Private Foundations: Selection of grantees on an "objective and nondiscriminatory basis"

 

To establish that its grants to individuals are made on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis, a private foundation must award such grants under a program that meets the following criteria:

  • The group from which the grantees are selected must be reasonably related to the purposes of the grant, and the group must be large enough to constitute a charitable class (unless, taking into account the purposes of the grant, only a few individuals are qualified to be grantees - as in the case of scientific research),
  • The criteria used in selecting grant recipients from the potential grantees should be related to the purpose of the grant. For example, proper criteria for selecting scholarship recipients might include (but are not limited to) the following: past academic performance, performance on tests designed to measure ability and aptitude for college work, recommendations from instructors, financial need and the conclusions the selection committee might draw from personal interviews, and
  • The person or persons who select recipients of grants should not be in a position to receive a private benefit, directly or indirectly, if certain potential grantees are selected over others.

Additional information:


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