Open Grants Consult

Prior to submitting a Stage 1 Application in the Open Grants Program, applicants who plan to request funding in excess of $200,000 in the Open Grants Program must request a consultation with Golden LEAF staff and submit additional project information with their application.

To contact Golden LEAF staff with general questions regarding the Open Grants Program or to discuss projects seeking $200,000 or less (not a consultation), please submit a request using the form linked here.

To determine which projects will be eligible for consideration for an award of more than $200,000, Golden LEAF requires that the project include one or more of these characteristics in addition to those described for the Open Grants Program:

• Higher level of funding will lead to significant outcomes
• Result of a planning process involving multiple organizations and members of the community
• Building on a history of success that allows a project to scale and significantly increase outcomes
• Funding will enable or encourage compelling collaboration including: uncommon or innovative approaches or organizations in more than one county
• Funding will leverage significant funding from other organizations
• Applicant has limited resources
• The project cannot be implemented in phases without compromising its outcomes

For more details on how Golden LEAF evaluates Open Grants proposals, including detailed characteristics of exceptional projects, please download the program guidelines.

During the consultation, applicants will discuss the project and how the project addresses Golden LEAF characteristics of projects eligible for funding in excess of $200,000. Applicants must be prepared to discuss which of the characteristics they believe their project satisfies and how. A general conversation with Golden LEAF staff about an application is not a substitute for this required consultation. Golden LEAF staff will be available for these required consultations up to one week in advance of the application deadline. To request a consultation, please fill in the form below.

A member of the Golden LEAF staff will review the request and follow up to schedule the consultation. Golden LEAF staff may choose to waive this requirement in certain circumstances. Consultation requests are accepted on a rolling basis and staff may offer the opportunity to schedule outside of the time frames below as availability allows.