EDYTH BUSH FOUNDATION

POLICIES

If you have any questions about our grants or grantmaking process or comments about our web site, please feel free to contact us.


EDYTH BUSH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION'S GRANT POLICIES

A. Geographic Limitations:


The Foundation welcomes grant requests from otherwise eligible tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code Sections 501(c)(3) and Section 509(a) headquartered within the Orlando MSA of Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake Counties, Florida. Other grant requests should have special interest or support from one or more of our Directors.


B. General Purposes:

  1. Based on policy resolutions adopted by Edyth Bush (Mrs. Archibald G. Bush), our Founder, while she was still alive, this Foundation is operated exclusively for charitable, religious, literary, and other exempt purposes.
    "Special consideration will be given to distributions and grants to charitable, religious and educational organizations which are organized and operated to help underprivileged or needy people to improve themselves, or to relieve human suffering;--."

  2. As a practical matter, we have made grants for challenge and development purposes, construction and renovation, equipment and expansion of functions, pilot projects and seed start-up of new programs, and study or planning grants to determine feasibility and market. We also have made emergency grants, emergency and other Program-Related Investment Loans. Over 50% of our grants are on a challenge or match basis, either "pay-as-matched" or "all-or-nothing".

  3. The top limit of the dollar amount of our outright grants has been about $450,000 (spread over 3 years) for any one grant. More typically, the actual grants range from $5,000 to $50,000. Large grants are typically spread over 2 or 3 years' installment payments, often on a challenge match basis.

  4. The Foundation has broad interests in human service, education, health care and a limited interest in the arts. The Foundation has elected to focus these interests by concentrating on certain priorities within the particular field. This focus is more clearly defined by the Foundation's Grant Policy Limitations.

C. Grant Policy Limitations:


In addition to the Orlando MSA geographic limitation, the Foundation will ordinarily deny grant requests (as adopted by our Board of Directors):

  1. "From chiefly tax-supported institutions, or their 'support' foundations (more than 50% government funding of the operations or project indicates 'chiefly tax-supported') or to continue dropped or discontinued government funded programs or projects until at least one (1) year or more of 51% private funding has been completed successfully;

  2. "For individual scholarships or for individual research grants even if through an exempt or otherwise qualified educational organization;

  3. "For alcoholism or drug abuse programs or facilities;

  4. "For routine operating expenses;

  5. "To pay off deficits or pre-existing debt;

  6. "For foreign organizations or for foreign expenditure. For this purpose 'foreign' means outside the United States, or its territories and possessions, whether the organization itself is U.S. based or foreign based;

  7. "For travel projects or fellowships;

  8. "For chiefly church, sacramental, denominational or inter-denominational purposes, except outreach projects for elderly, indigents, needy, youth, or homeless regardless of belief, race, color, creed, or sex;

  9. "For endowment funds or other purely revenue generating funds;

  10. "Advocacy organizations or advocacy component funding;

  11. "For cultural or arts organizations unless their collections, exhibits, projects or performances are of demonstrated nationally recognized quality; or for the demonstrated educational value of children, K-12th grade.

  12. "From organizations having receipts or revenues from memberships and/or contributions of less than $25,000 in the previous year, or from any organization whose Internal Revenue Code Sec. 509(a) 'publicly supported' status will need renewal in the next six (6) months."

Most of the policies are those favored by Edyth Bush, our founder, in her personal giving or in her Foundation policies prior to her death.

Our Vision

"To provide nonprofit programs and grantmaking designed to help people help themselves"

 

Our Founder

Edyth BushEdyth Bush (Mrs. Archibald G. Bush) was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Sarah and Eugene Bassler. She became a successful ballet dancer, actress, musician, composer and playwright.