The Foundation welcomes grant requests from otherwise eligible tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code Sections 501(c)(3) and Section 509(a) located and/or operating within the Orlando MSA of Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake Counties, Florida. Other grant requests should have special interest or support from one or more of our Directors.

B. General Purposes:

1. Based on policy resolutions adopted by Edyth Bush (Mrs. Archibald G. Bush), our Founder, while she was still alive, this Foundation is operated exclusively for charitable, religious, literary, and other exempt purposes.
   "Special consideration will be given to distributions and grants to charitable, religious and educational organizations which are organized and operated to help underprivileged or needy people to improve themselves, or to relieve human suffering;--."

2. As a practical matter, we have made grants for challenge and development purposes, construction and renovation, equipment and expansion of functions, pilot projects and seed start-up of new programs, and study or planning grants to determine feasibility and market. We also have made emergency grants, emergency and other Program-Related Investment Loans. Over 50% of our grants are on a challenge or match basis, either "pay-as-matched" or "all-or-nothing".

3. The top limit of the dollar amount of our outright grants has been about $450,000 (spread over 3 years) for any one grant. More typically, the actual grants range from $5,000 to $50,000. Large grants are typically spread over 2 or 3 years' installment payments, often on a challenge match basis.

4. The Foundation has broad interests in human service, education, health care and a limited interest in the arts. The Foundation has elected to focus these interests by concentrating on certain priorities within the particular field. This focus is more clearly defined by the Foundation's Grant Policy Limitations.

C. Grant Policy Limitations:

In addition to the Orlando MSA geographic limitation, the Foundation will ordinarily deny grant requests (as adopted by our Board of Directors):

1. "From chiefly tax-supported institutions, or their 'support' foundations (more than 50% government funding of the operations or project indicates 'chiefly tax-supported') or to continue dropped or discontinued government funded programs or projects until at least one (1) year or more of 51% private funding has been completed successfully;

2. "For individual scholarships or for individual research grants even if through an exempt or otherwise qualified educational organization;

3. "For alcoholism or drug abuse programs or facilities;

4. "For routine operating expenses;

5. "To pay off deficits or pre-existing debt;

6. "For foreign organizations or for foreign expenditure. For this purpose 'foreign' means outside the United States, or its territories and possessions, whether the organization itself is U.S. based or foreign based;

7. "For travel projects or fellowships;

8. "For chiefly church, sacramental, denominational or inter-denominational purposes, except outreach projects for elderly, indigents, needy, youth, or homeless regardless of belief, race, color, creed, or sex;

9. "For endowment funds or other purely revenue generating funds;

10. "Advocacy organizations or advocacy component funding;

11. "For cultural or arts organizations unless their collections, exhibits, projects or performances are of demonstrated nationally recognized quality; or for the demonstrated educational value of children, K-12th grade.

12. "From organizations having receipts or revenues from memberships and/or contributions of less than $25,000 in the previous year, or from any organizations whose Internal Revenue Code Sec. 509(a) 'publicly supported' status will need renewal in the next six (6) months."

Most of the policies are those favored by Edyth Bush, our founder, in her personal giving or in her Foundation policies prior to her death.

D. Grant Request Procedures:

1. We suggest that initial contact be by telephone (407-647-4322) or secondarily, by a letter of inquiry stating the amount sought and purpose of the grant, and nature of the organization. All mail or personal delivery correspondence is answered promptly. Facsimile transmissions cannot be acknowledged. We request that all facsimile transmissions be followed by the original document through the mail or personal delivery.

2. Grant inquiries contrary to policy or contrary to precedents repeatedly denying similar requests will be sent early letters indicating that a request is "unlikely" to be funded.

3. A partially completed or completed grant request contrary to policy or negative precedents, will either be denied or submitted to the Executive Committee or the Grants Committee for an indication of special interest before transportation and staff costs are incurred for a field review (site visit). In many instances, the decision is in the form of an early denial of the grant request.

4. On each completed grant request (other than requests having a policy question), we conduct a field review (site visit) by one or more Officers or Directors of the Foundation before presenting the grant request to the Grants Committee and Board of Directors for action. The field review includes a conference with the organization's professional staff involved in the request, one or more of its Board of Directors or Trustees, appropriate accounting personnel of the organization, as well as a review of actual operations.

5. After the field review, completed requests are presented to the Grants Committee and then to the Board of Directors, which meets for three days for grants review, committee meetings, and other business. Grant offer letters usually issue immediately following the Board meeting. You are asked to accept the grant terms, including our "General Terms and Conditions", Exhibit "A", a copy of which is attached to this Statement of Grant Policies and Procedures. If the grant is a match or challenge grant, you should be prepared to meet the deadlines specified in the grant letter within which to certify the match to us, including a list of matching donors and contributions, and other data (such as whether "new" or "increased").

6. Executive Committee Grants:
   
   The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors has the authority to make grants up to $10,000. These grant requests must comply with all of the Foundation's grant policies and procedures. These grants should be of an urgent nature, where time is of the essence to capture a unique opportunity. The Executive Committee grants are not a substitute for the regular grant making process of the Foundation. We suggest talking to the Foundation Officers before filing an Executive Committee grant request.

7. Program-Related Investment Loans:
   
   Requests for emergency, construction, renovation, or "bridge" loans require a complete grant request and must comply with all of the Foundation's grant policies. Loans are ordinarily for up to a maximum of three years at simple interest. Loan requests may be filed at any time during the year. After a file is complete, the request will typically be reviewed and a decision made within sixty days. We suggest talking to the Foundation Officers before filing a loan request.

E. Grantee Reporting Requirements - Post-Grant Audits:

We do ask grantees to provide us with a relatively short form progress report annually. When the grant funds have been fully spent, we require a final report containing a list of the disbursements of the grant balanced against the grant budget, together with an evaluation of the results of the grant. New grant requests will not be processed by the Foundation from the same organization until the final report has been filed on any prior grant. The Foundation from time-to-time conducts post-review audits of previously completed grants. This is primarily for the purpose of assisting the Foundation in establishing its own grant policies as well as to review the stewardship of the grant funds by your organization.

F. Reapplications:

In case a grant request is denied, reapplication on the same grant request ordinarily will not be considered within the same fiscal year of this Foundation (ending August 31st).

Reapplications on a denied request ordinarily are not encouraged. However, unless the organization is not eligible for tax or policy reasons, denial of a grant request is without prejudice to your submitting other requests on different projects or on other subjects within the same or later fiscal years of this Foundation. In general, in the case of all grant requests to all donors, a success ratio of 1 out of 4 requests is considered very good, indeed; and 1 out of 8 is more typical!

G. Submission of Requests:

Grant requests are received at any time.

The Foundation will not accept proposals by facsimile. Transmittal of proposals by facsimile will not be acknowledged or considered having met the deadline.

The Grants Committee takes up completed requests in the date order filed, so early filing is encouraged. Call the Foundation office (407-647-4322) to check on the status of your proposal.

H. Office Conferences and Technical Assistance:

Please phone in advance for appointments. Much can be done by telephone rather than travel. We usually welcome an office conference on a draft request or on filing a complete request. We have a grant-seekers' library available for research. We do some development advisory conferences and seminars, especially to assist smaller or new organizations. Our telephone lines are always open during office hours (9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.), and we encourage phone or mail contact.

I. Grant Request Outline:

Grant requests should follow carefully our Outline of Grant Request Requirements. This is a separate outline usually sent to you with this Policy Statement. Simple sentences, short answers, and use of attachments or exhibits already available are encouraged.

General Terms and Conditions

Dated: November 2, 1979
(as amended February 28, l997)