Funding Priorities

• Medical Research and Education:
  To medical and academic centers conducting research and training in areas such as cancer, heart disease, and mental illness.

• Physically Handicapped and Mentally Ill:
  To community nonprofit agencies providing direct social services to people with physical disabilities or mental illness who are primarily low-income or destitute.

• Services for the Needy:
  To community-based programs providing immediate support to the needy, with particular emphasis on services for abused women and children.

Foundation Policies

• Applicants must have IRS tax exempt 501(c)(3) status.

• Organizations must operate within or significantly affect the residents of the Greater Seattle region: Tacoma to Everett, Seattle, and the Eastside.

• Applicant organizations not related to medical research must have annual operating budgets less than $750,000. (However, larger groups which have received two Wilkins grants within the last five years may reapply for support.)

• Grant applications will not be accepted from organizations which have been declined for funding twice in the previous five years.

• After receiving three grants from the foundation, applicants must wait two years before re-applying.

• Multi-year funding: groups who have received two grants within the previous five years may apply for three-year funding. (See application process below.)

• Preference will be given to projects rather than ongoing operating expenses.

• When funding capital campaigns, preference will be given to smaller campaigns where modest contributions may have an impact.

• Grants will not be made for debt retirement or to meet operation deficit.

• Average grant size ranges from $2,000 to $5,000.

• Grants are not made to individuals or for scholarships.