2011 Guidelines for Submitting a Final Application for the Grassroots Grants Program

Transcription

1 2011 Guidelines for Submitting a Final Application for the Grassroots Grants Program Due: August 1, 2011

2 Submitting a Final Application The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem has invited selected organizations to submit a final application for the Grassroots Grants Program. Final applications must be received by The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 1, This document will outline the materials and information needed for a final application submission. In addition to this document, we recommend that you review the 2011 Grant Guidelines, the Grant Application Guide, the report Through a Gender Lens: The Economic Security of Women and Girls in Forsyth County, and additional resources such as the Frequently Asked Questions, Glossary of Terms, and Developing your Program with a Gender Focus prior to completing your final application. All of these materials are available on the Women s Fund website at in the Grants section. If after reviewing these materials you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact The Women s Fund at or thanneman@wsfoundation.org. An invitation to submit a full final application does not mean that you will receive a grant from The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem. By inviting your organization to submit a final application, we are indicating that your Preliminary Application made the case that your proposed program appeared to fit our basic guidelines and we would like to know more about the program and your organization to determine if it is eligible to receive a grant. There are two additional stages of review that your application must pass through before receiving a grant. Review of Final Applications The next step of the process after you submit your application is the review of all of the applications by our Grant Review Committee. At this stage of the process, in addition to the basic eligibility criteria, the reviewers will be evaluating the merits of the program design, the organization s capacity to carry out the program, and the potential social change impact of the program. This committee will select a subset of applications to move forward to our membership for voting. During this review, you may be contacted with additional questions or to schedule an interview or site visit. Applicants will be notified of the decisions of this group and whether or not their application will be voted on by our members. Notification will be made by no later than September 12, Membership Voting Our members serve as the final reviewers and decision makers in our grant process. All members will receive summaries of each application still under consideration and will vote to determine which applications will receive funding. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions in late October 2011 and grants will be awarded at The Women s Fund 6th Annual Lunch on November 10, The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 1 -

3 The Components of a Final Application The final application consists of several components outlined below: Application Checklist The application checklist is a list of all of the components of the final application and all of the supplemental materials required. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included everything requested. Application Coversheet The application coversheet provides general contact information for the organization and basic information about the grant request. Authorization to Submit Proposal The authorization form MUST be signed those who are authorized to apply for funding on behalf of the organization. In the case of most nonprofit organizations, this typically means the Executive Director and the Chair of the Board of Directors. If you are using a fiscal sponsor, this form must also be signed by the Executive Director of the Fiscal Sponsor organization. Grassroots Grant Program Application A revised version of the preliminary application form that was previously submitted. You will be provided with technical assistance on how to strengthen your application for final submission. Please also see the Grant Application Guide for tips on what type of information should be in each section of the application. Supplemental Questions In certain situations, organizations will be asked to submit a written response to a supplemental question. Only those organizations asked to provide this information need to do so. Line-Item Budget Request The line-item budget request provides us with specific details about the projected expenses associated with your proposed program, and the particular items for which you are seeking support from The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem. Budget Narrative A budget narrative helps us to understand how the requested budget line-items will be used in the program. Inclusion and Diversity Survey Please complete this survey which is used by The Women's Fund of Winston-Salem to collect information on your organization's inclusion, equity, and diversity practices. Supplemental Materials There are a number of supplemental materials that we need to help us learn even more about your organization. These materials are listed in this document and on the application checklist. We ask that you only submit the supplemental materials requested. The Application coversheet is available in Microsoft Word for you to complete. The Inclusion and Diversity Survey is available in an Excel form for you to complete. Links to these forms were ed to you with these guidelines and can also be found on The Women s Fund web site at: in the Grants Section under Application Forms. The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 2 -

4 Supplemental Questions The questions in this section only apply to certain applicants. Many applicants will not be required to answer any of these questions. Some applicants will need to address one or two of these questions. Please see the situations described below to determine if you need to answer any of the supplemental questions. If required to answer any of these questions, please submit your responses on a separate sheet of paper. You are allowed a ½ page for each response. If you are requesting funding for a new program or organization Please describe how you have assessed the need for the program/organization to ensure that you are not duplicating the work of others. If another similar program/organization exists, please describe why your program/organization is needed and how it will be different. (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) If you are seeking funding for a program previously or currently funded by The Women's Fund (i.e. a continuation grant) Please summarize the successes and challenges of the program to date and describe what you will do differently (if anything) to enhance the program or to address previous challenges. Please describe your plans for long-term sustainability of the program. (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) If your organization has previously received funding from The Women's Fund for a different project (not a continuation grant) Please describe the status of that project now. Has the program been sustained and if not why not? (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 3 -

