Frequently Asked Questions
GTF does not award grants for the following:
- Initiatives unrelated to our mission, vision, and strategy;
- Lobbying, political activities, or attempts to influence action on specific legislation;
- Direct donations or grants to individuals;
- Operating expenses, past operating deficits, or debt requirements;
- Capital construction projects;
- Athletic teams or athletic-related activities to include grants used to support intercollegiate athletics, including grants applied to athletic scholarships and grants applied to physical facilities that are used for intercollegiate athletics;
- Medical research;
- Unrestricted funding for media productions (radio, television, web);
- Museum operations;
- Religious programs; or
- Balls, events, or galas benefiting charitable organizations.
No. The foundation does not provide individual scholarships; rather, some GTF grants support scholarship programs housed at institutions of higher education in which the schools control the selection of recipients.
GTF makes grants to organizations that:
- are described in section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code, or are governmental units described in Section 170(c)(1) or 511(a)(2)(b) of the IRS Code;
- support the mission of the foundation through Texas-based or Texas-focused work; and
- support or provide specific programs targeting education in furtherance of Greater Texas Foundation’s exempt purposes, mission, and vision.
Our grants typically range between $150,000 and $300,000. However, grant size is dependent on a number of factors. Please see our active grants list for examples of funded requests.
Yes, the foundation supports multi-year grants. Generally, grant length is determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the scope, scale, and complexity of the project.
Before contacting GTF about applying for a grant, all potential applicants should review the foundation’s Strategy and become familiar with its current goals and intended impacts. GTF’s grant application and review process consists of Concept and Proposal stages. More details on this process are available on the Grant Application & Review page.
GTF uses an online grants management system. Unless otherwise directed by GTF staff, all grant applications and attachments should be submitted through the online grantee portal.
In most cases, the foundation will consider only one application from an organization (or unit/department, in the case of a college or university) within a twelve-month period. Generally, no proposal from an organization previously funded by the foundation will be considered unless a full and timely report of expenditure of the previous grant has been submitted.
Yes. GTF allows applicants to budget indirect costs at a maximum of 15% of eligible direct costs. More details on the foundation’s indirect cost policy can be found here.