Community Grant Guidelines Updated May 2016

Transcription

1 Cmmunity Grant Guidelines Updated May 2016 Prgram Gals The Cmmunity Grants Prgram is a bradly accessible, respnsive statewide grants prgram. Its lng-term gals are t strengthen the scial fabric f ur cmmunities and imprve the lives f all Oregnians. This prgram respnds t evlving, cmmunity-identified needs and builds civic leadership and engagement. Guiding Principles We believe that creative and sustainable slutins cme frm peple wh wrk in partnership t address cmmn needs and aspiratins. We give high pririty t investments that create psitive, substantive change and attempt t reslve prblems at their surce. We recgnize and respect Oregn s diverse regins and ppulatins, and we seek t advance equity, diversity and inclusin thrugh ur prgrams. Prgram Details The Cmmunity Grants Prgram awards abut 350 grants annually, with the average award $20,000 and the award range usually $5,000 t $50,000. Ttal awards thrugh this prgram are abut $6.5 millin per year, with percent f the resurces cming frm dnr advised funds 1 and the balance frm OCF s discretinary funds. Tw Cmmunity Grant cycles ccur annually, with an applicatin deadline f January 15 fr a Bard decisin in early May, and an applicatin deadline f July 15 fr a Bard decisin in early Nvember. Abut requests are submitted each cycle. Please visit OCF s website at regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants fr applicatin lg-in directins and additinal guidance. Early Bird Incentive! Nnprfits wh submit an applicatin by midnight n June 20 will be entered autmatically int a drawing t receive a $2,500 grant fr general perating supprt in July. Nndiscriminatin Plicy OCF des nt discriminate n the basis f race, ethnicity, clr, religin, gender, gender identity r expressin, sexual rientatin, disabilities, age, status as a veteran, natinal rigin r any ther prtected class. Applicants fr Cmmunity Grants must hld similar standards in the prvisin f services. 1 Dnr advised funds are created by dnrs wh advise OCF s bard n hw t use the funds incme. Nnprfits cannt apply directly t advised funds; hwever, OCF shares Cmmunity Grant prpsals with advised fund dnrs. Discretinary funds are created by dnrs wh leave allcatin at the bard s discretin. Page 1 f r grants@regncf.rg

2 Fur Funding Pririties & Objectives fr Each Health & Wellbeing f Vulnerable Ppulatins (30%-40% f grants) 1. Imprve cmmunity-based health and wellness, including ral and mental/behaviral health 2. Address basic human needs, such as fd, husing and related services 3. Imprve the quality f life, safety and self-sufficiency f at-risk ppulatins Educatinal Opprtunities & Achievement (30%-40%) 4. Prmte scial, emtinal and cgnitive develpment f yung children, including prgrams that supprt and educate parents and effrts that engage vlunteers 5. Expand academic supprt, mentring and recreatinal prgrams fr children and yuth, particularly t clse the achievement gap 6. Braden wrkplace, career and pstsecndary experiences and pprtunities fr yuth 7. Imprve adult literacy, skill develpment, educatin and wrkfrce training Arts & Cultural Organizatins (15%-25%) 8. Strengthen and stabilize arts and cultural nnprfits, and supprt cllabrative effrts 9. Cultivate and supprt appreciatin f diverse cultures and art frms 10. Deepen cmmunity-based arts educatin fr children and adults 11. Encurage audience engagement, particularly t reach underserved ppulatins Cmmunity Livability, Envirnment & Citizen Engagement (10%-20%) 12. Prmte leadership develpment, vlunteerism, immigrant integratin, and civic participatin 13. Supprt stewardship and appreciatin f Oregn s utdr spaces and scenic beauty 14. Address scial, ecnmic and envirnmental challenges r pprtunities by bringing tgether disparate stakehlders 15. Preserve places essential t cmmunities civic and histric identities Page 2 f r grants@regncf.rg

