The Ellie Fund trustees have adopted the following guidelines for the Foundation's grantmaking program:

Preference is given to services for children within these priorities:

• Crisis Intervention
• Literacy
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Safety
• Shelter

The Foundation's grants are directed to organizations located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio whose activities benefit the county's residents. Applications from organizations located outside of Cuyahoga County will not be considered unless a trustee has pre-approved the application, and the applicant's proposed program clearly furthers the Foundation's mission. However, trustee pre-approval does not guarantee that a grant will be awarded.

The trustees favor requests to support program development, as well as operating needs (especially for start-up, emergency or bridge funding). Requests for annual appeals, fundraisers, symposia and seminars will not be considered.

Grants are awarded only to tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations, and never to individuals. To fulfill the Foundation's mission, the trustees review requests from the following types of nonprofit organizations:

• Start-up organizations
• Grassroots and community-based organizations
• Smaller organizations that do not receive wide public support
• Religious organizations, but only for secular programs that provide social services to the general community
• Established organizations, but only for innovative programs

Grants typically are between $1,000 and $7,500

Organizations that have received a grant from the Foundation for four (4) consecutive years must go on a one-year hiatus before they can reapply for a grant. This gives the Foundation the flexibility to respond to a variety of important community needs, and reinforces the trustees' belief that organizations are stronger when they have a diverse funding base.