The Granting Process

In the order of nature we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. 
But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line,  
deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1 - Introduction
In mid-2014 Kevin Raber and Michael Reichmann, respectively publishers and founders of Luminous-landscape.com, created the Luminous Endowment for Photographers.  The Endowment is a charitable fund whose goal is to provide financial assistance through grants to help deserving photographers worldwide fulfill their vision and complete their projects.
I was invited to be one of the judges for the Luminous Endowment for Photographers. This is a non-paid position that I accepted because I want to return something to the photographic community.

2 - My experience
The first round of applications took place in the fall of 2014 and the winners were announced in late November 2014.  As a judge I had to provide my selection of winning entries by Novemb...