Due Diligence

• We do not expect you to know every part of the JLF grantmaking process by heart, and we understand mistakes happen! However, we do ask applicants to familiarize themselves with the instructions in our grantmaking portal and to follow those instructions, including:

  • Opening your application by 9am ET on Wednesday, April 29th— this is required to submit to the 2026 grantmaking cycle.

  • Reviewing all grant application materials, including the Request for Proposals posted on the JLF website and the 2026 Grantmaking Cycle Info Session, at least a few weeks ahead of the submission deadline.

  We will not be able to grant extensions due to last minute questions that are sent within one week of the application deadline.

Otherwise, your program officer is here to help, so please be proactive and feel free to reach out to them directly!

Communicating with JLF

• JLF may be a funder, but our staff, the members of our Steering Committee, and the members of our Community Grantmaking Team (CGT) are humans too! We are committed to treating grant applicants with respect and dignity, and we expect all applicants treat members of our team with respect and dignity as well.

  JLF will take any allegation of disrespect from our program staff seriously, so if there is any instance in which members of our program staff do not follow these guidelines, please reach out to one of our co-executive directors with your concern.

  This doesn’t mean you have to be a robot! As a funder, we know we hold power in our relationship with grant applicants, and we will inevitably have to deliver disappointing news to a number of the people moving through our grantmaking process. You’re allowed to disagree with us. However, threats, insults, and personal attacks towards the member of our program staff will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification of your application in future grant cycles.

• Attempting to directly communicate about your application with members of our Community Grantmaking Team or Steering Committee, is prohibited and will result in the disqualification of your application.

Extensions

Each step and deadline in our participatory grantmaking process is highly interconnected. Our staff and the team at Proteus Fund work hard to give our Community Grantmaking Team (CGT) the information they need to review your application thoughtfully, rigorously, and on time. We’ve built in as many buffers as we can, but we make an effort to give applicants enough time to work on their applications in each stage while keeping our grantmaking process tight. Therefore, out of respect for our staff, the Proteus fund grantmaking team, and our CGT, extensions will only be granted in circumstances as described below.

All extensions granted will be exactly one week from the deadline.

• Extensions for pre-planned, long-term conflicts within the application window

  • JLF may grant extensions due to an individual being absent from an applying organization due to personal travel, work conflict, or a Sabbatical.

  • These extensions must be requested within the first week of the relevant stage of the application opening.

  • These absences must have been planned prior to the grantmaking process, and this individual must be unavailable to the applying organization for at least 75% of the time between the opening of one stage of the JLF grant cycle and that stage’s due date.

• Extensions for sudden and serious crisis

  • We understand life happens, and if you’re behind on your application when you have a personal crisis, we can grant an extension.

  • These extensions will be granted for those experiencing sudden or debilitating illness, family emergency; the sudden illness or death of a loved one, or another sudden and serious crisis.

In general, we want to work with you. We need as much communication, in advance, in order to do so. When in doubt, just reach out.

Role of a JLF Program Officer

LOI Stage

During the LOI Stage (Stage 1), JLF Program Officers will respond to questions about the content of grant applications via the JLF LOI Question Form. You can choose to receive answers to your questions via signal voice note or via email.

We aspire to answer all questions within two work days of submission. We promise to answer all questions submitted before 48 hours before the submission deadline. We will still make our best effort to answer all submitted questions but cannot guarantee we answer all last-minute questions.

Questions about technical issues with the grantmaking portal should be directed to fluxx@proteusfund.org.

Full Proposal Stage

During the Full Proposal Stage (Stage 2), JLF program officers are here to help you make your application the strongest it can be. In the interest of providing high-quality, fair, and equal support to all Stage 2 applicants, our program officers will make the following available to each applicant. Taking advantage of these options is completely optional for grantees and will not have an effect on grantmaking decisions.

• Answering questions about the JLF grantmaking process via email;

• One 15-minute call to answer general questions about the grantmaking process;

• Reading a draft of your proposal one time, AND

  • Providing detailed written feedback via email or in comments directly on a shared document, OR

  • Providing feedback on the application in a 45-minute call.

You may reach out to your program officer throughout the process for feedback, or with questions about the application process more generally.

Declined Applicants

All declined applicants may schedule one meeting with their JLF program officer to receive feedback on why their application was not funded. JLF program officers will prioritize supporting current applications but schedule these meetings as soon as possible.

Decision-Making

The JLF program staff has a very small role to play in making actual grantmaking decisions. Overwhelmingly, our job is to support applicants to build the strongest application possible!

• Invitations to apply for a Launchpad Grant will be decided by the JLF program staff in collaboration with the JLF Steering Committee.

• Members of the JLF program team do not make recommendations to the Community Grantmaking Team.

• 10% of our grantmaking dollars will be allocated by the JLF Steering Committee in collaboration with JLF program staff.