FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Do you have a donation request submission deadline?
A: No. We accept donation requests 365 days a year. We meet in March, June, September and December. Please do not think that there is an advantage to getting your donation request to us in January. There is no advantage. Get it to us after you have reviewed our website, decided if your request is well thought out and complete.
Q: When does the sprott foundation board meet to vote on donation requests?
A: We meet in March, June, September & December.
Q: How much does The Sprott Foundation give in a typical donation?
A: For a first time grantee, we encourage the charity to start small (under $25,000) so that we can forge a relationship over time and see how the project evolves before we commit more. The board does reserve the right to give a grantee more or less money, depending on their evaluation/comfort level with the donation request. This is a very common practice for us.
Q: We would like to invite a member of The Sprott Foundation to speak at our event, may we use email to invite them?
A: Yes. Please give as much notice as possible about the event so that we may check our availability.
Q: May I invite you to our cocktail party/initiative launch/to listen to a guest speaker series etc.?
A: No…unless you are a current grantee of The Sprott Foundation and have received a donation from us in the past 12 months. Also, we will not RSVP to events that do not come from current grantees.
Q: May I phone you/email you to follow up on my donation request?
A: No. We receive hundreds of donation requests each month and we will follow up with the donations that fit with our mandate/ projects of interest to our board.
Q: I just have a quick question about whether or not my charity would likely qualify, may I call or email?
A: No. Please go over this website and make an educated decision. If your charity does not address our focus areas, you probably are not eligible for a donation.
Q: I am a student travelling to do volunteer work, will you give me money for my travels?
A: Sadly no. We can only give to Canadian charities recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency. We do appreciate your altruistic spirit though!
Q: My charity is in the process of getting its charitable number, but we do not have it quite yet. May we still apply for a donation?
A: No. We will gladly accept your donation request once your charity receives its business number from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Q: If I send my donation request by fedex/purolator/dhl/courier, do I get to the front of the line?
A: Please do not send the donation request via these methods. Our mailing address is a post office box. Your package will probably not be signed for and you will get it back. As we only check the mailbox once a week, there is no priority. Every piece of mail is opened and studied, regardless of how it arrives.
Q: My charity would like to send you some stickers/address tags/ etc. in the hope that you will send us money. Will you?
A: No. While address labels are lovely, they are not the type of donation requests we prefer. This goes for all mass mailings. We only want thoughtful, well-crafted donation requests that follow our guidelines.
Q: The Sprott Foundation gave us a donation and we would like to put your logo on the side of our truck. How do we do this?
A: Please email us for a username and password to download our logo.
Q: Where do you fund?
A: The Sprott Foundation makes donations to charities in Canada only. We no longer fund international projects.
Q: What do you fund?
A: We fund projects related to urgent human need such as those affected by natural disasters; related to homelessness such as providing sleeping bags to the homeless; related to hunger such as providing meals to school children during the year. For Example, please do not send in a request saying that your charity, which supports children playing basketball, is in urgent human need of assistance for funding to get these children on the court. To our board, children wanting to play basketball does not merit the same level of urgency for support as those affected by a tsunami.
Q: What do you NOT fund?:
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Q: Your focus is very narrow, why is that?
A: The Sprott Foundation's entry point in giving is very purposeful and specific. We care most about getting people assistance in the moment, right now. We are NOT focussed on what brought a young person to the street. We are NOT focussed on educating people about budgeting so that they do not need a food bank. Other groups focus on those important "root cause" areas. Our primary focus in our giving strategy is get people food today; to make sure a homeless person can get a sleeping bag tonight; to help a person in need get clean clothes; and finally, to help those that are affected by natural disasters get food and water as soon as possible. Because while they are being educated, while they are transitioning from street to an apartment, they have immediate needs that must be addressed in the present. That is why our focus is so narrow, and why we reject all donation requests that do not fit with our focussed giving strategy.