Thank you for the interest in our grant process.
The Thierer Family Foundation (TFF) offers an invitation-only application process. TFF actively engages with a broad range of organizations, community groups, and other foundations, and continually monitors ongoing and emerging strategies. We invite proposals from potential grantees based on priorities set by the Foundation’s Trustees.
Although our application process is by invitation only, if you believe your organization’s work fits TFF’s current grantmaking priorities, please email [email protected] to determine next steps.
We help nonprofits
Increase Impact Through Technology
We focus our resources on three
Areas of Impact
Food Insecurity
When neighbors can digitally access and find food and resources nearby to meet their unique needs, everyone benefits, and the community thrives.
Shelter & Human Services
Adequate housing provides people with dignity and the opportunity to lead a normal life and focus on self-improvement.
Arts & Culture
Helping improve the quality of life and boost well-being for communities and individuals alike through art and culture in our life.
What we fund
We fund programs that are:
01 Impactful
Has a significant impact on the organization and/or their ability to deliver on their mission and extend their reach
02 Innovative
Leverages a forward-thinking approach that provides a creative solution to the challenge
03 Strategic
Leverages a big picture view of the problem / solution and features a well-defined business plan to ensure success
04 Sustainable
Able to be self-supported by the organization beyond the project timeline
Our Approach to Giving
We work to increase the impact of public charities by strategically funding innovative technology projects that improve organizational effectiveness and significantly change the way an organization can serve their target audience. In addition to financial resources, we provide our time, expertise, and passion to our partner organizations to help increase the impact of our investments.
How we give
We fund foundational technology systems to help maximize an organization’s reach and expand their impact.
We believe that the key to creating long-term, sustainable impact is to invest in making organizations more effective and efficient. Most often this means investing in foundational technology that streamline and automates manual processes, or gives organizations control and visibility into their operations and outcomes.
Organization Criteria
- Must be a nonprofit organization tax-exempt under IRC section 501(c)(3) and classified as a public charity under IRC section 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3)(Type I)
- Operates within the Greater Chicago area
- A significant portion of the organization’s programing addresses one or more of the Foundation’s core cause areas
Submission Process
At TFF, we tailor our application process to the needs and resources of the applying nonprofit organization. Below you’ll find a sample of items organizations may be asked to provide during the grant application process:
- Concept Letter
- Formal Application
- Facility Tour
- In-Person Presentation
- Video Submission
- Inception Meeting Participation
- Business Plan
- References
Questions
For more information on our grant process, please contact us at [email protected]