Q. If the Trust invites an organization to submit a Full Proposal, how long does it take the Trust to review the Full Proposal and reach a decision?
A. The Trust performs an initial review of a Full Proposal within six months following the month in which the Trust receives the Proposal, e.g. if The Trust receives a Proposal in January, then it will perform an initial review by or before July. The initial review may result in a request by the Trust for a meeting and/or the production of additional information and follow up materials, including a revised Full Proposal. The Co-trustees meet monthly to review the status of pending Full Proposals and to take final action on those Full Proposals for which the Trust has successfully completed its initial review, including face-to-face meetings, if any, and obtaining additional information and follow up materials. Consequently, the time from receipt of a Full Proposal, completion of its review, and action by the Co-trustees can last anywhere from six months to a year or longer.
Q. Does the Trust award to current grant recipients so-called honorary grants?
A. Periodically, honorary grants may be issued to agencies making a difference within their community. It is unlikely, but possible, for current grantees to be awarded an honorary grant.
Q. What is the difference between the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust and The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust?
A. The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust and The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust are two separate charitable trusts established by Richard M. Genius, Jr. in 1992 to honor the memory of his mother, Elizabeth Morse Genius.
- Each Trust has an identical Values Statement.
- Each Trust has a different set of application procedures.
- The co-trustees of the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust are JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and James L. Alexander.
- The co-trustees of The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust are JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and James L. Alexander.
- As a general rule, each Trust does not permit applicants to submit proposals to both Trusts; once an applicant submits a proposal to one of the two trusts, the applicant must submit all future funding requests to the same Trust.
For more information regarding The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, please contact Melissa Phipps, Program and Administrative Officer at The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, (312) 739-0326, or check out The Trust’s website at www.morsetrust.org.
Q. What is the geographic focus of the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust?
A. The Trust’s geographic focus is Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. If an organization is located outside of this area, the Trust will still consider an application if the organization provides services to a significant number of persons who are residents of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois.
Q. Can an applicant set up a meeting with the co-trustees?
A. Meetings between the applicant and the Trust take place only at the request of, and instigation by, the Trust and only after complete submission by the applicant of the Full Proposal and all required supporting documents.
Q. What is the funding focus of the Trust?
A. Please see the five tenets of the Trust’s Values Statement. Funding is limited to Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organizations serving residents of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois; the organization must be one described in Sections 170(c)(2), 509(a), 2055(a), and 2522(a) of the Code. The Trust does not fund: individuals, endowments, capital campaigns, programs of religious organizations that proselytize or are sectarian, or political activity. The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust does not purchase tickets or tables for fund raising events, regardless of whether it has made past grants to the organization.
Q. Will the Trust explain why an organization’s Letter of Inquiry (LOI) or Proposal was declined?
A. Because of work volume and staff time commitments, the Trust does not explain why it has declined an LOI. However, with respect to organizations invited to submit a proposal, most applicants discover during the proposal review process, which involves significant and extensive interaction between Trust staff and the agency, why the Trust either approves or declines a proposal.
Q. What should an organization do if the Trust declines its LOI?
A. If your organization wishes to submit another LOI, the Trust recommends waiting approximately a year before submitting a new LOI.
Q. What must my organization do in order to get the Trust to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP)?
A. In order to be considered for an RFP, an organization must follow the LOI Guidelines, which can be found within the Application Procedures.
Q. Once an organization receives a grant, does the Trust require a LOI for another grant request?
A. Successful grant recipients must be in full compliance with their Grant Agreement and submit a new satisfactory Letter of Inquiry for subsequent funding.
Q. Should an agency send email updates to the individual Co-trustee or include the individual Co-trustee on email blasts? Should an organization add the individual Co-trustee to its general mailing list?
A. No. The Trust strongly discourages grant applicants and grant recipients from adding the individual Co-trustee to their general email blast and mailing lists. Should an organization disregard this direction, and the individual Co-trustee must request removal from the generic email blast or mailing list, the organization may receive an automatic decline when next submitting a Letter of Inquiry.
hb10837b – By permission of the Chicago History Museum, all rights reserved.