Application Process

The Dr. Seuss Foundation provides grants in San Diego through Board-approved funding cycles each year. Most often, we invite applicants, although occasionally we issue an open call for LOIs within a particular focus area. No grants of less than $10,000 are considered.

The Dr. Seuss Foundation has decided not to issue an open call for LOIs in 2025 in order to focus on operationalizing the Foundation’s newly adopted strategic plan that will refine our grantmaking strategies for 2026 and beyond. Please continue to check this website as we anticipate announcing plans for 2026 grantmaking in the coming year. Thank you for your work to improve the San Diego region and beyond.

Please note, the "APPLY NOW" button will only allow you to submit an application during active granting rounds. It will not provide access to apply or register for a new account outside of active granting rounds. If you have an existing grant and are unable to access it, please use the contact form to get in touch.

Letter of Intent (LOI) and Request for Full Proposal

All applicants must complete the LOI via the Grantee Portal. LOIs will be accepted and reviewed based on the above funding cycle and evaluated based on eligibility and fit with Foundation priorities. Applicants will be notified via email whether they have been invited to submit a full proposal or if their request has been denied. An invitation to submit a full proposal does not guarantee funding.

Applications (LOI and full proposals) should include:

• How the proposed program will expand beyond, or add to, current programming
• What impact the proposed program is expected to have and how this impact will be measured
• Whether the proposed program is anticipated to scale and/or be adapted by others
• How the proposed program addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion
• How requested funding will be used to leverage funds and/or resources from other partners
• Viability of the proposed program if all necessary funding is not secured
• Note: the apply button is only activated during the open LOI submission periods.

Full Proposal Submission and Review

Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will do so via the Grantee Portal. Invited applicants will have approximately one month to submit. Guidelines for creating a budget and a recommended budget format can be found below. The review process will begin after a full proposal has been submitted. Additional information, follow-up conversations, or site visits may be requested.

Building a Budget: Direct and Indirect Costs

Dr. Seuss Foundation prefers to fund direct project costs, but understands that, particularly for smaller organizations, the recovery of indirect costs is a necessity. The Foundation calculates indirect costs as a percentage of direct project costs. Applicants may not add 20% on top of direct budget costs for indirect costs. If indirect costs exceed 20% of direct costs and the applicant can provide justification for the amount, the amount in excess of 20% may be accepted and the grant approved. If the applicant's explanation is insufficient to justify the higher rate, we will notify the applicant before deciding whether to proceed with approving the request. If the percentage appears reasonable, the Foundation usually approves the inclusion of indirect costs in the budget.

Direct costs are those for activities or services that benefit specific projects, e.g. salaries for project staff and materials required for a particular project. Because these activities are easily traced to projects, their costs are usually charged to projects on an item-by-item basis.

Indirect costs are those for activities or services that benefit more than one project. Their precise benefits to a specific project are often difficult or impossible to trace. For example, it may be difficult to determine precisely how the activities of the director of an organization benefit a specific project.

It is possible to justify the handling of almost any kind of cost as either direct or indirect. Labor costs, for example, can be indirect, as in the case of maintenance personnel and administrative assistants; or they can be direct, as in the case of project staff members. Similarly, materials such as miscellaneous supplies purchased in bulk — pencils, pens, paper — are typically handled as indirect costs, while materials required for specific projects are charged as direct costs.

In-Kind Contributions

In-kind contributions include materials, equipment, or services that are given without charge to the program or organization. These items should not be included in the budget of cash revenues and cash expenditures submitted with proposals to the Foundation. However, in-kind contributions should be noted in the project budget narrative. The final accounting on the grant must report against the approved budget submitted with the proposal and the actual cumulative expenditures since the start of the grant. In order to determine if all sources of funds were disbursed, actual cash expenditures are compared with actual cash revenues received; in-kind contributions are excluded from this calculation in determining if a refund is due to the Foundation.

Capital Equipment

A grant to an organization may include the purchase of capital equipment, which generally includes such items as computers, office furniture, and other items. Books purchased to enhance a library may also be considered capital equipment. On the other hand, office supplies and other consumable items are not generally considered capital equipment. Books purchased for limited research purposes are not considered capital equipment. (Indirect costs cannot be included in direct costs.)

Budget Format

Budgets submitted should include 1) itemized budget for the entire project (or at minimum articulating intended allocation of the amount requested) including all revenue sources known to date, and 2) justification showing how each budget line item relates to the project and how the budgeted amount was calculated.

Budgets are generally broken down into two main sections: personnel costs and non-personnel costs. Salaries and benefits should include all staff salaries allocated to the project. Each position and percentage of time devoted to the project should also be identified. Contracted services, including an estimation of the hours and hourly rate, should be listed separately from salaries. Supporting details should also be provided for all other major non-personnel line items.

Final Decision

Applicants will be notified via email once decisions have been made. If awarded, an applicant will receive a grant agreement for review and signature pending any additional due diligence requirements. The grant agreement will outline reporting and other requirements. Payment of the grant is typically processed within 30 days of the signed agreement being received. Receiving a grant does not guarantee future funding.