How it works
What the Fund gives
- Approximately $75,000 a year, which is 5% of the corpus, in perpetuity.
- Grants of $5,000 to $15,000, aimed at smaller organizations where that check is transformational, not a rounding error.
- Two cycles a year from 2027. Fall 2026 is the inaugural cycle.
Three doors
Member nomination
Any Standard Club member may nominate a cause year-round on a one-page form: the organization, what it does, which pillar, the member’s relationship, and why it matters. Nominations enter a rolling register, reviewed at the start of each cycle; strong nominees are invited to apply. The nominating member becomes the sponsor.
Open application
Any 501(c)(3) may apply during an open cycle. Organizations new to us receive a JUF vetting check at triage, through our donor liaison.
Committee or JUF referral
The Committee and JUF advisors may put organizations forward on their alignment with the Fund’s mission, and may suggest grants that support the Club’s legacy. These enter the pool in the next available cycle.
A member connection affects trust and triage speed, but not necessarily the merit score.
The path
Nominate
A member puts an organization forward, or the organization applies directly.
Committee review
The nomination register is reviewed at the start of each cycle.
Invitation to apply
Strong nominees are invited to apply.
A short application
Six core questions, one or two more for the chosen pillar, and an annual operating budget. A simple income-and-expense summary is fine.
JUF check
A hard gate for eligibility and red flags, run by our donor liaison at JUF.
Advocate call
Every serious contender has a recorded 15-minute call with a committee member, who becomes the project advocate.
Committee scoring
Each member scores each finalist independently against the rubric for that pillar. A connected member discloses the connection and recuses.
Awards
Finalists are ranked by percentage across both tracks; the pool is filled top-down to the cut line, and the Committee approves the slate as a whole.
Partnership plan
Each project advocate meets their grantee to build concrete plans to share the work, the impact, and the ways members can get involved.
Recognition
Every grantee is featured at the Annual Meeting and in at least one monthly member communication.
The calendar
Fall 2026
- Nominations open
- Applications close
- Committee scoring due
- Awards announced
Two cycles a year, from 2027
Spring cycle
- Nominations reviewed + cycle opens
- January 15
- Applications close
- February 28
- Application review and finalist calls
- March
- Committee scoring & deliberation
- Early April
- Awards announced
- Mid-April
- Impact celebrated
- June Annual Meeting
Fall cycle
- Nominations reviewed + cycle opens
- August 15
- Applications close
- September 30
- Application review and finalist calls
- October
- Committee scoring & deliberation
- Early November
- Awards announced
- Mid-November
- Impact celebrated
- December Holiday Party
Spring decisions are timed so grantee impact can be celebrated at the June Annual Meeting.
The inaugural cycle runs later than the steady-state calendar, because nominations did not open on August 15.
Beyond the check
Every grant opens a relationship.
Identify
At intake, every applicant tells us how members could help: a board or committee seat, volunteering, professional expertise, an introduction, or visibility.
Match
At the finalist call.
Commit
The project advocate co-creates a partnership plan with the grantee — an invitation, never a condition.
Steward
Check-ins at the midpoint and at the close.
Celebrate
Featured at the Annual Meeting and in at least one monthly member communication.
Volunteer opportunities are aggregated into Club-wide volunteer days, and board and junior-board placements open a path for younger members and members’ children.
What we ask of committee members now
Nominate one to three organizations by September 30
Use the nomination form. The register is reviewed when the cycle opens, and you become the sponsor of anything you put forward.
Vote on the six decisions in the portal by September 26
Each one carries a recommendation, its rationale, and the alternatives. An admin ratifies once the committee has landed.