What Does The Granting Process Look Like?

We get a lot of questions regarding how long the grant process takes, where is the grant in the process, what does the process look like etc.. We want to answer those questions for you!

Here is a look into what the granting process looks like at Legacy Global Foundation:

Step 1: Submit a grant request via www.legacyglobal.org/gateway

Step 2: Once the form has been submitted to our team, the grant request goes to Funds Verification, where our finance team takes a look at the donor-advised fund whose account the grant request is coming from, and looks to see that there is enough money to be sent to the requested organization, and to calculate fees.

This step can take time. There are a few reasons why a grant could be placed on hold in this step. For example:
-There isn't enough money to be granted out from the donor-advised fund that is requesting the grant, in which case a team member from Legacy will reach out to the donor to request the amount needed to complete the grant.

-Legacy might also need to be in contact with the donor's financial advisor to make sure there will be enough funds to cover the requested grant. 

As you can see, the Funds Verification process can involve several people. Because of this, this step can take a while to move forward, but is very important to make sure that everything is correct before the grant moves forward.

Step 3: Once funds have been verified, the grant request is moved to the vetting process. This process also takes time. As part of our due diligence/vetting process Legacy requires that we receive a PDF copy of the said organization's IRS letter of determination. Most of the time in order to get a copy of this letter, a member of our team has to get in contact with the said organization and then they (organization) will email the letter. Legacy also needs to know how the organization would like to receive the funds so we ask for disbursement instruction as well.

The reason this takes time is oftentimes it takes multiple times of reaching out to the organization before Legacy receives any kind of response. If Legacy cannot get a hold of the organization after calling and emailing, then a team member will reach out to the donor to ask for further contact information for the organization. 

Step 4: Once vetting has been completed, the grant request is sent for review and approval. 

Step 5: Once the grant request has been reviewed and approved, it is ready to be disbursed to the requested organization.

Step 6: As per request of Legacy, once the organization received the grant, the organization sends Legacy an acknowledgement letter, which is then forwarded to the donors for confirmation that the grant has been sent and received by the requested organization.

We ask that when requesting a grant expect the granting process to take at least two weeks so that our team has the appropriate time to review, vet and process the request.

If you want further information on how to submit a grant request, please look at the knowledge base article How Do I Enter A Grant Request?