Guidelines and Policies
Jane's Trust
Updated January 2010
**Please be advised that as of January 2010, the deadlines for concept papers have changed to January 25 and July 15.***
***Effective for 2010, the Trustees of Jane's Trust will focus their grantmaking in southwestern Florida, greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts on issues related to health and welfare as outlined in the existing guidelines. This applies only to new grants beginning in 2010. Existing multiple year commitments will be honored. The Trust will no longer make grants in arts and culture, education or environment in those geographies. The Trust’s grantmaking in the northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont remains unchanged and will continue to support organizations focused on arts and culture, education, environment and health and welfare in northern New England. This decision reflects careful deliberation on the part of the Trustees about areas of emphasis, focus and passion, and not on the activities of many organizations working to improve communities across the regions where the Trust makes grants. More details on these changes are below. ***
This site changes periodically. Please check back
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2009 Program Summary
2009 Grants
2008 Program Summary
2008 Grants
2007 Program Summary
2007 Grants
2006 Program Summary
2006 Grants
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for your interest in Jane’s Trust. If you would like to apply for funding, please read the following Guidelines and Policies carefully. Due to the large volume of requests, we will not be able to review applications that are incomplete or that do not conform to the guidelines set forth below.
Jane’s Trust was created through the beneficence of Jane B. Cook, who died in July 2002. Mrs. Cook was known in the communities where she lived as a down-to-earth woman who was generous to the core. The Trust was established to continue for a thirty-five year period the legacy of generosity that she established during her lifetime.
Trustees
Jane’s Trust will be administered at the law firm of Hemenway & Barnes LLP, 60 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The Trustees are:
Martha S. Robes
Jean B. Stevenson
Elizabeth Steele
Michael B. Elefante, Esq.
Kurt F. Somerville, Esq.
All inquiries regarding Jane’s Trust should be directed to Select Client Services, Hemenway & Barnes. Contact information is listed below. Applicants should not contact the Trustees directly.
POLICIES
Overview
Jane’s Trust will make grants to address important issues in the Trust’s fields of interest and areas of geographical focus described below. The Trustees are interested particularly in organizations and projects which primarily benefit underserved populations and disadvantaged communities. The Trust supports collaborations among nonprofit organizations and welcomes collaborative applications. The Trustees understand that grant requests and collaborations may from time to time bridge two or more areas of interest. The application process, described in more detail below, is a two step process involving first the submission of a concept paper and then, only upon request from the Trustees, the submission of a full proposal. The Trustees meet several times per year to consider concept papers and proposals, although payment of all grants approved by the Trustees is made once a year, in December.
The Trust will work collaboratively with other funders to support projects in its areas of interest. For this reason, and to maintain the integrity of the grants program overall, the Trustees will endeavor to retain flexibility to respond to special circumstances or changing conditions. From time to time, this may result in modifications to these guidelines.
Size of Grants Program
Jane’s Trust will make annual grants of approximately $9 million, a portion of which may be committed to multi-year grants, which will affect the dollar amount available for new grants in any given year. Annual grants will generally range in size from $50,000 to $1,000,000, although the Trustees in their discretion may from time to time make awards outside of that range. The average grant size is $150,000. The Trust does not allocate specific dollar amounts to its areas of interest or to particular geographical areas. Please consult the Trust’s frequently asked questions document for additional information, found at www.hembar.com/janestrust.
Types of Funding
The Trust will support projects in its areas of interest and will also make grants for operating support. The Trust will also provide support for capital projects and endowments. The Trust may make challenge grants where appropriate.
The Trustees recognize that to accomplish certain goals, support over two or more years may be necessary. Multiple year awards will generally not exceed two years in length and will be based on a careful review, at least annually, of performance in meeting measurable objectives, including the development of funds from other sources for both the initial period and the long term. Objectives and goals will be established by the applicant and the Trustees at the time of the initial award.
GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS
Jane’s Trust will make grants in the states of Florida, with a preference for southwest and central Florida; Massachusetts, with a preference for greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts; and in the northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Preference will be given to organizations located in those states for projects which will primarily provide benefits within those states.
