COMPETITIVE DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS
GUIDELINES FOR OCTOBER 15, 2014 DEADLINE
The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation accepts grant applications for a number of local corporations and
family foundations. Funding priorities and grant award sizes vary by fund. Funding priorities are determined by each
donor-advisor and may include programmatic support, capital campaigns, operating support, event support and
endowment campaigns.
Important Note: Under federal legislation, donor-advisors may not receive tangible benefit, goods or services as a result
of a grant from their fund. This includes membership, dinners, tickets, and other benefits.
Eligibility:
 The Community Foundation accepts applications from nonprofit organizations with a 501c3 status,
governmental organizations, and non-501c3 organizations that have completed arrangements to obtain a fiscal
sponsor.
Deadline: October 15, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.
Donor-advisors typically provide grant recommendations two or three months after the deadline, depending on donor
preferences.
Competitive Donor-Advised Funds Accepting Grant Applications for the October 15, 2014 Deadline:
 CRST International Donor-Advised Fund: Applications are accepted in all categories, with a strong emphasis on
arts and culture. Individual public schools, religious organizations for religious purposes and programs funded by
the United Way will not be considered. Agencies supported by United Way, while not eligible for program
support from CRST, may apply for capital campaign requests. Average Award: $500 to $30,000
 The Gazette Foundation: Applications are accepted in all categories with an emphasis on programs that serve
The Gazette circulation/viewership area. Typically, the following types of requests will not be considered:
endowments, public schools, advertising, religious organizations for religious purposes, travel and one-time
events (such as fundraisers and conferences). Agencies supported by United Way will not be considered for
program support but may apply for capital campaign requests. Average Award: $1,500
 GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation Donor-Advised Fund: Applications are accepted in all categories.
Individual public schools, travel and religious organizations for religious purposes will not be considered.
Average award: $7,000
 Lil’ Drug Store Products: Applications are accepted in all categories. Projects outside of Cedar Rapids are
generally not considered. Award: up to $5,000
 McGrath Automotive Group: Applications are accepted in all categories with an emphasis on children’s needs.
Travel and projects/organizations outside of Linn County will not be considered. Average Award: $2,500
 World Class Industries: Applications are accepted in all categories with high priority placed on efforts that serve
the communities of Hiawatha, East Moline, Cedar Falls and Des Moines. WCI will fund grants that support efforts
that their employees are involved in, impact the communities they do business in and make a difference.
Awards: $500 - $10,000
Frequency of Application: Typically, organizations may receive one grant from each fund in a 12-month period.
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How to Apply:
 Request Grant Portal Access (for first-time applicants only)
In order to complete the online application process, nonprofits must select one person to act as the grant
administrator for the organization. The grant administrator will have access to the grant portal to submit online
applications, check the status of applications, review grant histories and submit final reports. To request a grant
administrator, the organization leader (president, CEO, executive director or board president) must send an
email to grants@gcrcf.org with the first and last name, title and email address of the appointed person. Within
two business days, the Grant team will email both the grant administrator and the organizational leader with a
username and password. Note: Organizations will not have access to the online application portal until they have
received this username and password.
 Login and Complete the Online Grant Application
o To login, go to www.gcrcf.org and click User Login found in the upper right corner.
o We encourage you to complete the application in this document before logging in to the grant portal.
o The online application portal is open one month before the grant deadline.
o If you need assistance, please feel free to contact the Grant team at 319.774.2370 or grants@gcrcf.org.
Please be advised to begin the application process early. The Grant team is happy to provide assistance
but may have limited capacity for technical assistance on the day of the deadline.
o In the grant portal:
 Note: The “Organization Snapshot” should be updated as information changes and reviewed for
accuracy at least once per year.
 Applications must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the deadline. Please note the time
stamp on the application PDF is Eastern Time, however, the deadline is calculated as Central
Time.
Application Checklist:
Information:
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Organization Snapshot (including Board list)
Proposal Narrative
Project Budget (form provided)
Organization Budget (Fiscal year, 2-page maximum)
(Governmental applicants should use department budget)
Financial Analysis (form provided)
List of Agency Certifications or Affiliations (that may be relevant
to the request)
Budget Narrative (explaining unusual or uncommon
circumstances, 1-page maximum)
Letters of Support (3 maximum, useful for newer projects and
as evidence of collaborative activities)
Online Application
Required Uploads
X
X
X
X
X
Not required from
Governmental or
non-501c3 applicants
Optional
Optional
Optional
Questions? Contact: Elizabeth Cwik, Program Officer, at elizabeth.cwik@gcrcf.org or at 319.774.2372.
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COMPETITIVE DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS
2014 APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Please use the following worksheet to prepare your application. Verify character counts and correct spelling and
grammar before inserting answers in the online application. (Note: All character counts INCLUDE spaces). Users are
encouraged to copy responses to the online portal from the worksheet below. You may not copy and paste from a PDF
or from a formatted table.
