Our Grant Review Process

Gray Family Foundation (Gray FF) strives to be transparent related to our decision-making processes. The following outlines the general composition of our grant review committees, who develop recommendations for funding, as well as the process we use as a Foundation to make funding decisions. If you have further questions about our processes, you may contact grants@grayff.org or call 503-552-3500.

Review Committee Composition

1. In alignment with our overall mission and our statement on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Gray FF works to ensure that our grant review committees for our competitive grant programs include a combination of the following:
   • Program committee members (Environmental Education, Geography, Camp Maintenance) appointed by Gray FF Board of Directors.
   • Additional reviewers as needed based on quantity of proposals including:
     • Direct practitioners in the field supported via grant programs (e.g. environmental education, outdoor education, geography education, k-12 formal and informal education).
     • Non-profit leadership and development/fundraising staff (with priority from currently funded organizations and/or organizations who are considering applying in future cycles).
     • Gray FF Board Members and committee members, Oregon Community Foundation staff and donors, academics, and/or other community thought leaders.
2. Review committee membership preference is given to practitioners and leaders who share experience and values with Oregon’s diverse communities. 
3. Gray FF staff works to ensure that each program committee and grant review committee have majority representation from the grant program field and the communities reached via grantmaking.
4. Reviewers may participate for up to three consecutive years.
5. Individuals cannot participate in a review process if their organization has a pending application for that cycle, however may still be members of a program committee.

Grant Application Decision-Making Process

Grant review committees operate on an ad hoc basis and are convened as needed to review grants and develop recommendations for the Gray FF Board of Directors.

1. Gray FF staff offers assistance and guidance to applicants during the submission process as needed.
2. Gray FF staff conducts initial review of applications and follows up with applicants for additional information as needed.
3. Gray FF staff conducts outreach, recruitment, and training of grant review volunteers preceding grant review cycles, which may include organizations with active, multi-year grants.
4. Grant reviewers are assigned a group of proposals for review and scoring; organized by geographic distribution, organization or program size, and project type (if applicable to grant cycle).
5. Each proposal is reviewed and scored by 2-3 volunteer grant reviewers.
6. Reviewer training is based on the criteria outlined in the request for proposal. 
7. The full grant review committee convenes in-person to discuss proposals and develop a list of recommendations for the Gray FF staff.
8. Gray FF staff collects input from applicants and grant reviewers to continue to improve and refine our processes in future years.
9. Gray FF staff finalizes recommendations based on the grant review committee’s input, geographic distribution, Foundation priorities, and other factors applicable during that cycle.
10. Recommendations are shared with Gray FF Board of Directors for final approval.

Example Lifecycle of a Grant Application

Interested in participating as a volunteer grant reviewer? Email grants@grayff.org for more information.