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MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Home » What We Fund » How to Apply » Frequently Asked Questions
 

Frequently Asked Questions

 
Donating
  1. How much does a tribute cost?
     
  2. How quickly does the tribute get mailed out?
     
  3. Why hasn’t the donor received my tribute yet?
     
  4. What does the tribute card say?   Can I include a special message?
     
  5. Do you let the recipient know the amount of the donation?
     
  6. Why haven’t I received my acknowledgement yet?
     
  7. Why do I have to set up an account to make an online donation?
     
  8. Why won’t my online donation go through?
     
  9. How do I incorporate MAZON into my upcoming simcha?
     
  10. Can I earmark a donation?
     
  11. Why can’t I give my money directly to the grantee?
     
  12. How do I know you are a cost-effective organization?
     
Grantmaking
  1. Do you only give to Jewish organizations?
     
  2. Do you only give to organizations in the United States?
     
  3. Where does the money you raise go?
     
  4. How many organizations does MAZON fund each year?
     
  5. What is the typical size of a MAZON grant?
     
  6. Does MAZON accept unsolicited applications for funding?
     
  7. What is a Letter of Inquiry?
     
  8. Can I submit my Letter of Inquiry online?
     
  9. Once I submit my Letter of Inquiry, when will I hear back from MAZON?
     
  10. Does MAZON award grants for capital campaigns, equipment, and/or food purchase?
     
  11. What does MAZON not fund?
     
  12. Does MAZON make emergency grants?
     
Miscellaneous
  1. Why isn’t my temple listed as a MAZON partner synagogue?
     
  2. Does MAZON collect or distribute food?
     
Donating
Q-1. How much does a tribute cost?
Answer. MAZON requests a suggested minimum of $18 per tribute.
   
Q-2. How quickly does the tribute get mailed out?
Answer. Most tributes are mailed out within 48 hours of receipt during business days.
   
Q-3. Why hasn’t my honoree received my tribute yet?
Answer. Tribute cards are usually mailed out within 48 hours of receipt. Very occasionally a tribute card may become lost in the mail, not received or inadvertently discarded by the recipient. We are always willing to resend a tribute card with an accompanying apology note to the recipient if requested. Please contact our Director of Donor Services, Bria Silbert at (310) 442-0020 x.103 or bsilbert@mazon.org.
   
Q-4. What does the tribute card say? Can I include a special message?
Answer. Tribute cards are all personalized and can contain any message you wish. Please make sure to include:
 
  • Occasion/event
  • How you want your name(s) to appear on the card
  • Recipient’s mailing or email address
  • Any special message you wish to include
   
Q-5. Do you let the recipient know the amount of the donation?
Answer. We will share with the recipient your name(s) and any special message you included on the tribute card, but we do not tell them the amount of your donation, unless you specifically request it.
   
Q-6. Why haven’t I received my acknowledgement yet?
Answer. Tributes are mailed out immediately upon receipt since they are the most time sensitive portion of a donation. Donor acknowledgements are usually mailed out within a week of receipt of the gift. If you made a donation online through our website, your email confirmation serves as your acknowledgement. If you need a printed acknowledgement sent/emailed to you, please call our office at (310) 442-0020.
   
Q-7. Why do I have to set up an account to make an online donation?
Answer. Having a mandatory account sign-up is the only way we are able to make sure our online donors, most of whom are repeat donors, will have their information saved for their next visit to mazon.org. The account set-up process is designed to be simple and to take a minimal amount of time. Please know that our online system does not handle online donations any differently than our old-fashioned, through-the-mail system handles regular check and credit card donations. In other words, the information retained in a donor's online account is for the donor's use only. MAZON has never, and will never, rent, sell or otherwise trade our donors' confidential personal information.

In the event that you still prefer not to create an online account, you can call our office at (310) 442-0020 and make a credit card donation over the phone, email your information to donorquestions@mazon.org, or fax us your contribution information at (310) 442-0030.
   
Q-8. Why won’t my online donation go through?
Answer. Online donations are processed and charged in “real time” through our website. Possible reasons why your donation did not go through:
 
  • Incorrect credit card number
  • Mailing address on card does not match address you provided
  • Incorrect/missing expiration date
  • Incorrect/missing security code (even if you have an established credit card on file, you must enter your security code each time you make a donation)
   
Q-9. How do I incorporate MAZON into my upcoming simcha?
Answer. There are many ways to share your simcha with MAZON. Please visit our Celebrate section for more information.
   
Q-10. Can I earmark a donation?
Answer. MAZON makes grants in nearly every state in the U.S., as well as granting money to Israel and to less developed countries who need our help around the world. Unless you are responding to a MAZON emergency appeal for a specific fund (i.e. Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, Myanmar), donations may not be earmarked for a specific project or region. If you have any questions concerning earmarking a gift or wish to discuss this further, please contact our Director of Donor Services, Bria Silbert at (310) 442-0020 x. 103 or email her at bsilbert@mazon.org.
   
Q-11. Why can’t I give my money directly to the grantee?
Answer. MAZON believes that helping a deserving organization involves a two-pronged approach.

We recommend supporting your neighborhood community organization(s) by participating in food drives and through volunteer work.

We recommend making a financial contribution to MAZON to help those living in all of our communities who are in need of help. MAZON’s single focus is in alleviating and preventing hunger, and we have the staff expertise and the resources to choose those anti-hunger organizations that are most effective and efficient in helping and educating poor and hungry people. We also pride ourselves as a leading national funder engaged in systemic change through advocacy and corrective public policy. MAZON thus is “value-added” to your precious gift of sustaining life.
   