Organizational Snapshot: Please note: This snapshot will be available to all Community Foundation fund holders.
Mission statement: (500 character limit)
Brief organizational history: (900 character limit)
Describe target population: (250 character limit)
Briefly describe key programs: (1500 character limit)
Number of paid employees:
What is the total dollar amount of the current fiscal year organizational budget?
Describe volunteer support within organization: (250 character limit)
What year did your organization receive your IRS 501c3 letter of determination?
List Board of Director names and professional roles: (Do not copy and paste from a PDF or from a formatted table).
Pre-Qualifying Questions
Charitable status: 501c3, governmental agency, requires fiscal sponsor
Will your project/program serve Linn County, Iowa?
Fund Selection(s)
To which donor-advised fund(s) do you wish to apply?
On this screen you are asked to click on add which will create a drop down. Select the fund and put in the amount
requested, then hit save. If you are applying to additional competitive donor-advised funds, click on add and select the
next fund. Continue to add as needed. If you are requesting multiple years of funding, put the total request. There will be
a later screen to provide more detail.
Section 1: Proposal Summary
Organization (Legal) name: (This will auto-populate from snapshot. This field will only show the original legal name at
this time).
Proposal title:
Proposal summary: (purpose of requested funds) (900 character limit)
Total Project Budget inclusive of all funding:
Total Dollar amount requested:
Dollar amount requested in Year 1:
Dollar amount requested in Year 2 (if applicable):
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Dollar amount requested in Year 3 (if applicable):
Section 2: Organization Overview
All of these fields are auto populated based on information in the Organization Snapshot. You may amend the content of
the following fields for the purposes of this application.
Mission statement: (500 character limit)
Brief organizational history: (900 character limit)
Describe target population: (250 character limit)
Briefly describe key programs: (1500 character limit)
Number of paid employees:
What is the total dollar amount of the current fiscal year organizational budget?
Describe volunteer support within organization: (250 character limit)
What year did your organization receive your IRS 501c3 letter of determination?
List Board of Director names and professional roles: Information in a table format with not copy successfully into the
online application.
Section 3: Proposal Details
Detail the proposal. Include a description of the activities to implement the project. (2000 character limit)
Outline the relevant timelines for this project: (1000 character limit)
Is it possible to provide the number of unduplicated individuals this effort will impact?
Please provide the number of unduplicated individuals.
Please explain: (500 character limit) (An unduplicated calculation counts each individual one time regardless of the
number of activities the person may have accessed).
Describe the use of staff and volunteers for this project (are these new or expanded roles?). (900 character limit)
Section 4: Project Development
For existing program components: Describe how the program has changed or developed over time and what led to the
changes. (1500 character limit)
For new program components: Explain how this was developed, and why this will be a successful program. (1500
character limit)
Please explain the assumptions and rational used. (1000 character limit) (Assumptions and rationale may include data
collection, research regarding best practices or evidence from similar programs operating in other communities).
What would be the impact of a grant award that is less than your requested amount? More? (1500 character limit)
Section 5: Community Landscape
Summarize underlying community circumstances/opportunities. How will your work respond to or influence these
circumstances? (2000 character limit)
Compare this project to similar work in the community. What distinguishes the proposed effort? (1500 character limit)
Describe any collaborative partnerships supporting this project, if applicable: (1500 character limit)
Section 6: Objectives
Provide your program/project objective(s), the action that will be taken to reach this objective, how this action will be
evaluated, and how you will know if the results are successful. Please be specific and measurable. A minimum of one
objective is required, and you may add others as needed to fully articulate the purposes of your project/ program.
For each objective: Please click the "Add" link to add a new objective table.
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Objective 1: (150 character limit)
Action: (300 character limit)
Evaluation method: (300 character limit)
Description of desired results: (300 character limit)
Section 7: Organization Contact Info
This will auto populate from the Organization Contact Information in our system.
Tax ID:
Name of organization primary contact: This is the Executive Director, Board Chairperson or organization President
Address information:
Website address:
Organization phone number:
Organization fax:
Additional questions include:
Primary Contact Organizational Role: This is the Executive Director, Board Chairperson or organization President
Primary contact phone and extension:
Primary contact email:
Section 8: Submission Information & Signature
Who should we contact with questions regarding this specific application?
Application contact’s organizational role:
Application contact’s phone and extension:
Application contact’s email:
Submitter’s name/Electronic Submission Authorization
Submitter’s organizational role:
To Complete the Application:
AFTER the online application narrative has been submitted, the application moves from Application in Process to
Submitted Application Narratives.
The following documents are required to complete the application:
 Project budget (form provided is required)
 Organization budget
 Completed financial analysis form (Community Foundation template required)
Financial Document templates are found within each funding opportunity page at gcrcf.org
To upload the documents, go to Submitted Application Narratives, find the appropriate application and choose “Details.”
In the next screen, choose “Details” again to upload the appropriate document.
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