2025

ZINNIA NOMINATION

An Overview

We launched the Zinnia Grant in 2023 after recognizing a desire to invest more deeply in our most aligned partners. The hope was — and continues to be — that we are able to identify organizations with whom we have partnered for many years, or who are uniquely and exceptionally aligned with our values, and meet together to understand how we can best support the work at hand. 

The Zinnia Grant is named for the favorite flower of Marie’s daughter, Gert Boyle, whose generosity transformed the size and scope of the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation in 2019. Gert’s generous spirit and purposeful investments in community inspire us as we engage in this particular program.

More so than any of our other grant programs, the Zinnia Grant is very relational. We hope that much of our learning and discussion takes place in person, preferably over meals, with opportunities to explore big dreams, reflect on challenging realities, and build relationship.

A competitive program, the majority of nominees are unfortunately not chosen for consideration. Recognizing this, we have designed a self-nomination process in lieu of a formal application. This positions us to leverage past awards and ongoing relationship to understand the scope of your work, while still asking for relevant updates. We encourage eligible organizations to pursue this grant, as many times as is desirable, and thank you for your interest in this opportunity.

PROGRAM SUMMARY

  • This grant is typically for organizations with whom we have partnered many times, though especially those with the capacity and ability to leverage substantial funding. In particular, we require the following:

    • Your organization has partnered with the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation (received funding) at least twice, though ideally more.

    • Your organization has a history of receiving and managing one or more $200,000 gift/grant(s) in the last five (5) years.

    • Your organization provides demonstrable direct service to one-hundred and fifty (150) or more individuals annually.

    • Your organization maintains an operating budget of $1M+ annually

  • We hope that our finalists can demonstrate the following well:

    • Clear mission alignment with MLCF and the spirit of Marie Lamfrom; learn more about Marie here.

    • Mature organizational identity and 'sense of self,' and ability to articulate and act upon that identity over time 

    • Proven ability to manage and appropriately steward substantial funds  

    • Demonstrable, exceptional, and/or timely need or opportunity for the organization 

    • Clear opportunity for this investment to positively impact the organization's trajectory and (more importantly) those ultimately served 

    • Explicit and thoughtful commitment to equity, inclusivity, diversity, and social justice; and a mature understanding of the interconnectedness 

    • Competent and values-driven organizational leadership, with demonstrable integrity and vision 

  • Zinnia nominations are due by Friday, February 14.

    Finalist selection is expected to take 3-5 weeks, with finalists notified my mid-March.

  • Those actively involved in or pursuing another grant with us are welcome to apply for a Zinnia Grant. If selected as a finalist, applicants will be asked to suspend other applications while being considered for this award.

    Given the competitive nature of this program, applicants are discouraged from voluntarily pausing or suspending active applications while pursuing this program. If you are chosen as a Zinnia finalist and have already submitted application materials for another program, we will leverage that submission in the Zinnia process.

Nomination is open January 6 - February 14

Prompts
& Materials

We ask applicants to include or address the following. Applicants are welcome to get a head start as preferred. Each prompt is subject to some modification (or additional contextualization) in the formal nomination form. Please kindly review the prompts in the nomination form before directing sending requests for clarification.

  • We request the following PDF statements:

    • Most recent IRS Form 990

    • January 2025 Balance Sheet

    • Current Operating Budget

  • We ask nominees to address the following narrative prompts. Please note that responses do not need to be in complete sentences. As a reminder, users who leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) remain responsible for the content and nature of their submission.

    • Operations & Infrastructure
      In considering your organization’s own infrastructure and operations, in what ways are you thriving and in what ways do you need to improve or further develop? (750 characters)

    • Equity & Inclusion
      We expect that every Zinnia finalist has an exceptional commitment to equity and works in service to some of our state’s most marginalized. Looking forward, how do you expect to further that commitment and what are obstacles (internal or external) in your path? (750 characters)

    Optional Prompts:

    • Funding Application (Optional)
      While this award does not require (or prefer) any particular designation or directed purpose , does your organization already have a vision for how these funds might be leveraged? (500 characters)

    • Changes & Updates (Optional)
      Since our last award with your organization, have there been any significant changes to the scope of your work, Mission, or strategic goals? (500 characters)

    • Contextualization (Optional)
      Is there anything else you would like to share?

  • We ask finalists to please report the following figures to us in their nomination:

    • Enter the largest single private foundation grant installment received in the last two (2) years.

    • Enter the contact information and organizational tenure of senior-most executive leadership.

    • Provide a list of (or link to) Board members.