3 Prject Types Cmmunity Grants help nnprfits better serve their lcal cmmunities, with awards generally fr: Prgram develpment r expansin Mdest capital prjects Building the capacity f a nnprfit t strengthen r stabilize its peratins In additin, OCF ccasinally awards ne-year-nly bridge supprt fr cre peratins. These are rare and it is imprtant that: (1) applicant s missin is a clse fit with OCF funding pririties, (2) the need is temprary, and (3) applicant has a clear, viable plan fr replacing OCF supprt with mre sustainable funding after the grant year. Restrictins & Applicatin Frequency The Cmmunity Grants Prgram is nt a surce f nging annual funding fr an rganizatin. Als, OCF des nt supprt the same prject twice. If a prject is funded, the grantee may nt submit the same prject again (unless the prject was ffered a multi-year pprtunity). Large awards and multi-year awards are ffered, but nt frequently. And preference is given t nnprfit applicants wh have NOT received multiple Cmmunity Grants in recent years. If yu apply and DO NOT receive a grant, yu may nt apply fr anther grant until 12 mnths after yur previus applicatin was submitted. Essentially this means ne applicatin per 12-mnth perid if yu were unsuccessful in seeking a grant. If yu apply and DO receive a grant, yu may nt apply fr anther grant until 18 mnths after yur previus applicatin was submitted. This means yu must finish yur 12-mnth grant perid and present yur pst-grant evaluatin befre yu may submit a new applicatin the equivalent f an 18-mnth perid. (The nly exceptin is a multi-year award, which requires a renewal applicatin each year.) Activities Typically Nt Eligible fr Cmmunity Grant Funding Events r perfrmances (either ne-time r annual) unless they will result in significant grwth in nging rganizatinal capacity, financial stability r audience diversity Annual fund appeals and cntributins t endwments Prjects in individual schls Grants t subsidize participatin (schlarships) r re-granting prgrams Purchases r activities that ccur prir t grant decisins Deficit funding Replacement f gvernment funding Lbbying t influence legislatin Scientific research Religius activities Page 3 f r grants@regncf.rg

4 Develping a Strng Cmmunity Grant Prpsal Cmpetitiveness Regardless f whether grant requests are fr prgrams, capacity building, capital prjects r bridge funding, they shuld be clearly written and present a strng case fr supprt. Belw are the elements that make grant requests cmpetitive. Organizatinal Qualities 1. Missin is a clse fit with OCF funding bjectives 2. Prgrams address an imprtant cmmunity need 3. Cmmunity supprt is evident bth thrugh lcal cntributins and vlunteer engagement 4. Organizatin has a track recrd f effective wrk Prject Qualities 5. Addresses gaps in pprtunities related t educatin, health, incme r ther imprtant areas due t gegraphy, incme, race/ethnicity, age, gender, sexual rientatin, etc. 6. Staffing and leadership reflect the ppulatin t be served and/r the ppulatin t be served was invlved in develpment f services t address their needs 7. Prject aligns with rganizatin s verarching missin, expertise and lng-term gals 8. Gd planning is evident in the prject timetable, gals, staffing and sustainability 9. A Cmmunity Grant award (average f $20,000) has the ptential fr impact 10. Significant funding is already in hand 11. Plans fr evaluating impact are clear, apprpriate and achievable 12. Any prpsed cllabratin with ther rganizatins has been frmalized Large r Multi-Year Requests In the case f larger requests r multi-year requests (maximum f three years), clse attentin is paid t the nnprfit s histry, including: Stability in staff and bard Uniqueness f prgrams and leadership in its field Excellence in financial management, and breadth and stability f funding Prject Budgets If n funding has been secured r n lcal supprt is evident, it is almst impssible t be cmpetitive. Prject revenues shuld shw brad-based supprt, including funds frm the lcal cmmunity. Applicants may include the value f in-kind supprt (dnated gds r services) in their prject budgets. Prject expenditures shuld crrelate clearly t prject activities. Alignment f the tw suggests clear, cnsistent gals and slid planning. Page 4 f r grants@regncf.rg

5 Guidance fr Capacity-Building Prjects Capacity-building prpsals are requests fr resurces t help a nnprfit better fulfill its missin. Gals ften are t adjust the rganizatin s efficiency, size r effectiveness. Methds vary but a gd nnprfit seeks t develp and sustain a quality wrkfrce, stable finances and effective versight. Sme experts describe the equatin as this: Leadership + Adaptability + Prgram Capacity = Sustainability OCF recgnizes that prgram expansin is nt always apprpriate. A nnprfit may be the right size already r it may have an eye tward grwth but must prepare fr that future. In either case, the nnprfit s greatest need may be t strengthen r stabilize its existing peratins. Examples f Eligible Activities Cllabrating with ther rganizatins t imprve services r eliminate duplicatin Strengthening gvernance, leadership r staff expertise Restructuring business mdels 2 and accunting practices t imprve financial stability Building and diversifying revenue streams 3 Develping and implementing lng-term strategic plans Refining cmmunicatins, marketing and utreach Imprving vlunteer recruitment, training and engagement Acquiring r imprving impact measurement tls and prgram evaluatin capacity Pursuing pprtunities t share space, equipment r ther administrative csts Enhancing technlgy (excluding rutine upgrades) Specifics Related t Capacity-Building Prjects Capacity-building grant prpsals shuld reflect bard-level cmmitment t the prpsed activities. OCF recgnizes that a nnprfit s needs are impacted by many factrs the ppulatin being served, the prgrams ffered, and the nnprfit s lcatin, age and sphisticatin. Prjects may encmpass a variety f activities but applicants shuld be clear abut the expected utcme f each. Our capacity-building supprt is nt meant t simply sustain day-t-day activity it is meant t help an rganizatin reach a new level f perating effectiveness. The anticipated utcme is greater nnprfit adaptability and durability. Lwer pririty is given t: nnprfits with n track recrd f cmmunity impact nnprfits with multi-millin-dllar annual perating budgets 2 By business mdel, we mean hw a nnprfit delivers services and supprts its activities thrugh a cst structure and a revenue strategy that cmbine earned and cntributed incme. 3 Requests t build earned incme streams r cntributins frm individuals and businesses are mre cmpetitive than requests t build grant writing capacity. Page 5 f r grants@regncf.rg

