BACKGROUND

The mission of Safe Crossings Foundation (SCF) is to provide funding for grief support services so that all youth in the Puget Sound region who have lost a loved one receive the emotional support they need. Our work helps bereaved youth safely navigate loss, rediscover their joy, and emerge as emotionally healthy and resilient members of their families and communities. We are pleased to launch our 2026 Community Grant Program, and we invite your children’s grief support organization to apply for funding.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for funding, an applicant organization must:

• Be a qualified nonprofit organization
• Operate programs that serve children, teenagers, and/or young adults who live in the Puget Sound region and are experiencing grief due to the death of a parent, sibling, or other loved one
• Be in good standing with the IRS and applicable state regulatory agencies
• Demonstrate sound financial management and organizational governance; and
• Agree to use grant funds solely for charitable purposes. Grants cannot be used for fundraising (e.g., capital campaigns, event sponsorships, emergency funding, repaying loans, etc) or for political-related purposes. 

GRANT APPLICATION TIMELINE

The timeline for the grant application activities is shown in the following table.

 

Actvity	Date
Release of Application	August 28, 2026
Deadline for Submission	October 19, 2026 (5pm PDT)
Announcement of Funding Decisions	December 4, 2026
Distribution of Funds	By December 31, 2026
Grant Period	January 1, 2027 - December 31, 2027

INSTRUCTIONS

Please complete the form below including uploading the required documents. You must submit the form in one session; to assist you, a Word version of the application is available to draft your responses before dropping into the form. Responses must be entered into the form below.

If you would like an alternative way to complete the application, please call (206) 652-4723 or email info@safecrossingsfoundation.org.

1. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND (limit 500 words)

• What is your organization's mission, purpose and a little about the history?
• What is your approach or philosophy around childhood grief?

2. TELL US ABOUT YOUR (PROPOSED) PROGAM(S) (limit 500 words)

• Please describe the experience of a youth going through your program(s).
• What activities do you do with them?

3. TELL US ABOUT HOW MANY YOU (WILL) SERVE AND HOW OFTEN (limit 300 words)

• How many people you reach in each program/activity?
• How much time you spend with them during each program/activity?
• How often is program/activity offered?

4. TELL US ABOUT WHO ARE YOU SERVING or PROPOSE SERVING (limit 300 words)

• What is the program’s target population (e.g., demographics) and geographic area served?
• How do you find youth experiencing grief or how do they find you?
• Do you work with individuals, peer groups, community groups, schools, etc.?
• Do you provide culturally responsive programming or provide services in languages other than English?

5. TELL US ABOUT WHO (WILL) LEADS AND STAFFS YOUR PROGRAMS (limit 300 words)

• Please describe your program leaders and staff.

6. TELL US ABOUT YOUR (PROPOSED) PROGRAM OUTCOMES (limit 300 words)

• How will you know if your program is helping your participants?
• How will you collect feedback on your programs?

7. TELL US ABOUT YOUR (PROPOSED) BUDGET (limit 300 words)

• What funding amount are you requesting from Safe Crossings Foundation?
• What is your total budget for this program?
• How will grant funding be used?
• What other funding sources support your program?
• How do you anticipate adjusting if total funding does not materialize?

8. TELL US ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (limit 300 words)

• Please address here anything else about your organization or project you think is relevant to this proposal.

FINANCIAL ATTACHMENTS:

1. Detailed budget of the project for which funds are being sought
2. Verification of tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code
3. IRS Form 990 for the last tax year filed (if available)
4. Organization’s current fiscal year operating budget
5. A summary of actual income and expenses for the past year
6. Current balance sheet
7. W-9

ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENTS (OPTIONAL):

8. If the project for which you are seeking funds is a collaboration with other agencies, include letters or other documentation from the collaborating agencies.
9. If you have written documentation verifying the need within your community for the project/service for which you are seeking funds, please include it with your application.

Thank you for applying to SCF for a community grant. If you have questions, please contact: Safe Crossings Foundation info@safecrossingsfoundation.org Thank you!