How to Secure a David and Lura Lovell Foundation Grant Before Its Planned Sunset
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Based in Tucson, Arizona, the David and Lura Lovell Foundation is a significant grantmaker in the state. It’s also one that potential grantseekers should get in touch with soon. That’s because the foundation is planning to close its doors for good by the end of 2024, but not before providing more support for local nonprofits in the state.
Here’s what nonprofits should know about the Lovell Foundation’s sunset and how they can still secure a grant from this funder in Arizona.
Four focus areas
The Lovell Foundation has very specific and well-defined focus areas, and it works closely with grantee partners to address social problems. Mental health grants help reduce the stigma around mental health issues and improve access to care. Integrative health and wellness grants stem from David Lovell’s experience with integrative medicine techniques, such as meditation, that helped him through his last few weeks of battling end-stage lung cancer.
The Lovell Foundation awards grants for youth access to the arts, to provide young people with the academic, social, cultural and emotional benefits of a well-rounded arts-inclusive education. Lastly and to a somewhat lesser extent, the foundation awards grants for gender parity to promote the family’s values of equal pay, status and education regardless of gender identity.
Interests in Arizona and Ohio
Over the years, the Lovell Foundation has awarded grants to organizations all over the United States. But Arizona and Ohio remain its top geographic priorities. By the time the foundation ceases to operate, it estimates that it will have granted around $50 million to approximately 140 nonprofits. Recent Arizona grantees include Arizona Citizens for the Arts, Children’s Museum Tucson, Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and Social Venture Partners Tucson.
Three types of grants
The Lovell Foundation awards three kinds of grants, starting with initiative grants that seek to address the root cause of an issue in one or more of its four focus areas. These grants are intended to alter the structure of a system or transform an organization to better alter that structure.
Social impact media grants support the development, production, post-production and distribution of various forms of media, such as documentary film features and web series. IDEA Capacity-Building Grants are only available to organizations that have previously received a Lovell grant and are working in the arena of inclusion, diversity, equity and access. These grants are available on an invitation-only basis.
Sunsetting by the end of 2024
As the Lovell Foundation moves toward its final sunset at the end of 2024, funding opportunities will be limited and very competitive. However, opportunities still exist in the four focus areas described above. Overall, the foundation is looking for ultra-focused and time-limited efforts to achieve maximum impact over the next few years.
Nonprofits can submit unsolicited proposals to the foundation. Upon receipt, select organizations will be invited to submit a full application and speak directly to a foundation representative to provide additional information and/or host a site visit. Grantseekers can submit letters of interest to the Lovell Foundation at any time of the year and expect to hear back within about a month.
More information about this funder can be found in our Southwest Funding Guide.
