Grant Applications
Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation does not accept applications or requests from individuals. Further, the Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. Unsolicited prospective applicants are welcome to tender a Letter of Interest (LOI) consistent with the instructions provided on the Letter of Interest webpage to provide information on their charitable activities and impact. Our staff are not authorized to assist you completing or submitting the LOI and will not accept or even open attachments to an electronically submitted LOI. You are not to contact us directly to inquire if you should submit an LOI nor while we are evaluating the LOI if you elected to submit one.
Though the plurality of our annual giving budget is allocated to the Jefferson Parish MSA and parts of the Louisiana coastline, the Foundation proudly supports quality projects in other geographic areas in the United States, particularly with regards to medical research and basic science.
The Foundation affirmatively develops its programing years in advance. In 2025 remain focused on our Fundamental Research Program(s), our Shelter & Food Security Program, our SupportSTEM Program, our Summer Camp Program, our Excellence Award Program, and our Service Learning Program. We are also active with our Foundation Center and Tree Nursery (both in Jefferson Parish) for native Louisiana plants and trees.
Our application packets can be found as follows (some are password protected):
1. Shelter & Food Security Program – The application packet is password protected and available within the field below to any approved applicants addressing housing, shelter and/or food security matters. Only Louisiana and Mississippi based organizations are expected to apply under this program. Please mail written correspondence to the Foundation to request a current password. In 2024, a significant portion of funding under this program was used for research or developmental initiatives with agriculturally oriented universities located within or servicing Louisiana. If you believe your organization is a good candidate to be invited to apply to this program in future years, you may submit an LOI to make sure we know about your programming. Please visit our Letter of Interest webpage for LOI submission protocols.
2. Summer Camp Program – Please visit the Education Department section of this website to download the application. The application window for the 2025 Summer Camp Program will close on January 31, 2025. We will likely run a summer camp program in 2026 with a similar November – January application window; however, such decision will not be made until fall 2025.
3. SupportSTEM Program – Please visit the Education Department section of this website to download the application. This highly competitive program is seeking the best plans to support for curriculum implementation or STEM instruction for K-12 schools. The application window for the 2025 SupportSTEM Program will close on March 15, 2025.
4. Service Learning Program – the Foundation will be working closely with the STEM Library Lab (operating out of the Brown Foundation’s STEM Ecosystem Hub building) on the Service Learning Program as we combine our service learning efforts with theirs to foster growth of more schools and more classrooms in this program. All questions relating to proposed service learning plans, reporting on previous plans and general service learning questions should be directed to Maria Landrum who is employed by the STEM Library Lab. K-12 schools should visit the STEM Library Lab’s Service Learning Program website for information on applying for the 2025-2026 school year.
5. Emmy Noether Awards – The Emmy Noether Awards seek top aspiring female research scientists in any STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) field to help realize their potential careers through financial and networking assistance. The Project Coordinator for the Emmy Noether Awards is Nicole Hebert and she may be reached at emmynoetheraward@thebrownfoundation.org. Please visit the Education Department section of this website for more information.
The above are the Brown Foundation’s only support programs with an application. Other support programs such as our Basic Science programming in Oncology, Neuroscience, Agriculture or Environmental Science do not have an application in any traditional sense. Rather, top tier research organizations such as LSU, Tulane, Southern University, SALK and The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium: LUMCON were invited to compete in our Basic Science programming and are undergoing other protocols.