What's New in 2022

We'd like to announce some changes at our Foundation that are new in 2022 and going forward. If you haven’t heard, our long-time leader Steve Martinenza retired at the end of 2021. While he will be dearly missed, we wish him all the best after his steadfast leadership over the past 30+ years.

With that, we would like to announce that Chris Grundner has taken over as Executive Director of the Crestlea Foundation. Some of you may know Chris from his role as CEO of the Welfare Foundation, which he will continue to hold. Kristin Sommers, who you may be familiar with in her roles at the Crestlea Foundation and Welfare Foundation, will remain in her position as Grants Associate with both organizations. 

As you may recall, Crestlea Foundation operates one grant cycle per year. This will not change. However, the deadline for submitting applications is being updated. Instead of the typical September 1st deadline that you have been familiar with, the new application deadline will be January 15th, with a decision coming from the Trustees by mid-April. 

With this change taking effect immediately, please keep in mind that there will technically not be an official application period in 2022, as the next deadline will be January 15, 2023. With this extended application period, we do encourage you to reach out to our team if you have an emergency or special circumstance arise between now and January 15, 2023 to discuss a possible off-cycle application. We will address these on a case-by-case basis as they come in.

We strongly recommend every applicant request a meeting with our team prior to applying, but a meeting is required with the following circumstances:
  · You have never applied to Crestlea previously,
  · You have applied, but never previously been funded by Crestlea,
  · You last received funding from Crestlea more than 5 years ago,
  · You plan on requesting more than $15,000, or
  · You have new leadership or have had a change of organizational strategic direction.

Chris and Kristin can be reached at the following email addresses:
cgrundner@crestlea.org
ksommers@crestlea.org

Also available for your reference is this newly updated website, where you can find more application parameters and eligibility criteria for applying to Crestlea. 

If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate in reaching out.

We look forward to working with you in the years to come. Stay safe, keep up the great work, and THANK YOU for all that you do!

In partnership,
Chris and Kristin