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Gardiner Grants Staff Guide: Preparation for the Fall 2026 Application Process

Last update: 02/24/2026

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Welcome

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Welcome

In an effort to preserve the important work that has been done over the decades and effectively build on that legacy, the familiar grant process you know—applications, review, notes, decisions, records—is being placed into one shared space, so it doesn’t live in separate folders, inboxes, or stacks of paper. 

This guide is not here to change how decisions are made, to replace experience, or to rush anyone into something unfamiliar. It exists for one simple reason:

To keep the work you already do safe, visible, and supported.

Over time, this shared space will:

  • Keep information from being misplaced or duplicated
  • Reduce the need to search through emails
  • Make it easier to pick up where you left off
  • Protect the integrity of your work
  • Help the Foundation learn how to better serve the community

Why This Change Is Being Made

One of the organization's goals is to look beyond individual applications and ask broader questions, such as:

  • Who in our community is applying for support?
  • Where are the gaps?
  • Which programs are working well, and which need adjustment?
  • How can the Foundation serve people better over time?

Right now, answering those questions is difficult when information lives only on paper or in separate places.

By gathering information in one shared system, the Foundation can learn more about the community it serves, while still relying on staff experience and judgment for individual decisions.

This information is used to understand patterns and needs in the community.

You Are Not Expected to Move Quickly

There is no expectation of speed here. We are rolling this out for the Fall 2026 grant season to give us all time to get familiar with the new process. 

You are welcome to:

  • Move slowly
  • Revisit this Guide
  • Print anything you want
  • Continue using your old application process while learning

This guide is designed to be returned to as many times as needed.

A Helpful Way to Think About This

If you know:

  • Where a document would go in a folder
  • When a note should be written
  • How a decision is typically recorded

Then you already understand this system.

What you’ll see in later lessons is not a new process—it’s a one-to-one translation of the existing one.

If you know where something belongs on paper, you will know where it belongs here.

When you’re ready, you can move on to the next section.

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