  • The following fixed-choice prompts appear in the application as multiple choice or comparable prompts, meaning you will not need to prepare a narrative response.

    • Employees: How many full-time employees work at your organization?

    • Retention: We know that staff retention within the nonprofit sector has been extremely challenging. Tell us how you have experienced this over the past twenty-four (24) months.

    • Cost of Living: How often does your organization provide cost of living (or comparable) annual compensation adjustments for employees?

    • Board Credentials: Do any of your board members maintain the following specializations or credentials (e.g. accountant, attorney, etc.)?

    • Board Representation: What percentage of your board identifies as being from the community or communities you aim to serve?

    • Unplanned Deficits: In the last five (5) fiscal years, how many unplanned budget deficits has your organization reported?

Common

Questions

We’re happy to field questions, but consider some of these frequently asked questions first.

  • So long as you have completed two grants with the Foundation (i.e. have two separate payments and two grant reports submitted) you are eligible to apply for funding — even if you are in an active grant.

  • The Zinnia Grant is our most competitive award; we anticipate 50-100 self-nominations, and expect to identify only two (2) finalists.

  • This grant format was introduced in 2023, so it remains reasonably new.

    In 2023, our finalists were Adelante Mujeres, the Dougy Center, and Victory Academy.

    In 2024, our finalists were HOLLA School and The Red Door Project.

  • Each of our 2023 and 2024 finalists gave us wonderful feedback about their experience. This year, we are working to build more collaborative agendas, increase the upfront award payment, and give finalists an opportunity to connect directly with our Board of Trustees.

  • This grant is really meant to be adaptive and responsive to the needs of the finalist. We are welcome to creative funding plans that merge or combine general operating funds, capital campaign funds, matching challenges, and/or a combination of each.

  • In this process, you don’t request an award amount. We use our meetings and discussions to determine how we distribute the award budget between finalists. The final recommended amount, which we determine in consult with you, is expected though not guaranteed to be between $400,000-$800,000 total, likely split between 2-3 years.

  • Absolutely. While many of our 2023/2024 finalists have been from the greater Portland Metro area, we are glad to consider finalists from all parts of the state (and will come to you).

NOW WHAT?

We were chosen as a finalist…

The Zinnia Grant process is meant to be relational and conversational; we hope to get to know you and your team and better understand your vision for the organization and the challenges you’re facing.

  1. Submit Documentation

    Once identified as a finalist, we will ask you to submit some additional documentation, including a Memorandum of Understanding, which asks both you and us to agree on our way of proceeding. After a signed MOU is received, we will issue a small good-faith contribution of $5,000-$7,500 to compensate (in full or part) nonprofit staff in advance for their time.

  2. Scheduling

    MLCF staff will coordinate with organizational staff to schedule our three full-group meetings; we will work to schedule each between the months of April - June, with the possibility of some occurring in the month of July.

  3. Meeting 1 (April/May)

    This meeting is meeting agenda will be set collaboratively by both MLCF and the finalist; agenda items should focused more explicitly on mission, vision, and programs. Instead of a recitation of one’s mission, we hope this meeting will help us gain insight into the heart and soul of your organization: what the workplace culture is like, what your big dreams and aspirations are, and where you may be challenged. This meeting is three (3) hours and will take place over breakfast or lunch (paid by MLCF) ideally at the organization’s office.

  4. Meeting 2 (May/June)

    This meeting is meeting agenda will be set collaboratively by both MLCF and the finalist; agenda items should focused more explicitly on budget, fundraising strategy, financial pressure points, and organizational infrastructure. This meeting is meant to help us understand where your organization thrives financially, and where challenges exist. We also hope to give narrative to the data, working to understand the story behind the numbers and how that story speaks to your successes and obstacles. This meeting is three (3) hours and will take place over breakfast or lunch (paid by MLCF) ideally at the organization’s office.

  5. Meeting 3 (June/July)

    This meeting is meeting agenda will be set collaboratively by both MLCF and the finalist; agenda items will be an assortment of lingering topics, unfinished discussion, or new items that have surfaced in prior discussion. This meeting is two (2) hours and will take place over Zoom, unless in-person is preferred by the finalist at the time.

  6. Board Visit (July/September)

    Finalists will be invited to join our Board of Trustees for a visit and discussion in July or September. During this meeting, MLCF leadership will summarize our learnings and celebrate the achievements of finalists. Finalists will have an opportunity to answer questions, address important topics, and get to know our Board of Trustees further.

  7. Funding Decision (September/October)

    Our Board of Trustees will review our meeting summaries and funding recommendations, and issue a funding decision ideally by the end of September.