Presentation by Valerie Liggins, LSW at the 2009 Virginia Health Equity Conference as part of the panel, "Show Me the Money - Strategies for Identifying Potential Funders and Writing Successful Grant Proposals."
27. Upcoming Deadlines Letters Due: Proposals Due: Board Meeting: September 1, 2009 October 15, 2009 February 2010 January 4, 2010 February 15, 2010 June 2010 May 3, 2010 June 15, 2010 October 2010
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Hinweis der Redaktion
federal reg – dissolution of public entity – proceeds need to continue benefiting the community that was served by the public entity *At the end of 08 – at the beginning of 2008 our assets were >$150, but due to the current economic downturn, this figure has changed **see next slide for impact on grant making going forward
We are a health legacy foundation, but mission stretched beyond the scope of health care – our mission is broad ask why participants think this is the case mission encompasses quality of life b/c board recognized the needs in our region are broad & complex, and if it adopted a narrow mission, it would be providing a DISservice to the community
we are geographically limited by the areas that were traditionally served by Southside hospital re: southern Chesterfield south of Route 10 – people north of 10 typically would go to Chippenham or Johnston-Willis hospitals So, we’re really looking at portions of Chester and the Ettrick-Matoaca area
So, we are a place-based foundation, and those based in our region have traditionally been under-resourced Our first obligation is to these org’s (reiterate the two bullets on slide) For projects where a “significant minority is served,” if a grant is awarded, you can expect our response to be proportional (if push back, make clear that these are the guidelines that have been approved by our board) (*MAKE SURE EVERYONE’S GETTING THIS – STOP AND MAKE TIME TO BE SURE THAT THEY DO*)
(emphasize 5 unrelated board members) Religious org’s – we are open to considering requests have a plan that states the purpose and extent to which your program is open to the community the services must have absolutely nothing to do with faith (can use Tabernacle as example of what we would have funded) cap camps must be a place for the community we look at the criteria for a client’s participation “ values-based” programs – values cannot be rooted in any particular religion
Be clear that the projected percentages are targets for the 2009 grant cycles/grant year GIVE A FULL SENSE OF THE TYPES OF ACTIV’S FUNDED IN EACH PROGRAM AREA * Describe the parameters and priorities of each program area talk about the proportion of dist of funds Health Care – access for the underserved/uninsured; education; prevention Human Services – broad – child abuse prevention; domestic violence intervention; foster care programs; food banks Community & Econ Dev – job training & retention; affordable housing Education – improving quality of ed; work w teachers; early childhood ed is **; no particular interest in higher ed (NOTE ABOUT PPS – Coordinate w/schools must be documented w/LOI and Proposal)*** 4 main areas = 85%
Be clear that the projected percentages are targets for the 2009 grant cycles/grant year * restate that exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Foundation Civic Affairs – public safety; grassroots efforts to petition elected officials on policy; efforts that address racial issues Cultural Enrichment – arts outreach to disadvantaged or those who might not otherwise have access Conservation & Hist Preservatn – incls enviro conservation **note that we have suspended grant making in this program area for 2009** other 2 areas = 15%, therefore more competitive encourage applicants to talk w us first re: ideas to see how they might compete w worthy projects currently under review
TELL STORY ABOUT HOW WE THINK ABOUT GRANTMAKING & WHAT OUR VALUES ARE – don’t spend too much time on this, though Our grant-making approach F/N sees self as change agent in the community we are sensitive to historical patterns of distribution that have disadvantaged certain populations we want to direct the money in a way that has the greatest impact, not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term not interested in programs that simply provide a service on a day-to-day basis – but in those programs which empower people to make a long-term change in their own lives we approach the community not by its barriers, but by its assets and strengths we look to support organizations that partner with others to enhance the strengths of the community
(interpretive slide) emphasize TCF funds organizations – not individuals or staff members this means that the Board must be directly engaged with the organization also fund organizations that demonstrate synergy (meaning one plus one equals more than 2) equally important and related -- orgs demonstrate ability to sustain their activities through a broad base of support in short, we don’t want to fund dysfunctional org’s – want to see boards engaged @ governance level
GO INTO AS MUCH DETAIL AS THEY’RE WILLING TO LISTEN TO * (interpretive slide) (ASK: what is capacity building?) Here @ TCF, we see capacity building as helping our local non-profits provide more and better services to do this, we must do more than simply fund the delivery of services we see that we’re operating in a region that has been historically under-resourced – there has been very limited organized philanthropy we must make strategic investments in organizations to strengthen their internal operating structure (incls fiscal, administration, governance, policy, etc.) we’re willing to award $ to help you contract w technical experts to help you address capacity deficits in your org – part of our review process looks at the possibility of infrastructure needs for applicants that are indigenous to our service area Capacity building is at the heart of what we are about here at the Cameron Foundation .
