An affiliate of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, a partner with FESAC, Sonora, Mexico and a member of the US/Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership. Grant Round 2013 – 2014 Details The Santa Cruz Community Foundation (SCCF) will commit its 2013-2014 grant funds to support the NPO Collaboration Challenge Grants. Basic Eligibility Requirements 1. Each proposed collaboration application must have a lead agency. The lead agency must be a 501(c)(3) in good standing conducting charitable work in Santa Cruz County Arizona or Nogales, Sonora (as certified by FESAC). 2. The organization must have local leadership in the form of a board of directors or advisory committee, local financial support, and local program management and accountability. In the case of nationally sponsored organizations, no portion of the grant can be used to support the national, state or regional entity. 3. The proposed program must directly benefit the people of Santa Cruz County and/or Nogales, Sonora. 4. Grants are not made to individuals, for-profit organizations, government entities, capital fund drives, agency endowments, individual schools or for sectarian purposes. 5. Grant funds are to be used for the direct costs described in the project proposal. Indirect costs will not be considered for funding. 6. An agency cannot apply for funding until all reports required in previous award contracts have been received. 7. One of our guiding principles is to honor the rich diversity of our community and to promote equal opportunities for all people. Awards made by the Foundation’s various grant panels support organizations that do not unlawfully discriminate in their employment practices, volunteer opportunities or delivery of programs and services on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, disability, ethnicity, marital status, familial status, gender identity, economic circumstances and/or veteran status. The following are the guidelines for this year’s granting process: 1. This grant cycle is dedicated to agencies that collaborate to strengthen programs and save funds – collaboration here means the actual sharing of staff, facilities and financial resources. If you are not currently involved in an active collaboration but are committed to starting one, you can still apply. If you need help locating partners, ask us. 2. SCCF welcomes applications that identify areas where the agencies involved in the proposed collaboration will use technical assistance to strengthen their capacity to plan, implement and evaluate programs as well as to improve their management and governance system. If you are seeking capacity building or technical assistance, please fill out and return that form. 3. SCCF will consider making multi-year grants if applying agencies can show adequate multi year planning. 4. Special consideration will be given to projects that collaborate with counterparts in Nogales, Sonora. Key dates for the grant cycle are: April 10 Letter out to all NPOs announcing the 2013-2014 SCCF grant cycle and inviting representatives to attend a training on how to form a collaborative. Grant applications are available from the SCCF office or by email. May 7: Collaboration training at SCCF and briefing on application process. Map and directions are available along with application from the SCCF office. May 17: Applications due by 4:00 pm. Electronic submission is acceptable. Grant Review committee meets – May 14, first round review Site visits when needed – May 21-23 Final grant committee meeting (awards decided) – May 24 Application Process and Content Collaborations meeting the requirements and priorities listed above must submit an application no later than May 17, 2012, 4:00 P.M. that includes, in this sequence: The lead applicant’s mission statement, board and staff list, sources of funding and IRS proof of non-profit status. What is the project? See Describe Your Request at the end of this document. A very brief (2 page max) description of all organizations involved in the collaboration. Include the date founded, service areas, number of unduplicated individuals served during the course of a year, and an overview of the types of programs offered. Please include a short explanation of how the agencies in the collaborative came together. A detailed lead agency current annual budget (for the year reflected in the grant request), showing both income and expenses. A budget for the program for which you are seeking SCCF grant support. How much are you requesting in SCCF financial support? What are other sources of support for your project? Are you seeking multiyear support? See Tips on preparing a project Budget for your grant application at the end of this document. A statement on how the governance, planning, implementation and evaluation (See Evaluation at the end of this document) of the collaborative project will be handled between the collaborating agencies. Have the boards of directors of all involved agencies approved the project and is the approval reflected in their minutes? Let us know if the agencies involved in the collaboration are considering merger or are focusing just on the specific project described in the application. An outline of the collaborative project seeking funding, the results your collaboration hopes to achieve and a description of how those results will be verified and evaluated. In all the above areas, brevity is appreciated. If we need more details we will ask for them. Your total application should not exceed 10 pages, including attachments. Please call Pat Trulock, Administrative Assistant, with any questions: 520-761-4531. Applications are to be personally delivered, mailed or emailed to the Foundation’s office: Sunrise Bank of Arizona Business Center, 825 N. Grand Avenue, Suite 104B, Nogales 85621. Hours of operation are 9-4 weekdays. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important! Suggested guidelines for your application. The easiest way to write your application and the one that is most helpful to the reviewer of your application is to go right down the outline below and answer each question in the order it is asked. Describe Your Request (incorporating the following points:) What is the name of your collaborative project? What, in one sentence, do you propose to do with your collaboration? What is the need that will be met by your activities? Which results will you hold yourselves accountable for? How will you achieve them? How will SCCF grant funds and/or technical assistance help? What will results really cost (time, staff, volunteers, equipment, funds etc), and how can you support them now and over time? How do you build the organization you need to deliver and sustain results? Evaluation Provide a clear plan for the evaluation of the results of the program/project in relation to its stated objectives. How will you show that the expected outcomes were met? Include: a) Outcomes, b) How outcomes will be measured, c) What would be considered a satisfactory level of accomplishment? Tips on preparing a project Budget for your grant application Clearly depict how much money is needed and how it will be used. The budget should include sources (income) and uses (expenses) of funds. Sources of funds should include names of other funding organizations and amounts pledged or received as well as amounts still needed to be raised and possible sources for those funds. Indicate the time period covered by the budget. One year or multi year? Indicate if requested expenses are one-time or ongoing. Make sure that you have accounted for all costs, such as benefits and payroll taxes as well as salaries, so that there will be no surprises mid-project. Finally, make sure all the numbers add up. Good luck – you will do great!