Grantmaking

The Dyson Foundation will not fund faith-based organizations or institutions for activities and/or programs of religious teaching or training such as religious services or bible study. In addition, the Foundation will generally not consider management assistance mini-grant applications or general operating support requests from faith-based organizations. However, the Foundation will consider grants for community-based service programs that meet the following criteria:

• services must be available to all regardless of their religion or beliefs and must not be rooted in a particular religious doctrine or belief system
• there is a formal structure for provision of services (e.g., mission, staff, program policies and procedures)
• services go beyond religious charitable work to include activities that make a real impact on the lives of people living in their communities

Funding for Public Schools in Dutchess County (K-12)

The Dyson Foundation values quality public education and is committed to helping to improve public schools in Dutchess County at the pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary levels. However, the Foundation believes that it is not appropriate for a private entity to assume financial responsibility for public education. To this end, the Foundation will provide limited grant funding for certain targeted projects.

The Foundation will consider funding to Dutchess County public schools for the following:

• Programs involving parents in actively supporting the education of their children (i.e. parent literacy, parenting classes);
• Professional development for teachers and administrators. This applies to conferences and workshops for teachers and administrators offered by outside organizations and does not include scheduled in-service workshops done in the individual school districts.

The Foundation will not award funds directly to public schools. Applicant schools must have an established relationship with a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt organization that will serve as a fiscal sponsor (such as an affiliated foundation or community foundation).

Funding for Field Trips

Through a grant from the Dyson Foundation, the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley administers grants to public school districts in Dutchess and Ulster counties to support field trips. For more information and to apply, visit the CFHV Grants page and select Education.

After-School and Summer Programming for Children and Youth

The Dyson Foundation considers grants for out-of-school time programs including after-school, summer, and year-round activities. Applications for programs located in the Mid-Hudson Valley counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, and Ulster will be considered, with a focus on enabling the participation of economically disadvantaged children. Funding priority will be given to programs operated by organizations whose mission and expertise is focused on youth development, and that conduct targeted outreach to low-income families and children, offer program schedules that support working families, and those that give consideration to and make efforts toward providing transportation assistance and meals.

Application Timelines

After School Programs (school year and year-round):

For after school programs or year-round programs, there is currently no set due date for inquiries, but we encourage you to submit your letter of inquiry at least six months in advance of your program start date. Contact the Foundation if you would like more guidance on this.

Summer Programs:

We strongly encourage summer program applicants to adhere to the following application timeline. Contact the Foundation if you would like more guidance on this.

• February 15 – Letters of inquiry due for summer programs
• March 30 – Full applications due, if invited
• May – Notification of grant approval or declination (June notification may apply to larger requests)
• June-August – Funded summer programs occur

Resources

Following are a few resources that organizations providing summer youth programming may find helpful in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of effective summer programs. The resources include research and information on best practices in serving economically disadvantaged youth.

Five Ways to Make Summer Learning Programs Successful
What Works for Summer Learning Programs for Low-Income Children and Youth
Child Trends: Effective Summer Programs for Economically Disadvantaged Youth (several research publications available)
Preparing Youth to Thrive: Promising Practices for Social and Emotional Learning
Getting to work on Summer Learning
Summer Learning Toolkit

The Dyson Foundation will only consider designated funding to hospitals and colleges. We will not consider general operating support or management assistance grants.

Generally, we do not consider funding for capital projects to organizations that are not current or prior grantees, except for affordable housing projects. However, if you have a particular capital project you’d like to discuss, please contact us.