FAQs

Q. If I submit my Letter of Inquiry electronically, do I also need to mail a hard copy?

A. No. You should receive an automatic reply to your electronic submission indicating that it has been received.

Q. How long is the Letter of Inquiry review process?

A. You will receive a written response to your Letter of Inquiry within about three weeks.

Q. Is someone at the Murdock Trust willing to review our Letter of Inquiry or grant application prior to submission?

A. No. You are, however, invited to thoroughly review the Trust’s website, contact staff with questions, or contact past grantees.

Q. Where do I find the password to access the grant application?

A. After submitting a Letter of Inquiry, you will receive a written response indicating whether or not the Trust has interest in your proposal. If you receive a positive response, the password will be included in that letter. If you have the password to an old application but did not save it on your computer, please contact the Trust at 360-694-8415.

Q. When I open the application on the website and start typing my information, I lose the information and have to start over.

A. Save the application to your computer before entering any information. You will be able to fill out the document and edit as you have time.

Q. May I submit the application electronically?

A. Not normally. Hard copies of the application and required attachments should be provided in paper form. Please see the General Application Instructions for details about submission.

Q. Do I have to use the new application (updated October 2011) if I have completed more than 50 percent of the old application?

A. No. You may use the old application form if you have more than 50 percent of it completed. If you are just beginning to fill out the form, please switch over to the new application.

Q. Is it OK if I expand the space allocated for a response in the application?

A. No. The information you provide must fit in the space allocated. This is intended as summary information. A detailed budget may be appended to the application. Additionally, information may be requested if a site visit is warranted.

Q. What if more space is needed than is allowed in the application?

A. Please try and present your responses as succinctly as possible. Graphs and data may be appended to the narrative portion of the application.

Q. Section 7 of the application asks for a full description of the project. I have already summarized the project in Section 3; do I have to repeat the information in Section 7?

A. Yes. This will give you an opportunity to go into further detail and explain something that may have been left out of Section 3. Tip: start by completing Section 7 and use that as a basis to fill in the other sections of the application.

Q. I have my project budget in an Excel spreadsheet. May I attach a copy of the budget to this application?

A. Yes. You may attach your project budget to the application as indicated in the General Application Instructions for Section 5 of the application.

Q. What do the terms in Sections 4A and 4B mean? How can I be sure I have correctly completed Sections 4A and 4B?

A. Please refer to the General Application Instructions and the Toolbox, which will help clarify the financial sections of the application.

Q. Where can I find the Toolbox?

A. You can find the Toolbox under the Documents section in the subcategory Instructions & Forms.

Q. What can I expect to happen after I submit the application?

A. The Trust will notify you by email when we have received your application, and you can expect a written response within three weeks of your submission, which will include the name and contact information of your assigned program director. He or she will contact you within the following three months to schedule a site visit, and later your program director will present your request to Trustees for a decision, typically within six to nine months of the date of submission. If the requested amount is $750,000 or greater and/or necessitates external reviewers, the review process may take longer.

Q. What should I expect to happen during a site visit?

A. The site visit is an opportunity for the program director assigned to your proposal to meet the organization’s leaders and have a conversation about the organization, proposed project, and your application. Each program director handles the site visit in a unique way and will discuss the meeting with you prior to the visit.

Q. How long is the grant review process?

A. The average review time is approximately six to nine months from the time the application and all required attachments have been received and verified. This does not include the time it takes to process a Letter of Inquiry.

Q. Who should I call if I have questions about filling out a Letter of Inquiry or a grant application?

A. You may call our Senior Program Director at 360-694-8415.

Q. Who should I contact with technical problems regarding the application or supporting documents?

A. Please contact the Trust office at 360-694-8415.