Submit a Grant Proposal for Program Support

Before Getting Started
A Letter of Inquiry is the required first step in submitting funding requests to be considered by the Community Foundation. The information provided below is intended only for those organizations that previously submitted a Letter of Inquiry and have been invited by the Community Foundation in writing to submit a full grant proposal. If you have not submitted a Letter of Inquiry or would like more information, please read our Community Impact Grants Program page.

Application Preparation and Deadline to Submit a Grant Proposal
The original and fifteen copies of the proposal must be received by the Foundation office located at 123 NW Fourth Street, Suite 220, Evansville, Indiana (second floor of the Court Building) no later than noon on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.  Use 8½ by 11 inch paper and stapled (no binders or folders please).  

Please Note:  To hand deliver a funding request, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation is located on the second floor of the Court Building in Suite 220.  If no one is in the office at Suite 220, you may drop your documents in the mail chute in the door, or, if it will not fit, deliver them to the Community Foundation Alliance office on the third floor, Suite 322. 

Required Documents

Cover Sheet (see "Online Forms" below)

Narrative Addressing the Following (two to four pages).  The first sentence should state the amount you are requesting, the type of funding you are seeking (i.e. program or operating), and the project title.

Project Summary

Describe your project and the community need being addressed.

How is this project relative to your organization's mission?

What are the project goals and the expected impact on the community?

What population will the project serve?

Funding

What is the total cost of the project?

What amount is requested from the Foundation? If the full amount of your request for funding cannot be granted, what portion of your request do you consider to be most essential?

How will requested funds be used?

What additional funding sources are needed?

Implementation

How will the project be implemented?

What provisions exist to maintain the completed project?

Chart the timeline for implementing the project.

Evaluation

What outputs (direct results of activities) are necessary to classify the project a success (e.g. training completed, credentials awarded, skills obtained, etc.)?

What outcomes (changes caused by the project) are necessary to classify the project a success (e.g. jobs, wage increases, promotions, etc.)?

What tools will be used to evaluate the project (observation, surveys, interviews, focus groups, pre/post tests, etc.)?

Supporting Documents
The following documents are to be attached to the Cover Sheet and Narrative described above. It is important to provide ALL requested attachments and that they be labeled in the following manner:

Attachment 1: Project Budget Worksheet (see "Online Forms" below)

Attachment 2: Mission statement and nondiscrimination policy

Attachment 3: Statement of qualifications of project personnel

Attachment 4: Current board roster with professional affiliations

Attachment 5: Fiscal sponsor agreement letter, if applicable

Attachment 6: Organization's current annual operating budget

Attachment 7: Most recent financial statement (monthly, quarterly, etc.)

Attachment 8: Most recent audited financial statement or completed IRS Form 990 (if available)  NOTE: it is not required to provide additional copies of the full audit.

Online Forms
The Cover Sheet Form and the Project Budget Worksheet Form are provided below. These forms are designed to be completed on-screen and then printed (they cannot be submitted on-line and they cannot be saved for retrieval at a later time). You must have Adobe Reader to access these files (Adobe Reader is free and can be downloaded at www.adobe.com/downloads).

Cover Sheet Form
Project Budget Worksheet Form

Funding Minimum/Maximum Range
The Foundation will consider funding requests of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000. Funding requests that do not fall within these limitations will not be considered.

Deliberation
The grants committee will make its recommendations on funding to the Foundation's Board of Trustees, which will make final funding recommendations to the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation Alliance (our governing body). No lobbying or soliciting of grants committee members or board members will be permitted.

Award Announcement
All organizations that have submitted grant proposals will be notified of the outcome of the grants committee's deliberation in writing no later than December 1.

Reporting Procedures
A six-month progress report and a final report at project completion are required by organizations whose proposals are approved for funding. Instructions and appropriate forms will be provided at the time the grant is awarded.