Presented by:
Brenda Anderson, Nancy Dixon, Ginny Jarrett
Roanoke Women’s Foundation
A Component Fund of Foundation for Roanoke Valley
Who are we?
 Established in 2004 to allow women to become leaders in the field
of philanthropy.
 Open to any woman of any income level who makes the
commitment to support RWF for three years at a level of $2,100
per year.
 Funding Priorities include:
 Arts and Culture
 Education
 Environment
 Health and Human Services
www.roanokewomensfoundation.org
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February 12, 2015
Roanoke Women’s Foundation
Grant Process
 Phase I
 Phase II
 Site Visits
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February 12, 2015
Roanoke Women’s Foundation
A Component Fund of Foundation for Roanoke Valley
Phase I
 Geographical Coverage Area includes:
RWF awards grants to organizations in or serving the cities of
Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt,
Craig, Floyd and Franklin.
(Please note that the New River Valley and Smith Mountain Lake area
were recently replaced with Floyd and Franklin.)
 Beginning March 2, 2015 RWF requests Phase I
Applications.
Minimum grant request- $30,000
 You must apply using the online application found on the
Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s website
Phase I Application due date – March 31, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
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February 12, 2015
Roanoke Women’s Foundation
A Fund of Foundation for Roanoke Valley
Who are we?
 Established in 2004 to allow women to become leaders in the field
of philanthropy.
 Open to any woman of any income level who makes the
commitment to support RWF for 3 years at a level of $2,100 per
year.
 Funding Priorities include:
 Arts and Culture
 Educational Programs
 Environmental Programs
 Health and Human Services
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February 12, 2015
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February 12, 2015
RWF Service Area
RWF awards grants to organizations in or serving:
 City of Roanoke
 City of Salem
 Botetourt County
 Craig County
 Floyd County
 Franklin County
 Roanoke County
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February 12, 2015
Phase I
Evaluation Criteria
The Roanoke Women’s Foundation requests that you answer the
following questions in a narrative to clearly and concisely
describe your proposed project. These questions are based on
the criteria the Roanoke Women’s Foundation uses to evaluate
proposals. (There is a 6,000 character limit).
 Need
 Impact
 Institutional Strength and Stability
 Effective use of Resources
 Sustainability
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February 12, 2015
Phase I
Evaluation Criteria
NEED
1. What community need/issue/opportunity will your
proposal address?
2. How will your project address this community
need/issue/opportunity?
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February 12, 2015
Phase I
Evaluation Criteria
IMPACT
1. Describe your target population and the geographical area the project
will serve.
2. How many people will be positively impacted in our region by your
project or proposed program?
3. Is there any indirect impact on the larger community?
INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTH AND STABILITY
1. What is your organization’s history of success?
2. Describe the health and stability of your organization including staff
retention, financial strength, and community support.
3. Please state the goals and objectives for this program and how they are
related to your organization’s mission.
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February 12, 2015
Phase I
Evaluation Criteria
EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES
1. How will RWF funds be allocated?
2. Will your organization use its existing resources in addition to
the requested resources? How?
3. Please describe how your effort leverages other resources,
including partnerships with other organizations, contributions
from other donors, and the project revenue.
SUSTAINABILITY
1. Describe your program’s plans for ongoing funding after RWF
funds have been expended.
2. How will the proposed project result in sustainable and positive
changes that continue over time?
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February 12, 2015
What happens after your Phase I
is submitted?
 FRV reviews Phase I Applications for compliance with basic
requirements, such as non-profit status, geographic
eligibility, etc.
 Grants Committee reads and studies all Phase I Applications.
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February 12, 2015
What happens after your Phase I is
submitted?
 Grants Committee members score Phase I applications based
on evaluation criteria on previous three slides.
 Scores are tabulated and averaged.
 Committee members meet to discuss scores, Phase I
applications, strengths and weaknesses of the applications.
 Committee votes to decide who will be invited to submit
Phase II application.
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February 12, 2015
Roanoke Women’s Foundation
A Fund of Foundation for Roanoke Valley
Phase II
 Organizations whose Phase I applications have been
approved will be invited by email to submit a Phase II
application
Phase II application due date:
May 29, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
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February 12, 2015
What happens after your Phase II
application is submitted?
 Grants Committee reads Phase II applications.
 Site visits are conducted in June and July
 Site visit reports are written and presented to Grants Committee.
 In August Grants Committee holds meeting open to RWF
membership to discuss proposals, ask questions, and clarify issues.
 Also in August the Grants Committee meets to rank applicants
based on all information gathered during the process and
determine organizations to be placed on ballot.
 This selection is sent to the RWF Board and FRV for final
approval.
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February 12, 2015
What happens after your Phase II
application is submitted?
 Ballots are mailed out to membership in September.
 One woman = one vote.
 Ballots are due from membership in October.
 The RWF Board receives the votes and determines who will
receive the grants and the amount the organization will
receive.
 Grantees announced in November or December.
 If awarded a grant, you must wait five years before applying
again.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
 Substance
 Form
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
Do read and follow the directions.
2. Do make sure your application was developed with and has
the approval of the Executive Director/CEO/senior
administrator of the organization.
1.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
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3.
Do make sure the Board President/Chair verifies that the
proposed project is realistic and fits with organization's
strategic plan.
4.
Do make sure it's your moment! Are you ready to shine? Is
this the year to apply for this grant?
February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
Do your homework about RWF.
6. Do ask questions. Please direct your
questions to Michelle Eberly at FRV.
She will forward them to RWF.
5.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
Do remember that unlike many funders, RWF does fund
operating expenses.
8. Do remember your audience: not everyone knows your
organization.You may need to provide some basic
education.
7.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
9.
Do answer this question in your submissions:
Among so much need and so many worthy organizations, why should we
fund your project?
That is the question we will be asking!
10. Do make every sentence in your application play a role in
convincing us that you stand out as the best investment for
the future of our communities.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Substance
11. Do be clear about the number of individuals to be served.
12. Do distinguish your program from similar ones in the area.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Form
Do comply with the character
limits and use full words such
as “and” instead of “&”. That
isn’t creative; it is just trying to
trick the character count.
2. Do write the proposal in
layman's terms. Please use plain
language including:
1.




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Logical organization
Active voice
Short sentences
Common, everyday words
February 12, 2015
DO’S
Form
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3.
Do write in complete
sentences.
4.
Do proofread. Ask others to
proofread your document.
Proofread again. This cannot be
emphasized enough.
5.
Do read your document aloud
to someone to be sure it makes
sense.
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DO’S
Form
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6.
Do use the complete name of your organization.
7.
Do keep in mind that, as one of our Grants Committee
members stated, “Care in application details reflects
potential care in use of the money.”
February 12, 2015
DO’S
Form
Do submit documents free of any typos.
9. Do submit documents without any grammatical errors.
8.
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February 12, 2015
DO’S
Form
10. Do remember that readers can get lost or frustrated by
acronyms or abbreviations. If you are going to use them,
please be sure you first spell out fully all words, names or
terms before you use abbreviations or acronyms and limit
the number of times you use them.
11. Do remember we re-read the Phase I Applications when we
read the Phase II applications. You are wasting valuable real
estate if you repeat anything from one document to the
next.
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Questions??
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February 12, 2015
Thank You!
 Thank you for all the good work you do everyday to make
our communities better.
 Thank you for your time today.
 Thank you for taking care of others and for providing
services and opportunities to your clients and customers.
 Thank you for taking the time to apply for RWF grants and
all grants.
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February 12, 2015