… various capacity building efforts outside of our traditional grant-making: (reference addit’l info in packet) SVNRC = physical embodiment of our long-term commitment to increasing capacity of local NPOs in Hopewell inside of the new Appomattox Regional Library Focus INC an initiative established in 2007 provides affordable, flexible, and practical educational sessions e.g. sessions: board development, management, program outcomes and fund development Board members, organization staff, volunteers and individuals considering a career in the nonprofit sector will all benefit from participation in this program (online forms, schedules; offer copies of newsletter with schedule at end of session) Connect Southside = communications network free listserv -- facilitates daily conversations among nearly 360 individuals/more than 190 nonprofit, government and private businesses web site this fall one-stop source of local information, connection and collaboration that community leaders, volunteers and citizens rely on for access to up-to-date data, news and one another. Cleave A. Wright Award for Community Service; Excellence in Organizational Management Awards Two separate awards CAW – community members nominate the agency of their choice ($40,000 unrestricted award for 1 winner) EOMA – applicant agencies can complete detailed form ($30,000 for 1 first place and $10,000 for 2 runner up ogs.)
4 types of grants offered by The Cameron Foundation
first & last bullets – will consider funding if integral to the project
in first graph of your LOI, state what you intend to use the $ for and specify how much pre-screening checklist needs to accompany LOI if invited but not ready by deadline, need to CONTACT US typically, we respond to LOIs w/in a few days of receiving it -- if you submit LOI and haven’t heard from us, contact us
number the pages of your narrative last bullet – emphasize
(walk through) re: background of your org, don’t assume that we know who you are “constituency served” – e.g., single mothers, the elderly & disabled
(walk through) re key staff – it’s fine to attach resumes
we need to understand how you are going to measure and evaluate the results of your work include eval costs in your budget – we are prepared to consider them if you are using a survey instrument, attach a sample of it to your proposal
(spend time on this – emphasize detail) we find that the most common omission in a prop pkg is the financial info we cannot proceed w review if financial info is incomplete or missing we only will accept BOARD-APPROVED budgets – when you submit to us, you are certifying these docs to us as such plan for continued support – we need to hear more than 1 sentence that says, “We’re going to look for other funding sources.”
audit always preferred over a 990; expect audit w larger orgs op’ing budget – again, needs to be board-approved suggest – attach letters of support/commitment fm partners @ end of this slide, COMMUNICATE: We’re a small staff – we process a LOT of applications – we are at the point where we truly do not have time to review incomplete proposals If any components of your prop package are missing or incomplete, your prop will be bumped to the next grant cycle (we’ll notify you if this is the case)
LOI and proposal consistency is required -- Do not send LOI asking for $50,000, then proposal for $70,000. The proposal will be returned.
The application process is competitive We regularly announce our grantees in the media; if you submitted a proposal on June 15 th and you see a notice of grantees in July, that is not the list to look for your name – proposals submitted in June will be announced in October.
timeframe from proposal submission to grant announcement is lengthy because we go through a very rigorous due diligence process
Your program officer presents recommendatn to staff staff decides on rec’s by concensus process staff makes its recommends to Grants Committee Grants Committee than recommends to the full board – the final decision rests with TCF Board of Directors.
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