John Templeton Foundation OFI Instructions And Notes

OFI_Instructions_and_notes

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John Templeton Foundation
Online Funding Inquiry
Instructions and Notes
INTRODUCTION
Please note the John Templeton Foundation (Foundation) issues grants to support projects. A
project has a specific start date and end date. Generally projects submitted to the Foundation
may have a term of no more than 3 years.
Please review the Foundation’s grantmaking calendar for key dates regarding our review of
Online Funding Inquiries (OFIs).
Answer questions as thoroughly and specifically as possible. An asterisk (*) next to a question
signals that a response to that question is mandatory.
Please direct questions to programofficer@templeton.org.
CYCLE & AREA
Cycle: The Foundation accepts new funding inquiries (OFIs) at any time of the year. However, the
Foundation reviews OFIs at specific times of the year depending upon the size of the request (under or
over $217,400 USD) and the date it was submitted. Please see the grantmaking calendar on our website
for the specific dates.
The Small Grant program (requests of $217,400 USD or less) has four cycles each year with OFI due
dates at the end of February, May, August and November. Decisions to invite a Full Proposal are
communicated no later than the end of March, June, September and December (respectively).
The Large Grant program (requests over $217,400 USD) has one cycle per year with OFIs due by the end
August. Decisions to invite a Full Proposal are communicated no later than the end of September.
Please select the cycle that best aligns with the amount of your request. If you plan to request funding
in a currency other than USD we highly recommend that you request no more than the equivalent of
$205,000 USD due to exchange rate fluctuations that could happen during the application process.
Area: The Foundation has established two broad categories for classifying requests, those that fit within
the “Core Funding Areas” of Science and the Big Questions, and those that align with the other
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philanthropic intentions of the late Sir John Templeton. Please review these Core Funding Areas, select
the appropriate category, and select the one area that best aligns with your proposed project.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE TO DO?
1. The Project Title should clearly, concisely, and in non-technical terms convey the essence of
your proposed project.
2. The Executive Summary is your opportunity to describe what you plan to do, why it is worth
doing, and what impact the project will have, if it is successful. The Executive Summary should
be written in such a manner that it would be comprehensible to a typical reader of the New York
Times or London Times—someone who is intellectually engaged, but not necessarily a specialist
in your area of expertise.
A good Executive Summary will answer—in brief—all of the following questions: (a) Why is this
project needed? (b) What specific questions will the project help to answer? (c) What activities
will you carry out to answer those questions? (d) What concrete deliverables will you produce
by the end of the project? (e) What impact will your project have? You do not need to include
information about the project team, organization, request amount, or project duration in your
Executive Summary.
3. The “Project Justification & Description” is the longest and most important field in the OFI.
If the description of your project requires the use of special characters or formatting that is not
compatible with this plain text field, please upload a document in the space provided below this
field and type in the phrase “See attached document” to refer staff to your uploaded file.
A good description will answer all of the following questions:
Why is this project important?
Please describe the current conditions in the field(s) relevant to the project, diagnose
the problems that the project will attempt to address, and identify the specific
opportunity that your project presents.
If you are proposing a project that does not involve research—a project with public
engagement as its primary aim, for example—please provide a summary of the
conditions within which your project would take place, and identify the specific
opportunity that your project presents.
What specific activities will you be implementing?
Please provide a specific, concise, and detailed description of the activities you plan to
carry out with the funds that you are requesting.
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Why is your team and/or organization positioned to be successful in this project?
Describe why the project team and/or the organization(s) connected to your proposed
project will be able to successfully complete—on time and on budget—the activities
that you have proposed. You may cite any recent work that will demonstrate your
capacity to implement the proposed project to a high standard.
4. Please explain how your proposed project would advance the philanthropic vision of Sir John
Templeton and aligns with his Donor Intent. (To learn more about our founder’s philanthropic
vision, we invite you to read the summary available at the Foundation’s website, and to explore
the fuller exposition of his ideas in his published writings.)
5. To the best of your knowledge is the work of the proposed project similar to, or does it further
expand the work of, an active or closed grant you (or your organization) received from the John
Templeton Foundation, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, or the Templeton Religion
Trust? Please select “Yes” or “No.” If yes, please explain in the text box: (a) how such proposed
project is similar to, builds upon, furthers, or expands the work of an active or closed grant, and
(b) provide the following specific information for the active or closed grant in question: Project
Title, Grant ID#, Grant Amount, end date of the Grant and a very brief synopsis of the project
activities.
6. The Proposed Project Start Date will likely depend upon a number of variables. For the
Foundation, the timing of our review process is a major consideration in determining when
projects can start. The Foundation’s review process for requests submitted to our Small Grant
program, could last from several weeks to several months. The review process for requests
submitted to our Large Grant program, will not be complete until June of the following
year. The Foundation recommends a start date no earlier than July 1 of the following year for
the Large Grant program. Please review to the Foundation’s grantmaking calendar prior to
submitting your OFI.
7. The maximum permissible duration of your project will depend on the type of organization
receiving the grant (if funded). For most organizations that are recognized as public charities in
the United States, the Proposed Project End Date must be no more than 36 months beyond the
Proposed Project Start Date. For all other organizations and grants to individuals, the Proposed
Project End Date should not be more than 33 months beyond the Proposed Project Start Date.
