NEWS AND UPDATES
April 25, 2023
Grants made. We have moved our list of grants made to date, with descriptions, to a separate Grants Made page. We've issued 12 so far. Click the "Grants Made" tab above.
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May 20, 2022
Your President/Clerk filed the Foundation’s very first (2021) tax and other documents with state and federal agencies on time and in apple-pie order, including IRS Form 990-PF. The latter was relatively simple considering that by the end of 2021 we were still just setting up, had made no grants, and only received our 501(c)3 tax status near the end of the year.
We're especially proud of one line in our 990-PF. Elsewhere on this site we say, “We are committed to keeping administrative expenses to the bare minimum to maximize the effect of donors’ dollars.” Even with all the complicated administrative stuff, legal advice, and filing fees for setting up the Foundation, its expenses in 2021 totaled only 0.75% of contributions received – thanks to your all-volunteer directors and officers covering a bunch of things out of pocket and not billing the Foundation. And we thank Diana Adams Law and Mediation, PLLC, for giving us a discounted rate for their legal help in setting up.
When Charity Navigator gets around to looking at us, we hope that this ratio makes their eyes pop.
Update April 2023: Our expense ratio for year 2022 also came out very low, for the same reasons.
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March 22, 2022
Our Origin Story, by Alan M.
The Polyamory Foundation's moment of conception came several years ago at the Poly Living convention in Philadelphia.
A pair of friends took me aside and said they wanted to discuss something over dinner. It turned out they were writing their wills, and one of them wanted to leave a substantial sum of money for polyamory education and support. But they weren't sure where, or how to guarantee that the money would be used as intended after they were gone.
I told them I was donating to Loving More (which puts on Poly Living) and also named the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Woodhull, and a couple others. But what they were talking about was in a different league. In particular, they were not expecting to die and the money to come available for many years.
We were quite aware that activist organizations come and go and sometimes fall into unexpected hands. We knew of tragic stories where a benefactor left a big pot to a beloved cause, and then when the bequest finally came through it was misused or flat-out stolen. A poorly guarded treasure chest will attract sharks, and the only winners may be the various parties' lawyers.
I'd also heard the story of a small progressive group that was destroyed by a benefactor dropping an unexpected bequest on it. Factions formed up and fought to mutual destruction for the pile of gold that each felt they ought to administer (for the purest of reasons, of course). When the stakes were low they had gotten along and accomplished things.
"What this movement really needs," I mused to the two over dinner at the convention, "is an independent granting foundation. It would give money for worthy projects. It would need an independent board that approves grants on their merits. It would need a mission and policies that were legally locked in. Lots of other movements have foundations like that, and we don't."
"Well, Alan..." said the will-writer, giving me a spreading grin....
"Ohhhhhh, shit," I thought.
Now, after several years of discussions in the community, team building, several offers of promising routes forward that petered out, lawyer brought in, incorporation and 501(c)3 and IRS and state regs navigated, i's dotted and t's crossed, it's real: The Polyamory Foundation is alive and accepting grant proposals from the community.
Along the way, somebody none of us had heard of, Erez Benari, showed up out of Seattle high tech, got enthused, and donated a one-time treasure chest of early money just like that -- enough to fund a respectable first year of grants. And, we now also have a different pledge for annual, keep-us-going gifts for the next few years that should guarantee the Foundation will be making grants every year for the next few years at least.
We're guessing this is a sign that there's more money out there that has been looking for a home like this. (Hint, hint.)
Since the modern poly movement began taking shape about 38 years ago, it has accomplished amazing success in public recognition and understanding on the barest of financial shoestrings. That has happened thanks to passionate volunteers all over. We hope to help. We intend for the Foundation to become an increasingly significant resource supporting creative choice in consensual relationship structures for decades to come.
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January 28, 2022
Aaaand, we are open for business! After several years of discussions and setting up, The Polyamory Foundation is finally up and taking grant requests. Thank you for your patience.
Have you nurtured an idea for advancing polyamory awareness and community but lacked the funds to carry it out? Are you running low on funding for what you're currently doing?
Have your plans to put on a conference run up against the large deposit that hotels require upfront? Have you been running a poly conference but it took a hit from covid cancellations, and you need help to get it back on its feet? Do you want to offer scholarships for more low-income people to attend your poly education/support event, but you can't afford to? Do you have great material to present but need help to finance a tour? Looking to start a poly-supportive community center?
Talk to us. Whether your idea is large or small, if you have developed a plan but could use some targeted funds, that's what The Polyamory Foundation is here for.
Per our charter, we fund designated projects and activities. We can help you achieve your goals that fit our Statement of Purpose (see homepage), especially if cost has been a problem. The polyamory-awareness movement has always had lots of great people with great ideas. If you've got it together, we may be able to help you carry out yours.
If you are a nonprofit organization, we can directly fund your work that advances our Statement of Purpose. If you're an individual or otherwise not a non-profit there's a bit more paperwork, but we've made it straightforward.
We are still new and small as foundations go. We are currently accepting applications for grants mostly in the range of $100 to $5,000. We hope to make 10 or more grants per year, and yes, we do take applications for as low as $100. For some effective, creative people even a hundred bucks -- for a printing bill, or expenses to give a presentation, or necessary materials -- can be a roadblock that it wouldn't be for someone with more means. We hope to even that up a bit.
We're off to our start thanks to early benefactors. If you can afford to help sustain and grow this ambitious project, please see the Donate page! We are a 501(c)(3) private grant-making foundation, charitable and educational; your donation is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
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