Home/How It Works
From application to award
No black box. Real diligence.
How we receive applications, who decides, what the thresholds are, and how the money actually moves. Built for stewardship — not paperwork theater.
01 · The three doors
Every applicant enters through one of three pillars.
We do not run a general fund where anyone can ask for anything. Every dollar is tied to a published pillar with specific criteria, a specific review path, and specific follow-through.
Pillar I · Launchpad — first-generation Gulf Coast entrepreneurs already working. Micro-grants $500–$5,000. Mentor match. 90-day accountability.
Pillar II · Comfort & Dignity — seniors 65+ on the Gulf Coast facing financial need or documented crisis. Utility relief, home repair, companion visits, hospice presence.
Pillar III · Next Generation — children & families in Mobile County school districts facing instability. Supplies, scholarships, partnerships.
Applications can come from the person needing help or from a third party nominating them — teacher, neighbor, employer, pastor, family member. Same review either way.
02 · Predictable cadence
Four cycles a year, plus a rolling Compassion Fund.
Quarterly cadence lets applicants know when to apply, mentors know when to ramp, and our Grants Committee can do real diligence. Crises that can't wait route through the Compassion Fund (15% of grant capital, rolling, decision within 7 days).
Q1
Deadline · Mar 31
Awards · mid-April
Q2
Deadline · Jun 30
Awards · mid-July
Q3
Deadline · Sep 30
Awards · mid-October
Q4
Deadline · Dec 31
Awards · mid-January
First live cycle: Q1 2027 — pending IRS letter of determination.
03 · Who decides what
Tiered authority. Bright lines.
Every dollar has a name on it. We do not blur who said yes. The bigger the ask, the wider the body that has to agree.
Up to $1,000
Compassion Fund · rolling
Urgent crisis. Reviewed by the Executive Director or designate. Decision within 7 days. Reported to the full board at the next quarterly meeting.
$1,001 – $5,000
Grants Committee · quarterly
Reviewed by the Grants Committee on the cycle calendar. Committee recommendation requires majority. Awards published in the cycle report.
Above $5,000
Full board approval required
Any grant over the $5,000 threshold requires affirmative vote of the full board. No exceptions, no shortcuts, no founder override.
04 · The review path
Five steps. No surprises.
01
Receipt & acknowledgment · within 48 hours
Every application logged. Personal acknowledgment from Kevin or Deanna with cycle assignment and any clarifying questions.
02
Eligibility screen
Does it match a pillar? Is the applicant within our service area (Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Washington, Clarke counties)? Is the ask within the published tier? Conflicts of interest flagged here and recused.
03
Diligence
Documentation requested where relevant (utility shutoff notice, business plan, school enrollment). Phone or in-person conversation for any applicant the Committee hasn't met. Advisory panel input for trade-specific or industry questions.
04
Decision & vote
Grants Committee recommendation by majority vote. Above $5,000 escalates to the full board. Conflicts of interest documented in minutes. Awards announced within 30 days of cycle deadline.
05
Distribution & follow-up
Funds wired directly to the third-party need (vendor, utility, school, contractor) wherever possible — not handed across as cash. Launchpad grants come with a mentor match and 90-day check-in cadence. Outcomes documented for our annual stewardship report.
05 · The Grants Committee
Volunteers with earned scars.
Fear Not Foundation operates today with no paid staff. The Grants Committee is a volunteer body drawn from across the Gulf Coast — small-business operators, retired educators, social workers, pastors, and tradespeople. People who have been broke. People who have been helped. People who know the difference between a story and a situation.
Advisory panels rotate in for pillar-specific questions: a senior-care panel for Comfort & Dignity escalations, a small-business panel for Launchpad diligence, a school-and-family panel for Next Generation. They advise; the Grants Committee decides.
As the Foundation grows, we will add paid roles only when the work demands it — never to pad an org chart. Every dollar that does not go to operations is a dollar that goes to the people we serve.
Every member — board, committee, and advisor — signs a conflict-of-interest disclosure annually. Conflicts are documented in meeting minutes and recused parties do not vote on the matter at hand.
06 · How we protect recipients
Their story is theirs.
We do not trade stories for donations. People we love and serve come first — not as content.
Confidentiality by default. Applications, financial details, and personal circumstances are seen only by the people who need to see them to make a decision. We do not publish names of grant recipients without explicit, written, revocable consent.
Consent before stories. Any time we share a recipient story — on the website, in donor reports, in social media — the recipient has reviewed the exact words and approved them in writing. They can ask us to take it down at any time. We do, immediately.
No fake faces. We do not stage photos with paid actors and we do not pull stock photos to pretend they're our recipients.
07 · Stewardship & reporting
If you give to it, you can see it.
Annual report
Awards summary by pillar, dollars distributed, outcomes against published criteria, audited Form 990 once we have a full operating year.
Cycle reports
Each quarterly cycle: applications received, applications funded, dollars awarded, recipient counts by pillar. Published within 60 days of cycle close.
Conflict policy
Board and committee members may not vote on applications involving family, business partners, or employees. Documented in minutes.
Whistleblower & non-disparagement
We do not buy silence. Any non-disparagement language a recipient is asked to sign is published in our stewardship policy — or it doesn't exist. See our stewardship page.
Governing documents
Bylaws, conflict-of-interest policy, and grant operations manual available on request.
Ready?
There are three doors.
Pick the one that fits the need and we'll take it from there.
Go to Apply →