Thank you for your interest in our 2026 grantmaking cycle!
Applications are due Tuesday, July 21, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Please find answers to frequently asked general, eligibility and application questions below. This page was most recently updated in July 2026.
General questions
Is Arbor Rising the same as Arbor Brothers?
Yes! You can read about our 2022 name change here.
How can I learn more about your approach and work?
In addition to our website, we encourage you to review our track record of impact, hear from prior grantees about their experience, and peruse our annual grantee survey results.
Can I call, email, or meet with you before the deadline to discuss my LOI?
Due to expected volume, we are not able to accept applicant phone calls or meeting requests. If you still have questions after consulting this FAQ, please reach out via apply@arborrising.org.
Responses are generally provided within two business days.
I'm excited to apply! How do I access the 2026 application?
Our team was impressed with your LOI submission. The email you received with information to access this page also included a link to our application.
A few dates to note:
1. Tuesday, July 21st - Applications due by 5pm ET
2. Wednesday, August 12th - Semi-finalists notified
3. Wednesday, September 2nd - Finalists notified
4. Friday, October 16th - Grant awards announced
Between rounds, our team will conduct diligence, interview semi-finalists, and visit finalists in-person.
Eligibility questions
What types of organizations should apply?
Arbor Rising supports direct service nonprofits that are:
-
Building pathways out of poverty: An organizational focus on creating opportunities for low-income individuals to achieve economic mobility, most often through investing in education, job training, or other forms of human capital development.
-
High potential: Committed and diverse leadership teams employing a model which has delivered (or is on track to deliver) meaningful outcomes for program participants.
-
Second-stage: Operating an observable program and exhibiting a demonstrated interest in strengthening organizational performance. While this improvement focus can manifest at any point in an organization’s lifecycle, we find it most common between operating years 2-10 (what we generally term “the second stage”). Historically, AR's median incoming grantee is five years old with a budget of $1.2M.
To be eligible for support, organizations must:
-
Have 501(c)(3) status or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization
-
Be based in and operate within the lower 48 states
-
Have operated as an organization for at least 2 years, but no more than 15 years
-
Have at least four full-time, paid staff members
-
Have an annual operating budget of more than $500,000 and less than $3,000,000
-
We make exceptions to the above operating budget guidelines for:
-
Organizations less than five years old with budgets exceeding $3,000,000; and
-
Schools and school networks with overall budgets up to $30,000,000 that are launching or growing programs which advance student outcomes
-
-
Unfortunately, organizations that fall into the below categories fall outside the bounds of our program model and are excluded from grant consideration:
-
For-profit entities
-
Individuals, scholarships, and/or endowments
-
Political parties
-
Sectarian entities (religious, political or ideological in nature) whose services are limited to a particular sect or who require participants to adhere to specific dogma, political point of view or religious practice in order to receive services
-
Advocacy-only organizations
-
Broad multi-service community agencies
-
Local or regional affiliates or chapters of national organizations
I thought Arbor Rising only funded organizations in NY, CT, and NJ. My organization is not located in this region. Is my organization eligible to apply?
From 2011 to 2024, we partnered exclusively with organizations serving participants in the NY-NJ-CT region. Since then, we have accepted qualified applicants from across the contiguous United States, though we still prioritize those serving under-resourced populations in the greater NYC metro area.
How does Arbor Rising select grantees?
Arbor Rising uses the criteria below to select grantees. The most competitive applicants build a clear and compelling case around each of these aspects over the course of our application process.
-
Mission alignment: A strong application will describe a clear mission that addresses an opportunity gap—somewhere between cradle to career—that limits economic mobility. Are the organizational goals appropriately ambitious and clearly defined? Are target outcomes specified and measurable?
-
Effective program: A strong application will also explain how the organizational model gives program participants a feasible path to achieving the target outcomes. Can the organization achieve these outcomes efficiently over time?
-
Strong leadership: The application and interviews with management shed light on the leader’s desire to adapt and grow. What kind of commitment to the organization have they demonstrated? Does management have a record of achievement? Is management curious and motivated to improve the organization?
-
Needs alignment: Additionally, management interviews indicate the degree to which consulting support might help address the organization’s most pressing challenges. What is holding the organization back? How might resolving these challenges increase efficiency or impact? Is Arbor Rising equipped to add value?
Selection questions
I have a decent sense of the numbers you’re seeking but I’m not 100% sure of all of them. What should I do?
If you have exact numbers, please include them. If you have only a reasoned estimate, that is fine. If your numbers have been updated since the LOI submission, please include that updated data. All the numbers can be tightened and confirmed in later rounds.
How do you define “low-income”?
Since there is no perfect measure of “low-income” (or poverty for that matter) we don’t have an internal specific measure or bar to which we hold applicants. Instead, we’re seeking a realistic picture of the participants you serve. With that in mind, some people use the federal poverty guidelines, others use free/reduced lunch percentages, and others use self-reporting measures. We appreciate quantitative detail wherever possible.
As mentioned above, if you have exact numbers please include them. If you have only a reasoned estimate, approximate percentages are okay for the written application.
How do you distinguish between core participants and ancillary participants?
Some organizations serve multiple groups of participants, some more deeply than others. The core participants are those that you serve deeply. If you only have one group of participants, then consider them all to be core.
Said another way: core participants are those for whom you hold yourself accountable to outcomes. Ancillary participants are those who you work with, but whose outcomes are either not tracked or on whom you feel you have only a minor impact.
For example: Organization A serves 3,000 people every year. 220 people participate in its 6-day-per-week academics and sports program over the course of 12 months. Those are the core participants. The remaining 2,780 people participate anywhere between 1-time sports lesson to 2-week summer session. Those are ancillary participants.
Does the dosage question refer to past operations or current operations? For example, my organization is only 2 years old, but I’m building a 5-year program. How should I answer the question about dosage?
The dosage questions refer to planned operations. For the example above, if participants are two years into a 5-year program, then list “5” for the “# of years they participate” question.
One section of the Narrative component of the application asks about evaluation and program results. Can you share an example of how we might formulate our response?
Sample excerpt: If you are a college access program who helps high school students get to and through college, you might share something like...
“We measure student retention during the duration of our 4-year HS program, on-time HS graduation rates, college acceptance rates, college matriculation rates within 6 months of HS graduation and on-time college graduation rates. We have engaged 1,000 high school students over the last five years. During that time, of students who started our program in 9th grade:
-
90% of students graduated HS on-time and were accepted into college (90% of 1,000 students = 900 students)
-
80% of those who were accepted into college matriculated within 6 months of graduation (80% of 900 students = 720 students)
-
80% of those who matriculated into college within 6 months are on-track to graduate from college within 5 years (80% of 720 students = 580 students)
-
Our hope is that in our next program year we can improve these yields from 90%/80%/80% to 95%/85%/85%.”
Is the Diversity Questionnaire actually optional?
Yes. If you are able to submit this information, we will be pleased to receive it. If the information is not readily accessible or if you are not comfortable sharing, your application will not be negatively affected.
How important is it that we’re interested in capacity-strengthening, and not just funding?
Very. Our model pairs unrestricted funding with a high-dosage consulting engagement of 200-300 hours per year. Organizations that are not ready or excited to invest leadership time in this kind of capacity-strengthening work are unlikely to be a strong fit for Arbor Rising.
