Guidelines for Giving
Otto and Fran Walter Foundation
Unfortunately, the Walter Foundation is not immune from the same market
forces that are hurting us all ... And as a result, we are not considering
new funding opportunities this year.
The following guidelines are designed to provide a structure for Foundation giving
and to aid organizations in honing their requests for funding.
The Foundation supports a wide variety of charitable organizations, whose interests
include classical music, fine arts, international amity and specifically German-
American relations, Jewish heritage, higher education in general and specifically legal
education, and alleviation of hunger and poverty.
We are a small, family foundation, with limited resources, and we typically fund no
more than a half-dozen projects at any given time. We develop ongoing relationships
with the institutions that we serve, and this frequently leads to multi-year grants. We
typically develop a relationship with one or two institutions in each of the broad areas
we serve. Please note that if we already fund (or have recently funded) an
organization with similar aims as yours, we probably cannot fund your organization as
well.
Over the past several years, all our new grants-receiving organizations have come to
us through our own outreach, not through unsolicited proposals. While we are always
willing to consider an unsolicited proposal, our track record suggests that such a
proposal will probably not be accepted.
A few more caveats:
• Our gifts are not tied to a specific geographic area. Please note that if your
organization is a local one, you should probably be looking for local organizations to
support you.
• We are a small, private foundation. We cannot support charitable organizations
that have alternative or significant means of support. We do not respond to annual
appeals or to requests to provide general operating funds or to build an endowment.
• We support institutions and programs that directly help people. We do not
provide research grant monies or sponsor research intended for publication. Nor do
not provide funding for scholarships.
• We do not fund organizations or institutions with distinct political aims or
affiliations, or which discriminate in any way.
Please note that these are guidelines, not mandates, and the Foundation makes
decisions about each gift on an individual basis. For more information, feel free to
email Martha Peak, Vice President.