The Fund for Lake Michigan is now accepting pre-proposals for 2024.

• The Fund will accept pre-proposals on a rolling basis throughout the year.   You can submit a pre-proposal to the Fund on a time-frame that works best for you and your project.
• We will make grant decisions four times a year at our quarterly board meetings (March, June, September and December).  This is not to say that decisions will necessarily be made in the quarter we receive a request.  We will, however, be able to move quickly on some proposals while spending more time on projects that are new to us or otherwise require more in-depth review.
• We estimate that a grant request will take two to five months to process from the time we receive a pre-proposal to when we issue a grant contract.  
• All grant materials – including pre-proposals – must be submitted electronically through our online grant management system.  Instructions for accessing our grant portal and submitting a pre-proposal can be found below.
• We plan to award between $750,000 and $1,000,000 in grants each quarter.
• Applicants may submit more than one pre-proposal during the year. However, we encourage you to prioritize your applications and to give serious consideration to the timing of your requests.
• There are different application forms for non-profit organizations and government agencies that reflect differences in their legal and tax status, organizational structure and governance.  

Online Application Login

The Fund for Lake Michigan uses an online application and reporting process to manage grant records and to provide a simple, consistent point of contact for grantees. This process does not substitute for in-person meetings and conversations, but gives you an easy‐to‐access platform for making grant requests. Please follow these steps to access the pre-proposal:

1. Click the button below to log into our online grants management system.
2. If your organization has an existing account in The Fund for Lake Michigan online system, please follow these steps. Please do not create another account.
   • Log in by filling in the email address and password for your organization’s account.
   • There are two different applications available to choose from.  Click the apply button for either  the Government/University or the Non-Profit application form.
3. If your organization has never applied through The Fund for Lake Michigan online system, please follow these steps:
   • Select Create a New Account. This will prompt you to fill out a profile about your organization. Please create only one account for your organization.
   • There are two different applications available to choose from.  Click the apply button for either  the Government/University or the Non-Profit application form.

Questions regarding the online process may be directed to Casey Eggleston at casey@fundforlakemichigan.org.