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How to Apply

Grant Opportunities – Fall & Spring

Otto Schoitz Foundation awards grants twice per year, in the Spring and Fall. If your organization and project align with the Foundation's Funding Preferences, you may be eligible for funding. 

Biannual Grant Calendar
 
LOI Open
LOI Close
App Due
Award
Spring
Open
01/05/25
02/16/25
05/2025
Fall
05/26/25
07/06/25
08/17/25
11/2025

Funding Preferences

Our funding preference favors proposals generating significant community benefit or addressing serious need in the Cedar Valley community and that:

  1. Improve residents' quality of life.
  2. Better the Cedar Valley community.
  3. Meet the needs of the vulnerable.
  4. Create equitable opportunities, particularly as it relates to racial/ethnic equity.
  5. Address root or primary causes. 
  6. Show evidence of success and impact.
  7. Impact Waterloo, because of the greater need.
  8. Share funding with others.

Ineligible for Funding

The Foundation does not fund:

  • For-profit entities or not-for-profits that are not 501(c)(3) organizations
  • Competitors of MercyOne
  • Projects not aligned with the Foundation's mission
  • Fundraising events or endowment campaigns
  • Religious events and promotions
  • Multiple applications from a single entity in a given funding cycle
  • Individuals
  • Projects beyond the 30-mile radius of Waterloo, IA

Create Your Grant Account

First-time applicants must create a grant account in Otto Schoitz Foundation's grant management system – accessed by clicking the Grant Portal button below. Bookmarking this website address will make it easy to return to the grant system in the future.

Grant Portal

The registration process is summarized as follows:

Read More
Step 1:

Create an account and password by clicking on the “Create New Account” button. You will be asked to provide information in four sections: (1) organization information, (2)  your individual user information, (3) executive officer information, and (4) choosing your individual user password. Your username/login is your email address.

Step 2:

After successfully creating an account, click on “Apply” on the left-side navigation menu.

Step 3:

You are now on the Apply page. Active grant cycles are described on this page. Choose the grant to which you would like to apply by clicking the “Apply” link at the end of the grant description. NOTE: The Fall and Spring grant cycles are open to all enrolled applicants. By clicking the “Apply” link of these cycles, you will be taken to the Letter of Inquiry (LOI) application where you can begin the application process. Other grant cycles are by invitation only and you must enter the code given to you by the Foundation in the “Access Code” field to access.

IMPORTANT:

The Otto Schoitz Foundation utilizes the online grants management system to generate email communication from the email address administrator@grantinterface.com. As this communication is important to your application, please ensure this address is not blocked or filtered by your email service.

Please contact us if you experience any difficulty with your Grant Account.

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Preview Our LOI and Application

View Sample LOI

View Sample Grant Application