What to expect when applying for a grant from the GCRCB team

The evaluation of applications varies significantly from case to case. Typically, we employ one or several of the following methods: sending written follow-up questions, scheduling a call, or consulting advisors with relevant expertise to assess the merits of a funding proposal.

In most cases, we aim to make decisions within 8 weeks, though for complex proposals, it can take longer. For detailed information, see the page for each of our programs. If we give a different timeline on the page that describes the program, you can assume that the timeline we mention there takes precedence—for some of our programs, we aim to respond within 6 weeks, instead of the aforementioned 8 weeks.

On most of our application forms, you have the ability to indicate that a request is time-sensitive by providing ideal and hard deadlines along with context on the nature of the time sensitivity. While we take this into account when prioritizing applications, we can’t guarantee that we’ll get back to people by their desired deadlines if they are significantly shorter than our normal timeframes.

If we decide to offer funding, our grants team will follow up to collect and confirm basic details to complete any required due diligence. We generally expect to pay grants to US-based nonprofits within one month of receiving the required information, whereas grants to other types of entities (including organizations outside the US, universities, and for-profit organizations) require additional due diligence and tend to take longer. Our grants team can sometimes make payments urgently, but generally cannot process grants in fewer than five business days, even in urgent situations.

By default, we will share your application with Open Philanthropy staff and a select number of external advisors. If there’s any information that you’d like to keep confidential to Open Philanthropy staff, please let us know in the relevant field on the application form.

In a small number of cases, we may decide to share an application with another funder in our network who might be interested. There will be a corresponding question on the application form where you can state whether you are okay with us sharing your application with other potential funders. (If that question doesn’t come up on the application form for the program you’re applying to, you can assume we won’t share your application with other potential funders.)

If your organization is not formally part of a university and is awarded funding, we expect that your organizational policies meet the minimum standards described in this document. Before receiving funding, we’ll require you to confirm your intent to comply with these standards as soon as is practicable, and no later than by the next time you’d like to be considered for funding (this includes potential grant renewals).

For more information on Open Phil’s general grantmaking process, please see here.