NOBLECAUSE GRANTS APPLICATION PREVIEW

Transcription

1 NOBLECAUSE GRANTS APPLICATION PREVIEW INSTRUCTIONS Please use this document to plan your volunteer or service-learning project and prepare your NobleCause application for submission. The grant application will open on October 23, 2015 and will be accessible via For information on grant criteria and eligibility, please review the NobleCause Call for Proposals. Applications must be received by midnight on December 6, FAQs and additional resources can be found on the NobleCause website soon. If you need additional information, your questions to GRANT APPLICATION You will have a total of 5000 characters (approximately words) per question. Project Information 1. Project Name 2. Project Description/Summary: Provide an overview of the activities that will be conducted as a part of this project. Be sure to include details on why your organization wants to carry out this project, and why you are positioned to do so. 3. Project Relevance: Describe the problem, priority, or issue that your project will address. 4. Fit with the Community: Define the population that will be served, how many will be served, and the demographic makeup of participants. How do you intend to involve this population throughout the project? 5. Innovation and Creativity: Describe how the proposed project is an exciting or new idea that pushes boundaries, or in some way expands the thinking about or understanding of volunteerism and its benefits/outcomes in a different way. 6. Volunteer Recruitment and Mobilization: Describe how you will recruit and mobilize volunteers, including the target recruitment audience and proposed recruitment strategies.

2 7. Volunteer Preparation and Training: Describe how you will prepare volunteers for service (training, orientation, etc.). 8. Volunteer Development: Describe how the organization will lead guided reflection for volunteers. Specifically address how you intend to enhance the civic identity and social responsibility of participating volunteers. If you include students as volunteers, describe how will you connect their service to academic learning. 9. Project Impact: Describe the outcomes (benefits) to be gained from the success of this project, and any past/current results (if available). 10. Project Collaborations (optional for $6,500 applicants): List any additional organizations with which you will collaborate on this project, and how they will be included in any/all stages of the project (planning, design, implementation, evaluation, etc.). 11. Project Evaluation: Describe how you plan to track the following required qualitative and quantitative indicators related to volunteer service: 1. Number of volunteers mobilized 2. Number of hours of service provided by volunteers 3. Number of people served through the activity 4. Economic impact of the project 5. Reflections from service participants on their experience Note: NobleHour is available to all grantees free of charge. If you choose to use NobleHour, you can collect participant information related to questions 1-4 via this tool. 12. Project Sustainability (optional for $6,500 applicants): Describe how volunteer efforts will be sustained after the grant period, if applicable. 13. Project Budget: Using the attached budget narrative and template, provide a breakdown of how the award money will be spent. Grant Management and Verification (c)(3) Verification Letter: NobleCause grants are only available to registered 501(c)(3) organizations. You will be asked to upload a copy of your IRS filing. 2. Grant Manager Name: Provide the name of the individual who will be responsible for managing the grant if funds are awarded to your organization. This information is for internal purposes only and will not have an effect on the application review process. 3. Grant Manager Experience: Does the person at your Organization who will be responsible for managing this grant have any grants management experience? If so, please briefly describe their previous experience in managing grants. This information is for internal purposes only, and will NOT have an effect on the application review process.

3 Letters of Support 1. $50,000 applicants will be required to submit a letter of support from all community partner organizations that are co-leading or co-facilitating NobleCause projects. Each letter should address the following: o an assurance that the community partner is aware of and in support of the o proposed project a description of how they will participate in the project and that the proposal is aligned with the community partners' goals 2. High schools applying for either a $6,500 or $50,000 will be required to submit an endorsement form (attached) from their school principal.

