We most often source new prospective grant partners by referral from existing partners or through our involvement in various groups and conferences, such as those relating to the strategic grant areas described on our “Grantmaking” page.

Once we have identified an organization as a potential fit, we usually track them for a while, and may request a meeting in person or electronically to find out more. If the organization seems like a good fit, we will invite them to apply for a grant using an online application we have developed. Because we try to learn as much as possible on our own prior to the grant application, virtually all of our grant applications have resulted in grant awards.

We’ve tried to make our application process as simple and straightforward as possible, relying as much as possible on materials that any well-run nonprofit should have readily available. Before applying for a grant from us or any other foundation, we recommend you get familiar with what funders typically are interested in reviewing and discussing as part of an application process (this article offers an introduction, though we are less formal than this and typically cover some items in conversation rather than in a proposal document). Some organizations find it helpful to collect commonly requested materials in cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) to make everything easy to share internally and externally.

After the application materials are in hand we typically respond with a decision within 45-60 days, depending on our internal review timing and our board meeting schedule.

As much as we love learning about all the ways God is working through so many wonderful leaders and organizations, unfortunately due to our limited staffing we are unable to accept unsolicited grant applications nor to respond to unsolicited inquiries or requests to meet.

First and foremost, we are looking for organizations who have what we call a “clear and vibrant gospel witness.” What this looks like can vary widely in practice, but generally at a minimum it includes a board and senior leadership who understand the organization’s mission, strategies, and tactics as proceeding from a call to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most often this element is obvious from the organization’s website and other communications, but we understand that some program contexts do not permit this.

Beyond this, we are looking for organizations that have a compelling fit with one of our strategic grant programs, strong operational capacity or leadership, existing relationships of support and accountability with experienced funders, ministries, or churches, and “leverage” in the form of benefit beyond the immediate beneficiaries of the grant. We can’t always find it but we love funding initiatives that have an element of collaboration between two or more organizations.

Currently our partner organizations can be divided roughly into thirds, with about one-third serving the Nashville area, one-third serving the broader US, and one-third serving in one or more countries outside the US. An organization serving only a limited US geography (other than Nashville) usually is not a fit for us.

Charis Foundation is not the “giving arm” of Mountain Group Partners (MGP), although we are sometimes asked if that is the case.

MGP is an investment management firm operated independently from the foundation. MGP was founded by three of the Charis Foundation’s directors (Joe Cook, Jr., Joe Cook, III, and Steve Singleton), but now the majority of MGP’s principals and employees are unrelated to the Cook family or the foundation. The foundation does contract for the provision of certain accounting and administrative services by MGP to the foundation, in order to keep foundation overhead as low as possible and to maximize funds available for charitable giving.