General Endowment

Teens Tracking CondorsBackground: The Community Foundation for Monterey County’s largest competitive grant program is supported by numerous restricted and unrestricted named endowment funds, many of which were bequests or gifts.

Eligibility: The General Endowment is open to application from nonprofit, public benefit organizations (with 501(c)(3) status) operating in Monterey County.

Before you apply:


Pre-Application: The competitive process begins with the submission of a required Pre-Application Form that may result in an invitation to submit a full proposal. Pre-Applications are due each year on the first work day in November (to request funding for the following year). The form, and instructions, are found at General Endowment Pre-Application Form.

Invitation: Pre-Applications are reviewed in November and December, and Pre-Applicants are notified by letter around mid-January whether or not they are invited to submit a full application.  The review considers not only the merits of the project but the availability of funds, since many funds in the General Endowment are restricted by region, type of program, or population served.

Application: Once invited to apply, an agency may submit a Common Grant Application with an Impact Plan at any time between February 15 and September 15.

At that time, all Impact Reports for previous General Endowment grants (see Evaluation, below) must either be complete, or an Interim Impact Report may be submitted if the previously funded activities are not yet complete. If the application is for the same project, the Impact Report must be complete before additional funding is released.

Applications received after September 15, or which are not complete as of September 15, cannot be reviewed.

Funding: The proposal’s length of review will depend on many factors: the complexity of the project; the completeness of the application and supporting documents; the amount requested; and the scheduled dates of Staff and Committee reviews. A proposal could be funded in as little as a month, or as long as 3-4 months.

Evaluation: An  Impact Report is required within one year of the grant date. It is expected that the granted funds will be expended within one year; the supported project need not be finished, since the Impact Report reflects the funded portion only.

Grants which are funded entirely or in part by outside agencies may have additional reporting requirements, which will be detailed in the award letter.