4 BUDGET NARRATIVE Create a budget that demonstrates how you will use funds you receive from the NobleCause grant. Determine the amount you intend to use in each of the following categories and enter in the budget spreadsheet. In addition, describe your proposed budget in narrative form to explain the expenses identified for the project. Provide as much detail and justification as necessary for reviewers to understand how funds will be applied, and explaining how those items will help accomplish your project goal. Items that are not allowable in your NobleCause grant budget include: Any benefits (i.e., all mandated federal and state/local payroll taxes, health, vision, dental, life insurance, 401K contribution) associated with salaries Indirect costs including office and support expenses, overhead, administrative expenses, rent, utilities, facility maintenance Anything not fundable by the grant: Capital purchases for the grantee, including computer hardware and software, furniture, office Endowment funds Payments of debts Engaging in partisan political activities, or endorsing or participating in activities that include advocacy for or against political parties, candidates, or proposed legislation Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes Religious proselytization You are not required to provide any match for the NobleCause grant. However, the budget spreadsheet asks you to identify all real costs for the project, dividing between what you are requesting from NobleCause, and what you will cover in other ways. As you think through the real costs of the project, NobleCause reviewers will gain a better understanding of the full investment your organization is making to accomplish your goals. As you develop a budget for your grant application and put all of the relevant costs down on paper, questions may arise. Your best resource for answering these questions are the grants or sponsored programs office within your own organization. If they are not able to assist with your questions, you may send an inquiry to NobleCause@noblehour.com. Note: You will have total space of 500 words per section. Salaries: You may request salary support for the primary person who will manage the project, up to 25% of grant funds, basing your request on the time you believe s/he will invest. Identify who specifically will be compensated through grant funding. Include his/her name and title, as well as the estimated amount of time s/he will devote to working on the project, and what s/he will be trying to accomplish. Project travel and/or convenings: Identify the reason for travel, or the event you may be hosting. Provide as much detail as possible at this time about the who, what, when, where, and why. List total amount requested with a breakdown of expenses, e.g., mileage reimbursement, food.

5 Communications, marketing: Identify what strategies you may choose, target markets, and what you intend to accomplish. Supplies, materials, equipment, technology: What supplies, materials, equipment or technology will you purchase? How will these help to accomplish the project goal? Contract labor: If you intend to hire any consultants, speakers or trainers as part of your grant, provide as much detail as possible about the individual(s), and what s/he will contribute beyond your immediate staff to accomplishing the grant and related expenses. Other expenses: If you are going to apply grant funds to expenses not covered in any of the other categories include them here, as well as an explanation that helps reviewers understand this expenditure. Total project expenses: What is the total expected cost of the project? In-kind contributions: Identify any in-kind donations that you will be able to garner as a result of receiving NobleCause funding. In-kind donations might include materials, equipment, or services. Include the donor s name as well as items to be contributed. Cash or earned income: If you anticipate raising any funds as part of the project, identify your funding goal and process (e.g., we will use grant funds to purchase supplies to make birdhouses that will be sold to raise funds to help victims of a disaster. Goal is to invest $500 of grant money in order to raise $5,000). Comments: In concluding your budget narrative, you may add any other thoughts related to expenditures, other contributors, narrowing of project expenses in months to come, or what you intend to accomplish with funding.

6 BUDGET TEMPLATE Expenses Project Total Request to NobleCause Salaries Project travel and/or convenings Communications, marketing Supplies, materials, equipment, technology Contract labor Other expenses Other expenses Other expenses Total project expenditures In-kind contributions Cash or earned income Comments:

7 NOBLECAUSE GRANTS PRINCIPAL SUPPORT FORM A principal support form must accompany all NobleCause grant proposals submitted by a high school. This form indicates your principal s endorsement of your grant proposal and commitment to support implementation of the grant if awarded. Please print out this form and complete the project information. Give this form to your principal, along with a description of the project, and have him or her sign the form. Submit the signed form as part of your NobleCause online application. You may scan the form and attach it as a pdf to your application, or you may use the Fax to File feature, which is available as part of the online application. School: Name of Project: Amount of Funding Requested: Name of Applicant: Name of Principal: I am aware of this grant proposal being submitted and I confirm my support of these efforts. I will support the implementation of this project if we are awarded this grant. Principal Signature: