All applicants must submit their requests online through the website portal.  Before submitting a request, please make sure the organization meets the grant guidelines. 

The process is simple:

• Login and create an account.  (See question below regarding creating a login.)
• Complete Pre-Qualification Request (aka LOI).  Make sure that you hit the submit button at the bottom of the page.
• We will send an email notification verifying receipt of the LOI.  If you do not receive an email, the LOI was not submitted.
• After verifying eligibility and approval for consideration by Trustees, we will send an email notification that the grant application has be made available on your dashboard.  This will not occur until the next grant cycle after submission of the LOI.
• Complete the online grant application and submit.
• We will send an email notification verifying receipt of the application submission.
• We may contact you during the review process to clarify or request additional information.
• Grant applications submitted early in each funding cycle will be given additional consideration.
• Submitting an application without requested documentation could negatively affect your application. 
• Organizations are generally notified of grant decisions after the 10^th of March, June, September, and December.

If your organization received a grant from the Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust during 2016 or later, your organization already has an established profile within our system.  This includes discretionary grant awards.  If individuals need to be added or removed from the profile, please email us at info@ecksteincharity.org and allow us to assist you with these changes.  If you have elected to create your own login within the system and your organization already has a profile, you will not be linked to your organization.

In order to access our Grant Managment Portal, you must first go to the “Apply For A Grant Page” of this website.  You must read and accept the Grant Guidelines outlined on this page.  Once you click agree, you will be taken to our Grant Portal.  CLICK HERE for written instructions on how to set up an account in our Grant Managment System.

NO!  Please use your own EIN.  We have many organizations that fall under the auspices of USCCB or similar group exemptions.  We need the EIN that is unique to your organization for identification purposes.

Yes, our application process has two steps.  Everyone must submit an LOI to start the process each year even if you received a grant in prior years. 

Click here for a list of application questions and requirements. 

Grant decisions are made by the Trustees.

The Trust has elected to not consider multi-year operational/programming requests at this time, but will consider multi-year requests for large, capital projects.

Yes, a limited number of capital requests will be considered and funded.  Historically, we have funded capital requests from partners with whom we have an established relationship or who is directly referred to us by a trustee.

Our average grant awards from previous years are as follows:

Grant requests must have a mission that is consistent with the Trust’s core values:  Faith, Family, Education, Human Needs, and Vibrant Communities.  The core values are set forth in the Grant Guidelines section of the website.

The Trust accepts and reviews grant applications from non-profits located in all regions of the United States.  Trustees understandably do take a personal interest in locations where they or their families reside. 

The Trust will confirm receipt of applications by email.  If a confirmation is not received within 2 days, please contact us by phone (270) 534-8930, or email info@ecksteincharity.org.

When deemed appropriate, the Trust will contact the applicant to schedule a visit

Although the online application system will not prevent an organization from submitting additional applications, please be aware that the Trust will consider only one full application per organization within a 12 month period.  If a LOI is denied due to capacity being reached prior to the end of a funding cycle, the organization is eligible to submit another LOI during a subsequent funding cycle.  Please refer to the table below:

Note:  We will stop taking pre-qualification requests 4 days prior to the end of a grant cycle or when application capacity has been reached.  If you have been approved during the pre-qualification step, you will be able to submit your application until close of business on the last day of the funding cycle.  

All organizations that receive a reactive grant award must submit a final grant report. Grant reports must be completed and submitted online through the Trust’s grant management system.  Refer to the table below for approximate final report assignments and due dates.  Dates are subject to change if assignment date or due date falls on a weekend.

Yes, but please note that final grant reports from previous grants must be submitted before the Trust will consider a new request. 

Directly below the login and password prompt is a link that says “Forgot Password?”  Click on the link to proceed. 

Our Trustees determine grant awards based on various qualitative and quantitative factors.  Some of these factors include but are not limited to sustainability, transparency, financial trends, leadership, mission, percentage of request to budget/expenses, percent of public support, IRS compliance, effectiveness, longevity, and the constituents served.  Repeat requests for operational and programming funding will be considered in light of these factors.  Requests for increased support must be justified and documented as the application will be thoroughly evaluated.  We encourage existing partners to discuss with us any request for an amount which exceeds prior awarded amounts.

NO!  Just like many other organizations, the Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust’s logo/name has been used by criminals for phishing scams.  We will not request sensitive information such as bank routing information or bank account numbers via an unsolicited email.  If you receive such an email from someone that appears to be us, please contact us immediately.

Contact us prior to publishing any type of press release or photograph related to a grant award.  Either phone the Trust at (270) 534-8930 or send an email to info@ecksteincharity.org.