Prior to developing a full proposal, and well before the deadline, you may wish to submit a brief description of the project to ascertain the Foundation's interest.

For questions concerning an institutional grant application or a printed version of the application instructions, please contact the Foundation at tinker@tinker.org or
(212) 421-6858. If you wish to submit a proposal, you may use a print-out or a self-generated copy of the application form on this site.

Complete proposals should be prepared according to the instructions. They must be submitted in English, otherwise they will not be accepted for processing.

Proposal Checklist

1. Proposal cover sheet

2. Separate one-page summary of the proposal briefly describing the project's objectives, target audience or beneficiaries, proposed methodology and plan for dissemination of results. (Attach the summary to the application cover sheet.)

3. Full proposal providing details on the project's objectives and theoretical, practical and/or policy-related significance (as both a discrete endeavor and within the broader field)

4. Plan of work describing the activities to be conducted and indicating any factors that could serve to delay the plan, change the length of time required to complete the project, or alter the proposed budgetary designations

5. Anticipated results of the project

6. Specific plan for dissemination of the results (identify the target audience and the means by which it will be reached)

7. Description of the plan to evaluate the short- and long-term impact of the project's results upon completion

8. Names and addresses of three individuals familiar with the proposed topic/field but not directly involved with the project

9. Itemized budget for the cost of the entire project

10. Itemized budget for those expenses for which Tinker Foundation support is sought. (As a general rule, the Foundation does not pay for overhead or indirect costs. In those exceptional cases when it is considered absolutely necessary, a maximum of 10% of the project's direct costs may be included as overhead in the budget.)

11. Copy of the letter from the Internal Revenue Service attesting to the organization's tax-exempt status (applies only to U.S. organizations)

12. Copy of the organization's latest Federal/State Form 990 (applies only to U.S. organizations)

13. Copy of the organization's latest financial statement

14. Qualifications of the project director and personnel with curricula vitae attached

15. Complete list of the organization's staff and its Board of Directors

16. Brief narrative statement providing an historical overview of the institution

If there are any questions concerning these application procedures, please do not hesitate to contact the Foundation.

Narrative Reports

Listed below is the information which should be included in your narrative report. In the case of multi-year grants several of the items may not be applicable when interim reports are prepared and should be so noted. Feel free to add any other information which you consider pertinent. In addition, please note that all reports to the Foundation must be submitted in English. Where grant findings are based on substantial statistical and/or narrative background data available only in Spanish or Portuguese, we will require that an executive summary of this material be included with your report.

1. Provide a brief overview of the original goals and objectives (both short- and long-term) of the project. What was the rationale behind the development of the project, or what is the nature of the problem which the grant activities were to address?

2. Describe the activities which took place as a result of our grant.

3. Provide a brief summary (no more than one page) of the findings or the accomplishments of the project. Did the project meet the goals and objectives set forth in the original proposal? Were there any surprises?

4. What internal and external factors contributed to or impeded the project's success? If any problems were encountered, how were they dealt with?

5. What unanticipated results (good or bad) did the project yield?

6. What was the target audience for the results of this project? How did you make sure the results reached the appropriate audience? Is there evidence that this audience has made use of these results?

7. What short-term impact have the project's results had on the particular field of study and the policy making and/or scholarly community?

8. What do you anticipate as the longer-term effects of the outcome of the project on this community? Do you expect the results of the project to stimulate further activity or research in this subject area?

9. Did the project yield any products such as publications, etc.? If so, how was this product distributed to the appropriate audience? (Note: Please be sure that the Tinker Foundation receives at least four copies of any publication or other product resulting from the project when they become available.)

10. What is this project's value as a model or demonstration of new techniques or approaches which could be replicated elsewhere?

11. Identify project personnel and participants and describe their roles in these activities. If there were any personnel changes, how did this affect the project?

12. Did the original project budget prove to be feasible? Were there changes in the allocations for specific budget items? Why? If the original budget did not prove feasible, why did this happen and how was the project affected? List sources and amounts of any additional funding received, if applicable.

13. What impact has this project had on your institution? Will it continue to work in this area? If so, how?

14. If this project's activities are expected to continue beyond the term of the Tinker Foundation grant, what are the plans for its future? How will the project be financed in the future?

Financial Reports

To fulfill the Foundation's financial reporting requirements it is necessary only to fill in the "Funds Expended" column of the "Approved Grant Budget" sheet that you received with your grant announcement letter. This form should be returned to the Foundation when submitting the narrative report.

Please Note: The Foundation is unable to consider new funding requests from an organization until previously funded projects have been completed and the final reports have been received and approved. If there are any questions regarding these reporting procedures, do not hesitate to contact us.

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