App)
April 4, 2025 - Final Grant Applications Due, 11:59 PM CT (Phase II by Invitation Only)
May 2025 - 2025 Spring Board Meeting & Grant Review (Notifications sent mid-May)
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2025 FALL grant cycle
August 2025 - Portal to open for LOI submission (Exact date TBA)
December 2025 - 2025 Fall Board Meeting & Grant Review (Notifications sent by mid-December)
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Before you Apply
IDENTIFY MATCH WITH FUNDING PRIORITIES
Please review “What We Fund” for general guidelines regarding the Foundation’s preferred areas of focus prior to submitting your Letter of Inquiry (LOI). We encourage applicants to fully review our FAQs page as well.
WACO - 1/3
By policy, one-third of annual grant funds are required to be distributed for projects/programs located in Waco, Texas.
DISCRETIONARY/NATIONAL - 1/3
By policy, one-third of annual grant funds are considered discretionary and may be distributed in support of projects/programs throughout the United States as desired. In recent years, a significant portion of the Foundation’s discretionary grant budget has been largely focused on ad-hoc special interest areas as determined by our trustees. Once the Foundation’s 2024 ad-hoc working group topic has been announced, you will find the relevant information on this website. It is also worth noting that the Foundation does not typically consider funding direct service programs outside of the Waco/McLennan County area.
CONTRACTUAL - 1/3
Finally, the remaining one-third of funds are designated to the University of Texas at Austin Rapoport Scholars Program, the Jerusalem Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of North America.
Phase One
SUBMIT LETTER OF INQUIRY (LOI) VIA ONLINE GRANT PORTAL
Bernard & Audre Rapoport Foundation utilizes an online grant application system and will only accept LOIs and applications received via this online system. The first step of the process is to submit your LOI through the online grant portal. LOIs will be reviewed following the submission deadline, and the Foundation may decide to move the LOI forward to the full application stage or decline. You must submit an LOI in order to move to the next stage of consideration.
In addition to the specific program/project information requested through the LOI, please be prepared to upload a project budget.
Please note that the LOI & Grant Application templates available below are subject to modification prior to the opening of the 2025 Spring Grant Cycle.
Phase Two
SUBMIT ONLINE APPLICATION
If your LOI is moved forward for consideration, you will receive an e-mail with instructions on accessing the full online application through the grant management system. You may preview the application questions below for your reference.
In addition to the application questions, please be prepared to submit the following documents as well:
Line Item Budget of Project/Program & Budget Narrative
Most Recent Financial Audit
Statement of Activities & Statement of Financial Position
Budget Comparison
Please feel free to contact Foundation staff if you require assistance in the second phase of the application process.
Step Three
FOLLOW UP COMMUNICATION
Rapoport Foundation will communicate with potential grantees through phone, mail, and/or e-mail. If additional information is needed to support the grant request or if a site visit is to be scheduled, the organization will be contacted by Foundation staff.
Grant decisions will be e-mailed within three weeks following decisions made during the Spring, Summer (if applicable), and Fall board meetings. Grant applicants may refer to their portal dashboard for a status update as well.
Step Four
REPORTING FOR ACTIVE GRANTS
Please retain your Rapoport Foundation login and password as you will need to access the grant management system to submit your grant agreement as well as to provide your interim and final reports. Typically, a 12-month grant award period would require an interim report at 6 months and a final report following the end of the grant award term.