The Fischer Family Foundation was established in 2011 and is the personal foundation for the Fischer family. Scott Fischer, his wife Mary and daughter, Katie serve as directors on the board.
Purpose Statement
The Fischer Foundation supports the mission of improving the lives of underprivileged and low-income populations through various resources that support enriching lives, improving mental health, and overall well-being. These resources are focused on, but not limited to, summer camp, overnight intensive retreats, wilderness programs, and substance abuse treatment facilities.
Funding Priorities
Funding priority is given, but not limited to, the following areas:
- Foundations that can provide information about exactly the people to which they are donating the funds for mental health resources to.
- Prioritizing giving underprivileged youth access to opportunities for connection, skill building, conflict resolution, independence, and new experiences that can enrich their lives socially and emotionally.
Funding Guidelines
Applicants must meet the following guidelines:
- Nonprofit organizations exempt from Federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and units of government are eligible [(c) (4) and (c)(6) agencies are not eligible]
- Applicants here refers to the specific foundations to which we will donate money. These foundation requirements include:
- Serving populations in lower income communities
- Serving populations aged 8 through 25 years old (flexibility on a case-by-case basis)
- Donations to each foundation should focus on quality of experience over quantity, i.e., spending more on one person for better treatment or summer experience rather than trying to get lesser quality treatment for more people.
Funding Process
The Fischer Family Foundation facilitates the funding process. Agencies interested in understanding more about the application process should contact the Fischer Family Foundation for information.
The Fischer Family Foundation executes grants either by invitation or through a modified RFP process. Agencies invited to apply for grants work directly with the Fischer Family Foundation. When the modified RFP occurs, it generally follows the process outlined below.
The LOI Round
The letter of idea (LOI) is not a fully traditional RFP. Rather it is a snapshot of your program. The criteria for a well-written LOI are:
- Clarity of intentions
- Precision of explanations
- Thoughtfulness of funding allocation
Examples of LOI questions:
- The issue: What challenge or opportunity are you addressing?
- The change: What change or opportunity do you hope to support facilitating in the lives of children, adolescents and young adults?
- The action: What will you do to make this change happen?
- The money: How much money are you requesting?
- The recipients: Do you have specific success stories with your program and recipients of funding/scholarships that you can share?
Compassionate Shark Tank Round
If your Letter of Idea is advanced, you will be invited to participate in the Compassionate Shark Tank. A Compassionate Shark Tank isn’t a cutthroat competition where the winner takes all. Instead, it’s a chance for you to share your idea with a panel of funders, experts, and advocates, with the possibility of more funding for your project. You will have 3 minutes to present your idea and the panel will have 10 minutes to ask questions of you about your idea. Your effectiveness will be measured by your ability to address each of the LOI elements in your presentation and Q&A session.
The RFMI Round
If your idea advances beyond the Compassionate Shark Tank, you will be invited to submit a request for more information (RFMI). The RFMI is a set of questions in which you elaborate more on specific aspects of the proposed project or program. The questions are often generated from the conversations that occur during the Compassionate Shark Tank. A full project/program budget is also submitted during this round.