Criteria for Support

The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation supports select nonprofit organizations and initiatives that address critical opportunities in the areas of STEM Education, Environment, Character Development & Citizenship, and Health.

Letters of Inquiry

A Letter of Inquiry may be submitted to the Foundation for review by a program officer. Program staff will follow up to invite a full proposal if they determine that the proposed project demonstrates the potential to advance the Foundation’s specific program area objectives. Full proposals are accepted only after an organization has submitted a Letter of Inquiry for review by a program officer and received an invitation to send a full proposal.

Prior to submitting a Letter of Inquiry, interested applicants are strongly encouraged to review the program area descriptions to determine whether the request aligns with the Foundation’s specific objectives.

Letters of Inquiry (not to exceed two pages) should include the following:

• Organization name and primary contact
• Organization mission, overview, and budget
• Title of the proposed project
• Description of the proposed project, including a project budget
• Description of how the intended outcomes support the Foundation’s objectives
• Requested funding amount
• Evidence of nonprofit status (IRS letter and/or nonprofit tax ID number)

Due to the volume of inquiries the Foundation receives, staff are unable to return unsolicited phone calls. Interested applicants should follow the Letter of Inquiry procedure.

Full Proposals

Full proposals are accepted only after an organization has submitted a Letter of Inquiry for review by a program officer and received an invitation to send a full proposal. Program staff reviews invited grant proposals on an ongoing basis. Proposals received after October 1st will be reviewed in the next calendar year.

The Foundation focuses its support on organizations working in the San Francisco Bay Area and California. Types of funding include:

• Project support
• Core operating support
• Capital support
• Capacity building support

The Foundation encourages electronic submission of all proposals via email, including scanned versions of all signed documents. If a proposal has been submitted electronically, there is no need to submit a hard copy as well.