6 Questins OCF Asks During Prpsal Review 1. Hw is strengthening yur rganizatin s capacity imprtant t the cmmunity yu serve? What is the cntext fr this effrt? 2. What specific capacity-building steps will yu take? 3. Hw will yur rganizatin be different as a result f this effrt? 4. D yu have a lng-range plan adpted by the bard? 5. Has the bard identified the prpsed activities as a majr pririty? Hw much time will bard members devte t it? 6. What srt f staff time will be devted t prject activities? 7. If additinal staffing is part f yur capacity-building request, hw have yu determined the apprpriate skills, salary and recruitment strategy? And hw will yu sustain the psitin after the grant perid? 8. If yur prject invlves cllabratin with ther rganizatins, have the prpsed partners agreed t participate? 9. Are yur gals fr imprved capacity clearly defined? Hw will yu knw if yu have achieved yur gals? Page 6 f r grants@regncf.rg

7 Guidance fr Capital Prjects Capital prjects seek t imprve the physical assets f an rganizatin. Typical prjects include: building cnstructin r renvatin technlgy furnishings equipment vehicles Specifics Related t Capital Prjects Requests fr capital prjects shuld clearly detail tw things: A. Hw the quality f life in the cmmunity will be imprved as a result r hw the nnprfit will achieve significant new efficiencies B. Hw the nnprfit will maintain the new asset Lwer pririty is given t large capital campaigns fr which an average Cmmunity Grant will have less impact. And capital campaigns fr cllege campuses r medical centers are a lwer pririty unless the prject will have a direct impact n the neighbring cmmunity by husing cmmunity-based prgrams r prviding significant public access t meeting spaces and cmmunity services. Questins OCF Asks During Prpsal Review Prperty acquisitin, cnstructin and renvatin 1. D yu wn the prperty? If nt, please describe hw an OCF investment in imprvements wuld supprt the lng-term gals f yur rganizatin? 2. Is wnership f prperty r facilities critical t yur missin? 3. Culd new facilities be leased rather than built? What are the cmparative advantages f wning and leasing? 4. Has yur rganizatin cnsidered a lan as a feasible alternative t a capital fundraising campaign? 5. Culd sme f the csts be cvered thrugh in-kind dnatins? Is there an pprtunity fr greater cmmunity invlvement thrugh in-kind cntributins? 6. What are the plan and timetable fr develping the prperty? 7. What are the restrictins n the use f the prperty? 8. What is the status f any permits r licenses needed fr this prject? Page 7 f r grants@regncf.rg

8 Technlgy 1. What advantages will technlgy investments prvide? 2. Hw will yu measure the impact f new technlgy? 3. Have yu sught technlgy dnatins r reduced prices? 4. What kind f technical supprt is available t ensure the technlgy has the greatest impact? And have yu factred in the cst f training fr staff? Furnishings and Equipment 1. Hw will new furnishings r equipment change r enhance existing prgrams? 2. Will the changes be substantive? 3. Have suitable in-kind dnatins been slicited? Vehicles 1. What srt f vehicle are yu requesting and why? Hw will this vehicle impact the persns served by yur rganizatin? 2. Have lcal car dealerships r ther businesses r individuals been cntacted fr in-kind dnatins? 3. Will staff need special training r licenses t drive the vehicle? General 1. What are the csts f maintaining and ptentially insuring the new capital assets? 2. Des the prject increase r reduce yur annual expenses? If it increases annual expenses, d yu have the nging capacity t raise additinal funds? 3. Is the prject actually a maintenance effrt (e.g., rf repair, plumbing upgrades, r replacement f furniture) that culd be cnsidered the cst f ding business? 4. D yur prpsed changes reflect mandates by the Americans with Disabilities Act r ther legislatin? Page 8 f r grants@regncf.rg