Grants in southwest and central Florida, greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts will focus exclusively on health and welfare. The Trustees will not accept proposals for arts and culture, education or environment in those regions.
FIELDS OF INTEREST
Grants will be made for the following purposes:
1. Arts and Culture
The Trust aims to further quality artistic and cultural development in northern New England. Grants for arts and culture will be made to support a variety of objectives, including:
- loans to charitable organizations;
- attempts to influence legislation;
- requests from individuals.
Please note: Jane’s Trust will normally not support public entities, such as municipalities, municipal departments, or public schools directly, but will entertain applications from tax-exempt fiscal agents or partners for collaborative projects with municipalities or schools (described above). This does not apply to public colleges and universities.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
1. Concept Papers
As mentioned above, there is a two step process for application to the Trust. All applicants interested in funding should first submit a concept paper. Concept papers may be submitted at any time, but must be received by the following dates in order to be considered by the Trustees at their next regular meeting:
January 25 for consideration in February
July 15 for consideration in September
In case of a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the next regular business day. The Trust does not accept facsimile submissions, but will accept submissions by e-mail. When submitting via e-mail, please do not send an additional hard copy.
In order to be considered, all submissions, whether by mail, hand delivery or email, must be received and complete by 5 pm on the deadlines listed above. These deadlines are firm. Concept papers should be no more than three - four typed pages in length and must be submitted with the Trust’s Cover Sheet (a copy of which is attached to these Guidelines and is also available at www.hembar.com/janestrust.) In order to be considered complete, all concept papers should include:
- A brief background statement about the applicant, including its mission, size of organization and total amount desired;
- If applying for support of a project, a description of the project and a description of how the proposed project will strengthen the ability of the organization to reach its goals;
- If applying for operating, capital or endowment support, a description of how this support will enable the organization to fulfill its mission and further its objectives;
- A preliminary budget outlining the project, operating or capital needs for which application is being made;
- Evidence from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirming federal tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) and classification as "not a private foundation" within the meanings of Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please be sure the letter of determination from the IRS includes the federal tax ID number;
- Concept papers from departments within multi-departmental institutions must be assigned to a representative from the Development Office.
Please note, when submitting via e-mail, kindly submit the Jane’s Trust Cover Sheet, concept paper, proof of Federal tax exemption and budget information either in the e-mail submission or via regular mail for receipt by the deadline.
Applications that do not include the required information will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. We request that applicants not submit supplemental materials at the concept paper stage. Concept papers will be reviewed by the program officers of Jane’s Trust and the Trustees, following which the Trustees will request full proposals from a limited number of applicants.
We will acknowledge all concept papers within three weeks of the deadline with an email to the request contact listed on the Jane’s Trust cover sheet. Please contact us if you do not receive this acknowledgement.
2. Full Proposals
Submission of full proposals is by request only after a concept paper (described above) has been reviewed by the Trustees. Full proposals, if received without request, will be treated as concept papers under these guidelines.
Organizations which submit a concept paper in January will be notified by the beginning of March whether they will be invited to submit a full proposal. Invited proposals are due in April for consideration in May. Organizations which submit a concept paper in July will be notified by early September whether they will be invited to submit a full proposal. Invited proposals are due in October for consideration in December. Once a concept paper has been approved for a full proposal, an applicant will receive additional information from the staff concerning full proposal form and content. Grants are announced within two weeks of each regular meeting and are paid in December of the year in which approved. Challenge grants and multi-year grants will be paid in accordance with the initial terms of the award, established by the applicant and the Trustees.
3. General Requirements for Concept Papers and Full Proposals
Staff availability for interviews is limited and interviews will be initiated only by staff invitation. During the application process, an applicant or potential applicant may telephone staff at Hemenway & Barnes to ask questions regarding the application process or the appropriateness of a proposal.
An organization may submit only one application at a time. If denied, at either the concept paper or full proposal stage, an organization may reapply after waiting one year from the date of the Trust's annual payout (December). If a grant is received, an organization should wait at least one year after the date of the last payment before submitting another application. Concept papers from prior grantees will not be considered until a final report on the prior grant has been received.
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