The next Ellbogen Foundation grant cycle will be in the spring of 2025.
Please use the form below to sign-up to be sent additional details when they become available.

Grant Priorities and Guidance

The Ellbogen Foundation is committed to the people of Wyoming, their overall well-being and education. The majority of our grants are identified by the Foundation, but we welcome LOIs that fit within our mission, vision and values. We receive considerably more requests for funding than we can support; there are more impactful ideas, approaches, and organizations than we have resources to fund. We respect the value of your time, and don’t want to encourage applicants to apply when there isn’t strong alignment with your funding request. Please review the following guidance that outlines our funding priorities and submit an LOI only if you align with these criteria:

• We give priority to grant activities and programs that serve all of Wyoming or in a large region of the state. We will occasionally review grants from organizations that serve in a single community or county area by invitation only.
• Education remains a top priority for the Foundation. We focus on teacher quality and meaningful learning experiences as cornerstones for academic success and strong opportunities in the workforce. We recognize that educational achievement is advanced when we consider and strengthen the home and community environments where students live and access education.
• Local and regional anti-hunger organizations are supported by grants to the Wyoming Hunger Initiative and the Food Bank of Wyoming and should not apply directly for Ellbogen Foundation grants.
• Local and regional early childhood entities are supported by grants to the Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network and the Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning Collaborative and should not apply directly for Ellbogen Foundation grants.
• Capital campaigns or building renovation costs will not be funded.
• Lobbying activities, conducting voter registration drives, or other activities to influence public elections will not be funded.

LOI Details

The Ellbogen Foundation requires a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) as the first step in the grant request process. A period of time is set out before each Board meeting when the Foundation will receive and review letters that are input into a form that will appear below during that designated timeframe. Letters that are not received in the form in the designated LOI submission timeframe will not be shared or reviewed for formal proposal consideration.

The LOI includes three sections and is a short submission that succinctly summarizes the work being proposed; LOI content may be downloaded or viewed below. The narrative portion of the LOI is the most important of all the sections. Narrative content may be submitted in writing (subject to character limits) or in a 5-minute video. Written content is best developed in another document and then copied and pasted into the LOI form. Videos must be sharable via a link in the LOI form. Submissions may not include both written and video narrative; only one will be reviewed by the committee. 

LOIs will be reviewed by a committee of Ellbogen Foundation Board members who will decide whether or not to invite a grant proposal for funding consideration by the Ellbogen Foundation Board. Reviewing the LOI should give the committee enough detail to elicit curiosity, energy and excitement for the work that would be further described in a formal grant proposal; think of the LOI as an “elevator pitch” for funding.

Please contact Becca Steinhoff for additional support:  307-575-2443  ellbogenfoundation.wy@gmail.com 

LOI Content

The three content sections of the LOI may be downloaded here or reviewed below. The General Information and Geographies and Priorities sections must be completed and submitted in the online form. The Narrative section may be submitted in writing in the form OR in a 5 minute video shared in a link via the form. Please read these tips for developing a successful LOI.

1. General Information

• Date
• Legal Name of Organization
• Contact information
• EIN
• Website
• Applicant Contact, Title and contact information
• Mission Statement
• Grant Funds Requested from the Ellbogen Foundation
• Total Project Costs (or total organizational budget for general operating grant requests)

2. Geographies and Priorities Identification

• The Ellbogen Foundation prioritizes funding for initiatives and activities that serve the state of Wyoming or a region of the state. Occasionally, funding will be granted to particularly innovative or enterprising initiatives or activities that serve only a single community. Please indicate the geographic area served by your proposed grant work (i.e. list counties or indicate statewide).
• The Ellbogen Foundation prioritizes work in the following areas. Please check the boxes of those priorities that your grant work aligns with and strengthens.
  Basic needs (food, housing, transportation, healthcare, wellbeing)
  Education (early childhood through post-secondary)
  Quality teaching
  Financial responsibility and personal self-sufficiency
  Civic education and engagement

3. Narrative

Please note that narrative content limits are for characters – including spaces – and not words. You may check total characters including spaces for a section of content in Microsoft Word or a similar program.

• Tell us about your organization. Who do you serve and why?
  1,500 characters
• What are you applying for and how much?
  750 characters
• The Ellbogen Foundation seeks to understand the needs of the people it serves and funds impactful work that addresses those needs. Describe the need(s) you are trying to address with this funding. What will this grant help you do?
  1,250 characters
• The Ellbogen Foundation recognizes that collaboration and partnership are critical to achieving impact. What is your partnership philosophy? Who are key parnters that are you working with?
  1,000 characters