Grant Guidelines

The purpose of The Louise R. Lester Foundation is to support nonprofit religious, scientific, literary, humanitarian or educational organizations. The Foundation does not grant financial support to individuals, sport teams/events or political candidates/organizations. The consent to a submission or the review of a grant application does not obligate The Louise R. Lester Foundation to grant any request.

All organizations receiving a grant award must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations.

Additional Grant Guidelines

• The requesting organization must be tax-exempt.
• The Foundation’s Directors are interested in supporting organizations that engage in sound financial planning and solid management practices. The Foundation reserves the right at any time to request detailed information on the use or financial well-being of any organization to whom funds are granted.
• At this time, the Foundation will not consider requests for building funds or grant commitments extending beyond one year.
• The Foundation Directors are currently interested in grants to be spent in the Foundation’s geographic areas of interest, which include the greater Roanoke Valley area of Virginia, the Smith Mountain Lake area of Virginia, and greater Henry County area of Virginia. Other areas served are at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
• The Board of Directors has the responsibility for final approval of each grant. Since the Foundation receives funding requests in excess of its funds available for grants, not all or only a portion of the requests received can be approved. A decision not to fund a request does not necessarily reflect on the merits of the applicant or the value of its request.