Recommending a grant is one of the most powerful ways to put your philanthropy into action. Your generosity drives meaningful change, and Greater Houston Community Foundation is here to ensure your grantmaking is seamless, informed, and aligned with your intent. Use the guidelines below to understand our approach and follow the simple steps to recommend a grant from your fund with confidence and ease.
Grant Making Guidelines
Minimum amount for grant recommendations is $250. Grants submitted must follow Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Grant Recommendation guidelines listed below.
Eligible Grantees:
- 501(c)(3) public charities, schools, government entities, municipalities, and religious organizations anywhere within the United States
- Any component funds of Greater Houston Community Foundation (i.e., field of interest funds, giving circles, donor working groups)
- Private operating foundations
Recurring Payments
Greater Houston Community Foundation is happy to process recurring grant payments on a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or annual basis ($250 minimum per grant payment applies). While making your online grant recommendation, indicate your preferred payment schedule in the Grant Timing section. Recurring grant payments are processed once per month. The full payment amount will be applied to your fund balance to ensure the entire commitment is fulfilled.
International Grants
You may recommend grants to international charitable organizations from your donor advised fund (DAF). When granting funds to a nonprofit or entity based outside the United States, the Community Foundation granting from a DAF must complete one of two established compliance procedures: Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility.
The Community Foundation engages with a third-party vendor to ensure cross-border grant making compliance; additional fees will be incurred to the fund. Please contact your Philanthropic Advisor for additional information.
How to Recommend a Grant
Grant recommendations are submitted online using DonorSphere, our secure donor portal. For questions regarding online access to your fund, call the Donor Services Department at 713.333.2210, or email at [email protected].
Grant Schedule
Grants are generally processed within one week of submission date, pending no vetting issues/concerns.
- Donor submits a grant recommendation online through DonorSphere; donor will receive an automatic email confirmation.
- Grant(s) will be listed online under the Grant Activity section of the Activity tab in DonorSphere.
- The Community Foundation will begin the due diligence process which consists of vetting a grantee’s charity status prior to being approved.
- All grants processed will be listed online under the Grant Activity section of the Activity tab in DonorSphere.
- To accelerate delivery and reduce delays, we now send many grant payments via ACH (Automated Clearing House). These secure, electronic bank‑to‑bank transfers deposit funds directly into a nonprofit’s account, often within 1–2 business days.
Potential Reasons for Delay in Processing
There are times that your grant recommendation(s) may take longer due to the vetting process and further information needed from the organization or the donor, for example:
- Verification of public charity status
- Mailing address confirmation
- Grant(s) submitted are below the $250 minimum grant amount
- Expenditure Responsibility or Equivalency Determination is required
- Insufficient fund balance
- Grants(s) submitted above $250,000 from funds invested in third-party investments may experience delays. Please notify your Philanthropic Advisor when large grants are anticipated.
The Donor Services Department will notify you via email if there is a delay in processing the grant.