The Turrell Fund supports:

• Increasingly strong focus on early childhood, prenatal-3.

• Within prenatal-3, we have increased our funding to policy and advocacy initiatives.

• Additional focus areas include:
  • Arts and music education
  • K-12 education
  • Direct social services for children and families

• Turrell grants are awarded to organizations serving children – especially the youngest – and their families in Vermont and New Jersey (specifically Essex, Hudson, Passaic, and Union Counties.)

• We give special consideration to programs and initiatives serving children birth to five, with a special focus on infants, toddlers, and their families.

• We prioritize proposals serving areas where quality services and supports are limited, and the concentration of children and families facing systemic barriers is high. Successful applicants must show demonstrated results supported by rigorous measurement and analysis.

• On a final note, Turrell Fund gives priority to organizations pursuing systemic change and addressing racial disparities through policy change and advocacy.

Grants are awarded to agencies that exhibit:

• Evidence of exceptional quality
• Distinction through the creation of new benchmarks or best practices
• A voice in the chorus of those speaking to educational policy change
• Initiatives directed at systems and policy change

Eligibility

• The Turrell Fund awards grants to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations with projects and portfolios especially for the youngest in New Jersey and Vermont.
• Once an organization has applied, one year must elapse before applying again, regardless of the result.

Submission Deadlines

The Turrell Fund Board of Trustees considers requests in the Spring and the Fall.

• Spring Cycle:  Jan 1 @ 9 AM – Feb 1 @ 5 PM

• Fall Cycle:  July 1 @ 9 AM – Aug 1 @ 5 PM

Note:  The application windows shown above are the standard and may change based on the calendar.

Reporting Requirements

If you are awarded a grant from the Turrell Fund, a final report documenting the use of grant funds should be sent to us no later than one year after receiving grant funds. This report should be no longer than two pages.

Online Application System

The Turrell Fund requires all grant-seekers to submit their applications online.

Application Attachments

The following documents are to be submitted as attachments to your online application (or via mail):

• Copy of the IRS determination letter of the organization, usually a 501(c)(3) , and specifying whether they are a 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 509(a)(3) organization

• Form 990 for the most recent year filed

• Organization’s operating budget for the coming year

• List of the names of the organization’s Board of Directors and their affiliations

• • Audited Financial Statement for the most recent year available
    • Expense and income budget for the particular project or program
  • • Independent Auditor’s Communication of Internal Control Matters identified in the Audit (Management Letter).

As part of the Turrell Fund’s review process, we consider an organization’s ‘management letter’ issued by their auditors. Please find Frequently Asked Questions below.

Attachments can be Microsoft Word, Excel, or PDF files created on a copier/scanner. Do NOT use compressed ZIP files or password-protected files.

Mailing Documents

If you are unable to attach any of the required documents to your online application, you may send them by regular mail or other delivery service (UPS, Fedex, etc.) to:

Evan Delgado; President, Programs and Planning; Turrell Fund

21 Van Vleck Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042

We also recommend sending an email to alert the Fund that documents are coming in the mail. Please send an email to application@turrellfund.org.

Please be sure to leave ample time for your attachments to reach us by the published deadline. Due to the volume of proposals, the Fund cannot be expected to make exceptions for late-arriving proposal attachments.

First Time Applying?

• Click on the “Start a New Application” button below. Then click "New Applicants Click This Button" to create an account on the grant request system.

Save Your Work and Return Later

• Click Save and Submit Later at the bottom off your application.

• You can return to your saved application any time during the application window by clicking the "Return to Your Existing Application" button below.

Ready to apply?  Click here!

When can I apply for a grant?

Organizations can apply during our open cycles in the Spring (January 1-February 1) and Fall (July 1-August 1).

Note: Regardless of the result of your application, one year must elapse before applying again.

What is the recommended browser for the application?

We recommend using either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox when applying.

If you receive a message saying that the application is not available, please switch to one of the recommended browsers and try again. If you are already using either Chrome or Firefox and you receive the message, please refresh the page and try again. This should resolve the issue for you. If it does not, please contact us.

What if I forgot my password?

No worries...

• Click "Forgot Password?" beneath the password field
• Enter your email address in the provided field
• Click "Send Password"

If the email address you entered is in our database, you will receive an email containing a link and a temporary password

Note: The temporary password contains letters, numbers, and symbols. When entering it, do not include the period at the end!

What if I can longer access my email account?

The email account, and password, you use to access your Turrell Fund application is only used during the grant application windows, for saving and submitting your applications. It is not tied to our long-term records for your organization.

What this means to you:  if you cannot access the email account you used to apply in the past, you can create a new account with a different email address.

Do I need to complete my application all at once?

No. You can use this link to “Return to Your Existing Application” and enter your login information.

What do we look for in an application?

• Clarity of your responses
• Fit with our stated Vision and Mission
• Innovation, or uniqueness, of your organization or project

For more information, please review Application Guidelines / What We're Looking For above.

Note:  Even for organizations which we have known and funded for many years, our funding decisions will be based entirely on the information which you present in your application. Each proposal will be read by all of our Trustees.

What Does a Sample Application Look Like?

Please click here to view a blank sample application.

Applicants are encouraged to thoroughly review the sample application and all of the questions and information required prior to starting their own online application.

Who do I contact if I have other questions?

For questions or communications regarding the online application, please send an e-mail to application@turrellfund.org or call us at (973) 783-9358.

What is a Management Letter?

A Management Letter is a letter prepared by an auditor which discusses findings and recommendations for improvements in internal control that were identified during the audit and other management issues.

Why do we require a Management Letter?

This letter gives us comfort that an organization has sound internal control financial processes in place. In addition, this letter identifies any material weaknesses encountered during the audit of the financial statements

Will having a material deficiency or other issue disqualify me?

The answer to this question is a resounding no. As long as a solution has been set in place and is underway you will receive the same level of consideration as all other applicants. Our goal here is not to punish organizations based on findings from the management letter.

What documents serve as a Management Letter?

The following two documents can serve as the Management Letter.

• Independent Auditors’ Communication of Internal Control Matters Identified in the Audit (example)
• Auditors’ ‘Required Communication’ (example)

For either document, you will find the document title (as shown in bold above) somewhere within the document itself. To reiterate, either document will satisfy our request for a Management Letter.

What if I Can’t Find My Management Letter?

If you can find neither document referenced above, you will need to request one or the other of these documents directly from your auditor.

What documents are not a Management Letter?

As information, the two documents which are not acceptable as management letters are the:

• Management Representation Letter (example) – a Management Representation Letter is the document that your organization provides to its auditors. It is most likely on your letterhead and will generally include the words ‘representation letter’ somewhere near the top of the document. The easiest way, however, to identify this document, if it exists in your files, is that it will have been signed by someone from your organization.

• Independent Auditors’ Report (example) – an Independent Auditors’ Report is the document that is attached to your audited financial statements. It will be relatively easy for you to identify this document. It will almost certainly include the title…Independent Auditors’ Report…at the very top of the document.

Does every organization have a management letter?

Not necessarily. If your organization did not commission an audit, then you will not be required to submit a management letter. Also, organizations with annual gross revenues below $500K are not required by the State of New Jersey to have an audit.