Project Support Grant Application Guide

We explore alignment between your work and our goals through a series of conversations. If there is a strong fit, we will invite you to submit a proposal.

You will complete our online application, providing details about your project and organization. Your Grants Manager and Program Officer offer guidance throughout this stage.

We conduct four types of reviews to understand your organization and project from multiple perspectives.

• Applicant Record Review: Your Grants Manager verifies the information about your organization to ensure our records are accurate and complete.
• Proposal Analysis Review: Your Program Officer assesses how your project aligns with our funding priorities and program strategy. This information forms the basis of a brief presented to our leadership.
• Compliance Review: Your Grants Manager, Program Officer, and our Legal Department ensure your organization and project comply with relevant laws and our internal policies. If we notice any potential compliance gaps, we will collaborate with you to bridge them.
• Integrated Support Review: Your Program Officer looks for additional ways we might champion your work beyond funding, such as networking and thought partnership opportunities.

We consider proposals in quarterly cycles (i.e., March, June, September, and December) and will notify you of the funding decision. If the proposal is approved, we will prepare an agreement and initiate the grant relationship.

These reviews work together to give us a complete picture of your proposal and help us to consider how we might support your work and to identify any questions or issues so we can help you address them.

• An invitation to apply reflects our genuine excitement about your work. It means we believe your work appears to align closely with our strategic priorities and indicates our interest in supporting your project, pending review and approval.
• Questions are normal and expected. It is common for applicants to have questions beyond what is covered in this guide. Your Grants Manager and Program Officer are here to help.
• Character limits are a guideline, not a target. They do not reflect the importance or value we place on any section or question. Focus on sharing what is most relevant about your work, using as much or as little space as you need
• Use what you have. Feel free to adapt existing materials that describe your project and its context.
• Reflect on previous conversations with your Program Officer about alignment with their program strategy. If you are unsure how to best describe your work in a way that is meaningful to MacArthur, reach out to your Program Officer for help.
• Working with a Fiscal Sponsor? If so, please be in touch with your Program Officer or Grants Manager early in the application process for specialized support. View Appendix A for detailed guidance.
• If we have indicated your grant is an expenditure responsibility (ER) grant, or if your organization does not hold 501(c)(3) public charity status or its equivalent, additional due diligence is required. Your Program Officer and Grants Manager will guide you through the process. Please reach out to them for personalized instructions.

The Application Walkthrough section below will help you gather the materials needed for your proposal.

• Primary contact
• Additional contact
• Grant agreement signatory
• Organization financial officer
• Organization grants officer
• Authorized banking contacts: two people from your organization who can verify bank account information.

Tip: One person can fill multiple roles.

Rationale: This information helps us address questions about your application with the appropriate person and facilitates effective communication throughout the grant lifecycle.

Application Stage: Applicant Record Review

Additional Guides: See Appendix A for more information about grant contact roles.

• Operating budget for the current fiscal year
• Audited financial statements for the last two years
• Latest unaudited financial statements

Rationale: This information helps us understand your financial health and how you view potential MacArthur funding fitting into your financial structure. Our goal is to have constructive conversations about your finances if needed; we are not collecting this information to disqualify your organization for support.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

Additional Guides: More details in Section Three: Document Library below. See Appendix D for a PDF list of all documents.

• Mission statement
• Date of commencement
• Governing body details
• Financial oversight details
• CEO review method

Rationale: This section helps us understand your organization’s structure, governance, financial health, and capacity. We use the information to establish effective communication, manage the application, and, if funded, administer the grant. It also informs our compliance and due diligence and any related dialogues.

Rationale: This information helps us understand your principles and the systems for overseeing leadership and financial decisions. We use this to identify how we might best support your operational capabilities and assess any partnership risks.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

• List with full names and affiliations
• Use the Excel template provided in the Grantee Portal Document Library

Rational: To facilitate our internal processes to ensure compliance with anti-terrorist financing and asset control laws and guidelines and good governance.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

• For first-time applicants only
• Charter, statutes, constitution, or articles of incorporation

Rationale: These help us gain a clear picture of your organization’s financial health, assess any potential risks, and understand how additional funding may fit into your existing financial structure.

Application Stages: Proposal Analysis Review and Compliance Review

Additional Guides: More details in Section Three: Document Library below. See Appendix D for a PDF list of all documents.

• We ask if you have a conflict of interest or whistleblower policy
• Documents are optional; please share if you have them.

Rationale: We ask about established policies to understand how you handle internal and external challenges and where we may be able to offer support. If you lack written policies, we may reach out to understand how you approach these matters.

