Eligibility

The Foundation awards grants to qualified tax-exempt organizations within Oregon.

Applicants must:

·     Be a governmental entity or a tax-exempt charitable organization as described in Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c) (3)

·       Be determined by the IRS not to be a "private foundation" under section 509 (a) of the code

·         Have a minimum of three years of successful operation

The Foundation generally will not favor proposals seeking funds for:

• Direct grants or loans to individuals

• Endowments

• General fund drives or annual appeals

• Debt retirement or operation deficits

• Emergency needs

• Propagandizing or influencing elections or legislation

• Projects of religious organizations that principally benefit their own members

If a proposal is declined, a subsequent request from that organization will normally not be considered within a 12-month period.  An organization that has received a grant may submit another proposal two or three months prior to the end of that grant period, but no decision will be made on the new request until a final report on the prior grant has been received and approved.

Funding Guidelines

An organization should submit one (1) copy of a complete application by email or regular mail.

A complete application consists of the following components:

1. The Grant Application Form, which includes budget sheets for your total organization and the project for which funds are sought.

2. A project narrative of no more than three pages which describes

·         the goals of the project

·         the specific activities to be carried out and the need for these activities

·         who will be served

·         the significance of the project for the organization and its clientele

·      how you will know if you have achieved the desired outcomes of the project

·         if applicable, how you will support the activity after the grant period

3. A list of board members and their primary affiliations

4. A copy of your most recent IRS determination letter

5. Copy of your most recent audit report, if available. 

An application (one copy) should be sent to:  info@millerfound.org      

or

James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation

PO Box 8585

Portland, OR  97207-8585

Application Review

The Foundation accepts proposals from eligible applicants throughout the year.  There are no established guidelines.  The board meets approximately six times a year to review proposals, and applications are reviewed as they are received.  When reviewing a request, Foundation directors or staff may call or visit applicants to gather additional information.  The review process may take up to six months from the date of submittal of an application, but normally it will be somewhat shorter than this.

Because the Foundation is minimally staffed, we request that you make inquiries about the status of a proposal by sending an email to info@millerfound.org. Foundation decisions will be communicated to the applicant by telephone or in writing.

Unfortunately, the Foundation receives substantially more proposals than it can support. Denial of a grant should not necessarily be considered a reflection on the quality of a project or the worthiness of its sponsor.