Family foundations, which constitute the largest number of private foundations, often are restricted in geographical area and usually make small grants for projects in areas of family interest. Finally, community foundations are public organizations serving a specific geographical area. Applying to a foundation for project funding is considerably less formal than applying to a government agency. Often a foundation will instruct applicants to submit proposals in time to be considered at regularly scheduled board meetings. Funding decisions in most foundations are made by the program staff and Boards of Directors.
Some foundations call upon experts in the field to advise the staff and directors.
When approaching a foundation for support, it is wise to ask foundation staff who makes funding decisions. A good source of information on a foundation's priorities and programs is its annual report. The annual report will describe funding priorities in detail, and often includes a list of the previous year's grant recipients. Check this list for information about the geographic scope of the foundation's operations, the type of institution it typically funds, and project topics it has found worthy in the past. The Office of Research Support Services keeps extensive files containing foundation annual reports as well as directories of foundations.