Application Stages: Compliance Review and Integrated Support Review

• Information about any workplace misconduct allegations within the last three years.
  When addressing workplace misconduct allegations, our goal is to understand your approach and ensure there is a sound practice to address any issues.

Tip: If you would prefer to have a phone call to discuss, please reach out to your Program Officer.

Application Stages: Compliance Review and Integrated Support Review

Additional Guides: See Appendix B for FAQs on workplace misconduct allegations.

• Tax ID number
• Organization tax letter

Rationale: We request your tax ID number and a copy of your tax letter to confirm your nonprofit status and comply with relevant tax laws.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

• We ask questions about the relationship between the fiscal sponsor and the sponsored project.
  The purpose of these questions is to understand the relationship so that we can structure the grant agreement in accordance with the law and our processes.

Additional Guides: See Appendix A for additional guidance for fiscal sponsors.

Tip: Expenses made before the start date cannot be reimbursed. If you have eligible costs already incurred, consult with your Program Officer about setting an appropriate start date.

Rationale: This information helps us determine the timing of potential funding disbursements and the deadlines for reporting.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review and Proposal Analysis Review

• Project budget
• Budget narrative that includes an explanation of the indirect cost recovery calculation per the Foundation’s Indirect Cost Policy

Tip: We provide a 29% indirect cost recovery rate for project support grants to public charities. This is an exact amount, not a minimum. Applying this correctly is an essential part of your application and can be a common stumbling block. Please contact your Grants Manager before submitting your budget if you have any questions. We are here to help and can offer tools including an indirect cost calculator, in addition to the list of resources provided in Appendix B.

Tip: The 29% indirect cost recovery rate is not applicable to endowment grants or grants made to large, well-established organizations for the purpose of supporting the general operations of a sub-unit, such as an institute or center.

Tip: While there is no required template, showing your MacArthur-specific budget within the overall project budget can be helpful. Reach out to your Grants Manager or Program Officer if you have any questions about your budget presentation.

Rationale: The intention of the Indirect Cost Policy is to cover a share of the costs beyond direct project expenses that are crucial for your work but that we understand can often be difficult to fund. We are committed to supporting your organization’s overall well-being and recognize that healthy nonprofits need more than just project-specific funding in order to thrive.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review and Proposal Analysis Review

• Names of other significant funders supporting your work
  We inquire about other funders to understand your project’s funding landscape and provide insights into potential collaborations and additional support areas.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review and Proposal Analysis Review

• Summary of Project (2000 characters—up to half a page)
  This gives us a high-level understanding of what you are looking to achieve.

• Organizational Overview (1000 characters—up to a quarter page)
  We ask for a brief description of your organization and mission to confirm our understanding of your organization’s scope and values.

• Context (4000 characters—up to one page)
  We ask about the problem or opportunity your project seeks to address, its current importance, and how it fits into broader efforts in your field. This sets the stage for your project, helping us understand the significance and timeliness of your work and how you frame the problem you are trying to solve. We want to understand how your work fits into a collaborative ecosystem so that we can best identify and foster new collaborations and relationships that support our shared goals.

• Description of Funded Activities (8000 characters—up to two pages)
  We ask you to describe your project’s goals, the activities you plan to undertake with Foundation funds, your approach, beneficiaries, the potential risks, and the connections between them. This section is pivotal in helping us understand the core of your project and helps us form a comprehensive picture of your planned work, so we can best articulate how your proposed work aligns with our strategic goals.

• Results (8000 characters—up to two pages)
  We ask about your expected outcomes, deliverables, dissemination plans, and any policy implications. We ask these questions to understand your project’s direction and goals. Should a grant be awarded, we will not evaluate your outcomes solely against these initial projections. We know projects evolve and plans may change as work progresses. If granted funding, and you find that you need to pivot or face unexpected challenges, please reach out to your Program Officer.

• Leadership and Organizational Capacity (4000 characters—up to one page)
  We ask about the key individuals leading your project. This helps us know who to contact, understand your resources, and grasp the scale of your operations and the breadth of work you are managing. Knowing these details allows us to effectively support your work and engage with your project.

• Learning, Evaluation, and Documentation of Results (6000 characters–up to one and a half pages)
  We ask about your plans for tracking progress, measuring impact, and sharing learnings with others in your field. These questions are intended to help you consider what success might look like. They also prompt you to consider how you can learn from your work as it progresses. Should your project be funded, your answers here are just the first step. We recognize that you will further develop, refine, or define your approach over time. This is part of an iterative process. If funded, will not evaluate a project solely against these initial ideas.