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IMPLEMENTATION: PERSONNEL
8. The Primary Contact is the person who will manage all communications with the Foundation
regarding the funding request. As the originator of this OFI you are the Primary Contact. The
information displayed below was retrieved from your user profile. To change the Primary
Contact on this funding request and transfer it to another portal account, please email portal
support at support@templeton.org.
9. The Project Leader, sometimes known as the Principal Investigator, is the person who will take
the overall leadership role in your project. The Project Leader may also be the Primary Contact
for this funding request. If the Project Leader differs from the Primary Contact please provide
the required information on the Project Leader, including an upload of the Project Leader’s
CV/resume.
10. The Project Co-Leader, sometimes known as the Co-Investigator, works alongside the Project
Leader in providing leadership in the project. The Project Co-Leader may also be the Primary
Contact for this funding request, or there may be no Project Co-Leader associated with this
request. If relevant please provide the required information on the Project Co-Leader, including
an upload of the Project Co-Leader CV/resume.
11. If the Project Leader or Co-Leader is related to the Foundation in this way, please email
programofficer@templeton.org to seek further advice before submitting your inquiry. The
criteria for answering “Yes” to this question is if the Project Leader or Co-Leader (or their spouse
or family) presently serve as a Trustee, Officer, or staff member of the Foundation. If the Project
Leader or Co-Leader has served on the John Templeton Foundation Board of Advisors, or is
related to someone who has served or is serving on this advisory board, the question should be
answered “No”.
12. For each additional personnel that has already committed to your proposed project, please
provide their full name, disciplinary and organizational affiliation. Additional personnel may
include additional Project Co-Leaders, consultants, post-doctoral researchers, presenters,
speakers, panelists, or other roles as are required by your project.
13. Please describe how you or any members of your team came to learn about the Foundation.
Have you previously applied for or received funding from the Foundation? Have you
participated in any events sponsored by the Foundation, or discussed your project idea with a
member of our staff?
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IMPLEMENTATION: ORGANIZATION
14. Please select the country where the organization seeking funding for this project is located.
15. If you are seeking funding in your individual capacity (i.e. you will sign the grant agreement and
the funds will be paid to you in your name), and not through an organization such as a
university, school, other non-profit or for-profit company, please answer “Yes.”
16. If your request is affiliated with a specific department or center within a college or university,
give the full name of the college or university rather than the name of the center or department.
Do not use abbreviations.
a. Provide any alternative names for your organization if it is known by another name
more commonly, has a commonly used abbreviation, or requires translation into
English.
b. If the organization’s answer to this question is “Yes” please discuss this with your
Program Officer as requests from such organizations have particular restrictions.
IMPLEMENTATION: BUDGET
17. The Foundation awards and pays grants in sixteen (16) different currencies: the US Dollar (USD),
Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Swiss Francs (CHF), Danish Krone (DKK),
Eurozone Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), Israeli Shekel (ILS), Japanese
Yen (JPY), Mexican Peso (MXN), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Swedish Krona (SEK), Singapore
Dollar (SGD), Turkish Lira (TRY), and South African Rand (ZAR).
18. The Total Project Amount may be equal to or greater than the amount of funding you are
requesting from the Foundation. For a significant share of the requests received and funded by
the Foundation, the Total Project Amount is equal to the Request Amount, because the
applicant is asking the Foundation to support all of the project costs. However, the Foundation
favors projects in which a proportion of the required funding has been secured from other
sources. The Total Project Amount is therefore the sum of: (a) the funding requested from the
Foundation and (b) funding secured or requested specifically for this project (defined as the
specific activities described in your Project Justification & Description) from other sources. See
the note on #20 for more information concerning what qualifies as Additional Funding. Please
round the Total Project Amount to the nearest whole currency unit. Do not use symbols or
punctuation.
19. How much funding are you requesting from the Foundation? Round to the nearest whole
currency unit. Do not use symbols or punctuation.
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20. The purpose of the Budget Narrative at this early stage is to help the Foundation determine if
the estimated project expenses are reasonable and necessary for the proposed project. In
narrative or bullet-point format, please provide a broad overview of your proposed project
expenses including major categories of expenditures and anticipated amounts. The Foundation
will approve an added component for overhead within the budget, which is no more than
(fifteen) 15%. The Foundation welcomes proposals that request a lower percentage for
overhead costs.
In addition, please list the supplementary sources of funding for your project. The Foundation
favors projects that have secured, or plan to secure, Additional Funding from other sources. For
each potential source, list the amount of funding that you have secured or are requesting, and
the status of your request. To determine whether a source of support constitutes Additional
Funding, please consider the following:
Qualifying sources of Additional Funding can include funds from other philanthropic
organizations, in-kind support from the employers of project personnel, or donated time
of project members.
Costs for capital equipment not solely used for the proposed project (e.g., an fMRI
scanner) or costs for activities associated with but not specifically a part of the proposed
project (e.g., a larger conference that precedes a proposed workshop) do not qualify as
Additional Funding. Finally, please note that support for activities that will occur before
or after the project should not be counted as Additional Funding.
REVIEW AND SUBMIT
This page provides applicants with the opportunity to review the contents of your funding inquiry,
download a copy of the current form, and identify any missing fields or fields that exceed the character
limits.
If all required fields are complete and within the character limits, applicants will be able to submit their
OFI to the Foundation. Once submitted the record will become read only and you will not be able to
make any edits to your submission.
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