Legacy Partners

At RTNF, we use the terms "Legacy Partner" and "Legacy Grant" fairly frequently. Applicants and partners probably see us reference this special category of partner, but may not know what it means.

What is a Legacy Partner?

A Legacy Partner is an organization that is special to RTNF because, in many cases, they are funding partnerships we have maintained since the days of our founders, Ray and Tye. Legacy Partners are not currently required to submit requests for funding according to normal grant periods, but are awarded a relatively consistent gift each year and are simply required to report on the use of those funds at the end of each year.

Since 2015, RTNF has been overseen by a second generation of board members, and we have bolstered new funding areas. We refer to our new grants as Regular or Strategic Grants, and the older, more automatic funding relationships are referred to as Legacy Grants.

How do I know if I'm a Legacy Partner?

By now, we have informed all of our Legacy Partners of their special status. As mentioned above, most of these organizations were originally supported by Ray or Tye Noorda many years ago, and in their honor and memory we have continued to make these annual gifts.

Can Legacy Partners apply for funding?

As mentioned above, Legacy Partners are not required to submit regular funding requests, although they do report on our annual gift each year. In the past, they were typically awarded a consistent grant amount each year. However, they also are not prohibited from making additional funding requests for funding over and above the regular annual gift RTNF makes to them. New funding requests are reviewed according to our stated mission, values, and criteria. Such requests must be submitted during RTNF’s regular grant cycle through our Partner Portal.

What is the future of the Legacy Grants program?

In 2018, we began a wind-down period of our Legacy grants program over a 5 year period (see below). This means that starting in 2018, RTNF began a "sunset period" with each of its Legacy Partners and as well as a gradual reduction of the annual gift made to those organizations, with a concluding Legacy Grant being made in 2022. The table below shows how the gradual reduction is taking place

2018 - 100% normal gift amount
2019 - 80% normal gift amount
2020 - 60% normal gift amount
2021 - 40% normal gift amount
2022 - 20% normal gift amount
2023 - 0% normal gift amount

As stated above, Legacy Partners are still welcome to apply for increases in funding through our regular application process, but will be reviewed within our full applicant pool. We are also in the process of investigating/developing a replacement program for former Legacy Partners. We will share more information once details are available.