• Sustainability and Next Stages (4000 characters—up to one page)
  We ask about your plans for project continuation or scaling after the grant period. At MacArthur, we understand that nonprofit sustainability is complex and often challenging. While we believe financial sustainability is important, we also understand that it varies in attainability across different funding contexts. We appreciate the financial challenges facing nonprofit organizations, and we ask this question to understand what your organization needs to achieve its vision and the obstacles. Your responses help us understand your long-term aspirations so we can consider how to best support your project. This is a great place to share your thoughts on aspects of your project you hope to continue or expand, your current funding mix and any challenges in diversifying it, or any capacity issues you are grappling with. Remember, there may not be one specific approach. We value your candor and expertise about your organization’s needs.

• Past Performance (8000 characters—up to two pages)
  If you have received a MacArthur grant before, we ask about the outcomes of those projects. We welcome you sharing both successes and challenges: How did the project unfold? What worked well in our relationship? Where could we have provided better support? Your honest insights about our processes, policies, and how we “show up” as a funder help us learn and grow, ensuring we are living up to our core values and continuously improving our support for our grantees.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review, Proposal Analysis Review, Integrated Support Review

• Compliance with anti-discrimination laws while furthering racial justice. (For more details, refer to the Memorandum on Anti-Discrimination Laws available in the ‘Application Process Documents’ section of the Grantee Portal Document Library.)
• Payments made to individuals or entities not employed by your organization
• Information on regrants, scholarships/awards, travel payments, and research activities (if applicable)
• Geographic focus of the work and any activities in locations under U.S. sanction
• For organizations not based in the U.S., activities, if any, that will be undertaken in the U.S.

Rationale: These questions help us ensure legal and tax compliance and clarify the oversight and documentation your grant may require. We remain committed to supporting racial justice efforts while navigating a complex and evolving legal landscape and to being supportive in this challenging environment. If your project includes race-based eligibility or priorities, we will engage in a collaborative dialogue to understand your approach and explore ways to structure the work that might mitigate potential legal risks. This process is not about limiting your work, but about finding legally compliant ways to pursue our shared goals for racial equity and how we might provide resources so you can obtain qualified counsel to assist you.

Rationale: If your project involves research activities, we ask for details including, if applicable, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval status and publication and dissemination plans. For proposals with substantial research, or if research is a core function of your organization, we conduct an enhanced Compliance Review. This helps us assess ethical considerations and ensure compliance with our policy on research quality standards and practices. We ask about publication plans to support our commitment to open-access knowledge, ensuring that research findings are accessible and contribute broadly to the field.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review, Compliance Review, Proposal Analysis Review, Compliance Review, and Integrated Support Review

• A list of current board members with full names and organizational affiliations.
  To facilitate our internal processes to ensure compliance with anti-terrorist financing and asset control laws and guidelines.
• First-time applicants: Organizing documents—charter, statutes, constitution, or articles of incorporation
• Audited financial statements for the past two years
• Most recent unaudited financial statement
• Current fiscal year operating budget
  Your organization budget and financial statements help us gain a clear picture of your organization’s financial health, assess any potential risks, and understand how additional funding may fit into your existing financial structure.
• Organization’s tax determination letter.
  To ensure that your organization meets the Foundation’s legal requirements for receiving grant funds.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

• Conflict of interest policy.
  To ensure the presence of adequate systems that support proper governance and decisions made free of conflicts.
• Whistleblower policy.
  To ensure the presence of adequate systems to protect employees who report illegal practices or violations of the organization’s policies.

Application Stage: Compliance Review

• List of key staff and their bios.
  To understand the background of the individuals who will drive the project.
• Overall project budget.
  To understand the total cost of the project and how our funding would fit into the larger funding context.
• Project budget. Can be presented as part of the overall project budget.
  To understand how the funding requested from the MacArthur Foundation would be allocated to support the specific activities and objectives outlined in your application.
• Budget narrative. To accompany the project budget.
  To understand the reasoning behind each budget item and how it contributes to the project’s success.

Application Stages: Applicant Record Review, Compliance Review, Proposal Analysis

• Internal Review Board letter.
  To confirm the Institutional Review Board has approved the research plan and ethics.
• Project adoption letter.
  If the proposal is submitted by a third-party, an authorized officer of your organization should confirm that the organization has adopted the proposal and the activities described therein are under the full supervision, control, and direction of your organization.

Application Stage: Compliance Review