Dear Grantee Partners:

On behalf of the staff and Board of The Nelson Foundation, I have an important update, as well as two important reminders to share. First, I am excited to announce the launch of a new website for the Foundation, which we hope you will take a moment to explore. While much of the information remains familiar, we have taken a new approach to the Grantee Spotlight section to better highlights our partners, and we have added a new area called Take Note, which provides information, resources and communications.

For now, Grantee Spotlights include those organizations for which we already had copy and photographs. However, in the coming months we hope to gather high-quality photographs and narrative copy from all of our grantees. Then, we will have a library from which to rotate featured organizations. The Take Note section is searchable by date and category, which over the coming weeks and months, we will add to and refine.

I also have two important reminders:

1. The Foundation’s fall core application deadline is this Friday, July 31 at 5:00 PM. Please make sure that if you are eligible to apply that you have completed and submitted your application by then. As you know, the Foundation is only accepting proposals from current grantees; has removed the LOI from the fall cycle; and will be making grant decisions at the September Board meeting (three months early). If you have any questions or problems logging in to the restricted application, please contact the Foundation as soon as possible.
2. The RISE Partnership, in which The Nelson Foundation is a participant, is accepting applications until August 14, 2020 for the next Readiness cohort. This is a great opportunity to start to learn about and bring to your organization an evaluation mindset and some tools. This year, RISE has decided to shorten the Readiness cohort engagement to four months with four sessions for two staff members. The program is scheduled to start sometime in the fall. If your organization is selected to participate, you would become eligible to apply for the Implementation cohort, which would kick off in the fall of 2021, and is a deep dive into integrating evaluation into what you do and includes working directly with the Evaluation Center at Yale, individual consultations, and ongoing assistance for two years. More information about RISE and access to the application can be found here.

This continues to be an uncertain and unsettling time. Please know that the staff of the Foundation is available to be an ear, shoulder or thought partner, and that the Foundation is here to support you.

Please remain healthy and safe,

Mindy