5 The Budget Request You must submit both a line-item budget request and a budget narrative with your application. The Line-Item Budget Request The line-item budget request will provide us with specific details about the projected expenses associated with your proposed program or project and the particular items for which you are seeking support. Your budget should include individual line-items for all personnel and operating costs to implement this program or project. There should be two columns. The first column should include the amounts for the total project budget and the second column should include the amounts that you are requesting from The Women s Fund of Winston Salem. Please see the very simple sample below. Sample Line-Item Budget Request Total Project Budget Request to The Women's Fund Personnel Program Director (15% FTE) $6,000 $4,000 Benefits & Taxes (25%) $1,500 $1,000 Personnel Subtotal $7,500 $5,000 Operating Expenses Training Space (in-kind) $500 $0 Travel Reimbursement $250 $250 Childcare $450 $450 Food $720 $720 Educational Materials & Supplies $500 $250 Participant Stipends $3,000 $1,500 Operating Expenses Subtotal $5,420 $3,170 Total Direct Costs $12,920 $8,170 Indirect/Overhead Costs (10 %) $1,292 $817 Grand Total $14,212 $8,987 Some guidelines for completing your line-item budget request: Complete both columns, even if your total project budget and request to The Women s Fund are the same. Include all line items that are part of your total project budget even if you are not requesting any funding from The Women s Fund for some line items. Although your total project budget may exceed $10,000, your total request to The Women s Fund should not exceed $10,000. The $10,000 should include all personnel and operating expenses and up to 10% in indirect/overhead costs. When listing personnel, specify position titles (not individual names) and percent Full Time Equivalent (% FTE) for each staff person that will help implement the project. Make sure that everything adds up properly and that the numbers in this budget match the amounts you enter on your application coversheet. The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 4 -

6 The Budget Request (cont.) The Budget Narrative A detailed budget narrative of project expenses must accompany your application. For each line item in the line-item budget, please provide a brief description of how the requested funds will be used and if applicable, how you arrived at the figure. The line items should relate back to the activities described in your narrative. Below is the beginning of a sample budget narrative for the sample budget presented on the previous page. Personnel Program Director The Program Director will coordinate this project, spending 15% of her time on the project. Her base salary is $40,000. Benefits & Taxes Our benefits & taxes rate is 25%. Operating Expenses Training Space The off-site space where we will hold the trainings rents for $100 a day; however, the agency has agreed to provide this space in-kind. Travel Reimbursement For bus passes and/or mileage reimbursement for the participants during the 5 training sessions. Estimated at $5 a day X 5 training sessions X 10 participants. Childcare To hire a childcare provider(s) to provide on-site child care while the women are at the trainings. Estimated at $15/hr X 6 hours X 5 training sessions. Continue to list and describe all line items. Note: Your budget narrative can either be a separate document or you may include the information in an additional column in your line-item budget. Other Sources of Funding As part of your budget narrative, please list other sources of funding that have either been committed or requested for this program/project. Please indicate the source, the amount committed or requested and the status of the request (committed or requested). Please also include in-kind contributions. Indirect/Overhead Costs The Women s Fund will support indirect or overhead costs of up to 10% of the direct project costs requested. Indirect/overhead costs are defined as the expenses that are incurred in the everyday business of operating an organization that are not linked to any one specific program. Some of the items typically included in this category are rent, utilities, office equipment rental or maintenance, fundraising, insurance, and audit or legal fees. If you are requesting indirect/overhead costs, these items should not appear as individual line items in your budget request unless they are directly related to the proposed program. The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 5 -

7 Supplemental Materials Please include one copy of the following additional materials with your proposal. IRS Determination Letter of 501(c)(3) status. Current annual operating budget (revenues and expenses for your organization s current fiscal year). Most recent financial statement that shows actual income and expenses (audited if available). Board of Directors List. Statement of board financial contributions. Please provide a statement indicating what percentage of your board members made a financial contribution to your organization during the most recent fiscal year. You may also include information about any policies or practices related to board giving. Letter(s) of support or Memorandum(s) of Understanding with any collaborative partners (specific to this project). Inclusion and Diversity Survey and copies of any policies or documents that demonstrate your organization's inclusion, equity and diversity practices. (See Inclusion and Diversity Survey) If using a fiscal sponsor, please include the following: The fiscal sponsor s IRS Determination Letter of 501(c)(3) status. A letter or Memorandum of Understanding outlining the role and responsibilities of the fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor s most recent financial statement that shows actual income and expenses (audited if available). Please do not submit any additional supplemental materials beyond those requested above. Final Submission Instructions Final Applications must be received by The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 1, You may send a hard copy of your final application and all supplemental materials through regular mail or drop it off at our offices at: The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem The Winston-Salem Foundation 860 West Fifth Street Winston-Salem, NC If you mail your application materials, please mail them so that they will be RECEIVED by August 1. No ed or faxed final applications will be accepted. Only one copy of the full final application needs to be submitted. Only one copy of each of the supplemental materials needs to be submitted. The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 6 -

8 Grassroots Grant Application Checklist Please use this check list to ensure that you have submitted all of the required materials for submitting a final application to The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem. Application Coversheet (same as used with preliminary application) Authorization to Submit Proposal Grassroots Grant Program Application (same form, but revised version from preliminary application) Line-Item Budget Request Budget Narrative Supplemental Materials If using a fiscal sponsor: IRS Determination Letter of 501(c)(3) status Current annual operating budget (revenues and expenses for your organization s current fiscal year) Most recent financial statement that shows actual income and expenses (audited if available) this item is not required for public agencies Board of Directors List Statement of Board financial contributions Letter(s) of support or Memorandum(s) of Understanding with any collaborative partners Inclusion and Diversity Survey and copies of any policies or documents that demonstrate your organization's inclusion, equity and diversity practices The fiscal sponsor s IRS Determination Letter of 501(c)(3) status A letter or Memorandum of Understanding outlining the role and responsibilities of the fiscal sponsor The fiscal sponsor's most recent financial statement that shows actual income and expenses (audited if available). The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem 2011 Grassroots Grants Final Application Guidelines - 7 -