Q-12. How do I know you are a cost-effective organization?
Answer. MAZON has one of the lowest overhead ratios in the nonprofit sector with eighty-four cents ($0.84) of every dollar going to program-support. We have a 4-star rating on Charity Navigator; we received an “A” from Charity Watch; and we meet all 20 BBI standard of accountability. Click here to learn more about MAZON’s financials.
 
Grantmaking
Q-1. Do you only give to Jewish organizations?
Answer. While MAZON is supportive of many Jewish organizations, we are a Jewish response to hunger and not as response to Jewish hunger. In keeping with the best of Jewish tradition, MAZON responds to those in need regardless of race, geographic region, ethnicity or religion.

Currently, approximately 20-25% of our domestic grants are awarded to Jewish-sponsored organizations. Additionally, the majority of our International grantmaking supports programs in Israel, and Jewish communities living in the Diaspora
   
Q-2. Do you only give to organizations in the United States?
Answer. About 85-90% of MAZON’s grants are domestic and the other 10-15% are granted internationally depending on the grants cycle. Please see What We Fund for more information.
   
Q-3. Where does the money you raise go?
Answer. MAZON’s grants are both national and international in nature. Please click here to find out more about how our funds are allocated.
   
Q-4. How many organizations does MAZON fund each year?
Answer. MAZON grants more than $4 million, to over 300 anti-hunger organizations, each year.
Learn more about MAZON’s recent grantees.
   
Q-5. What is the typical size of a MAZON grant?
Answer. MAZON’s grants range from $5,000 to $50,000; however, the average grant size is between $10,000 and $15,000.
   
Q-6. Does MAZON accept unsolicited applications for funding?
Answer. We are not able to accept unsolicited applications or those that do not follow our application format. Organizations interested in applying for a MAZON grant must first submit a Letter of Inquiry describing the work for which funding is sought. Learn more about how to apply for a MAZON grant.
   
Q-7. What is a Letter of Inquiry?
Answer. A Letter of Inquiry expresses interest in applying for a MAZON grant. It also provides an overview of the agency’s work and/or the program for which funding is sought.

As part of MAZON’s two-step application process, organizations interested in applying for a MAZON grant must first submit a Letter of Inquiry. From the information provided in the Letter of Inquiry, MAZON staff determines whether or not an organization will be invited to submit a full proposal for consideration for funding.
   
Q-8. Can I submit my Letter of Inquiry online?
Answer. Yes, you can! Organizations not wanting to submit an electronic Letter of Inquiry may send their correspondence via regular mail. Submit a Letter of Inquiry to MAZON.
   
Q-9. Once I submit my Letter of Inquiry, when will I hear back from MAZON?
Answer.

Submission windows for Letters of Inquiry are March 1 - May 1 for the Fall Grant Cycle and September 1 - November 1 for the Spring Grant Cycle. Regardless of when you submit your Letter of Inquiry, MAZON will contact organizations regarding the status of their letter of inquiry by December 31 (for spring) or June 30 (for fall).

Organizations that have been invited to apply will receive information on how to access MAZON’s online grant application. Organizations that do not receive an invitation to submit a full application will also be notified.
   
Q-10. Does MAZON award grants for capital campaigns, equipment, and/or food purchase?
Answer.

MAZON does not provide grants for capital campaigns. On occasion, MAZON has provided modest support for equipment and/or food purchase.

However, grants for these types of requests are very rare and are limited to organizations serving low-income people in rural areas. Organizations interested in requesting funding for equipment and/or food purchase must first receive permission from MAZON before doing so.
   
Q-11. What does MAZON not fund?
Answer.

Although we recognize their importance, we are not able to fund the following types of programs: organizations with high community visibility (i.e., Red Cross or Salvation Army); special holiday meals programs; organizations/projects focused principally on preventing homelessness; organizations that charge individuals for food; government entities or professional associations; job-training programs; other grantmakers; capital campaigns; and documentary film projects.

MAZON also does not: provide grants to individuals or organizations without 501(c)(3) status; provide renewed funding to past grantees that have not satisfactorily completed the terms of past MAZON grants; or accept more than one proposal at a time from the same organization. Learn more about MAZON’s funding guidelines.
   
Q-12. Does MAZON make emergency grants?
Answer. Occasionally, MAZON’s staff and board of directors approve grants to address emergency situations. Examples are natural disasters and humanitarian crises that devastate low-income communities in the United States and abroad.

MAZON is unable to entertain unsolicited emergency requests. When an emergency situation arises that is appropriate for MAZON’s involvement, we work with our network of grantees and partners in the broader hunger/poverty community to respond.

 
Miscellaneous
Q-1. Why isn’t my temple listed as a MAZON partner synagogue?
Answer. MAZON “partner synagogues” are congregations that have elected, through their board of directors, to become partners with us in our ongoing work. There is no threshold financial commitment, just an obligation to participate in our two annual national appeals each year. For more information on how your temple can become a MAZON partner synagogue, click here
   
Q-2.

Does MAZON collect or distribute food?
Answer.

No.  If you would like to make a food donation or are looking for emergency food assistance, please contact our office for information at (310) 442-0020 or at volunteer@mazon.org  about a MAZON grantee near you.
 
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