Programmatic Grant Questions With Guidance and Examples

Transcription

1 Programmatic Grant Questions With Guidance and Examples Qualifying Information 1. Tax ID (if applicable) Guidance: Enter the nine- digit US Tax ID number of the 501(c)(3) non- profit organization for which you are applying. If you do not know the organization's Tax ID, please contact the business office of the organization or call the IRS, toll- free at If your organization is not located in the United States or otherwise does not have a US Tax ID number, then leave this field empty. 2. Tax Status (i.e. 501(c)(3)) Contact Information 1. Salutation 2. First Name 3. Last Name 4. Address 5. City 6. State 7. Country 8. Zip 9. Telephone 10. Address 11. Title General Organization Information 1. Legal Name 2. AKA Name 3. Address 4. City 5. State 1

2 6. Zip 7. Country 8. Telephone 9. Fax 10. Address 11. Website Address 12. What geographical area(s) does your organization serve? 13. How would you classify the field in which your organization works? 14. Funding from MasterCard Worldwide Guidance: If you currently receive, or have received in the past, funding from MasterCard Worldwide, include a brief explanation of when those grants were received, in what amounts, and how those funds are being, or have been, used. If not applicable, please enter "N/A". 15. List of Board Members Guidance: Please type in each of the Board Member's names. After each one, click "Add to List." If you need to remove one, highlight the one to be removed and click "Remove from List." 16. Board Member Affiliations Guidance: Please type in each of the Board Member's names and affiliations as shown in the sample format below. Full Name, Affiliation or Employer For example: Jane Smith, Community Member Sarah Hayes, Community Bank 17. Top 5 Corporate Donors Guidance: Please indicate your organization's top 5 corporate contributors. Include when the donation was received and the amount of donation. Use the following format: 1) Donor A, MM/DD/YY, $ 2) Donor B, MM/DD/YY, $ 3) Donor C, MM/DD/YY, $ 4) Donor D, MM/DD/YY, $ 5) Donor E, MM/DD/YY, $ 18. Top 5 Foundation Donors Guidance: Please indicate your organization's top 5 foundation contributors. Include when the donation was received and the amount of donation. Use the following format: 1) Donor A, MM/DD/YY, $ 2) Donor B, MM/DD/YY, $ 3) Donor C, MM/DD/YY, $ 2

3 4) Donor D, MM/DD/YY, $ 5) Donor E, MM/DD/YY, $ Proposal Intent 1. What is the title of this project or program? Guidance: Provide a title for the project or program for which you are requesting funding. The title should be no longer than ten words. NOTE: Title should not contain the name of the organization. Example: Youth Entrepreneurship Training 2. Is this a new or existing project or program? Guidance: Please indicate whether this project or program is just launching or if it has been already launched and running. (drop down box: new, existing) 3. What is the total grant amount you are requesting from MasterCard Worldwide? Guidance: Indicate the total grant amount you are requesting (in US $ s) for the project or program you propose. Please round all requests to the nearest $5,000. Example: US$275, Please provide a brief summary of your program or project. Guidance: Provide a brief description of the program or project for which you seek support, including its overall goal, use of MasterCard Worldwide funds, total anticipated number of people or places to be served and geography served by the project. Limit your description to no more than five sentences. Example: Our program will work with at- risk youth between the ages of 15 and 18 from Jalpur and Banaglore over a two- year period to provide them with business and life skills training. Key areas of focus will be creative thinking, risk taking, business administration and marketing. MasterCard Worldwide funds will assist with the material development, enrollment testing and student training. 5. Please indicate the geographical area served by this program 6. Project Start Date Guidance: Enter the date on which you expect to begin using the grant funds and begin working towards the project results described in this application. Example: January 1, Project Length Guidance: Enter the length of time needed to achieve the project results described in this application. All grant funds must be expended within this time period. We are interested in results that can be achieved within a 12- month period, but are open to programs and projects that may require a shorter or longer time period for the results to be achieved. You must reach agreement on this date with your Program Officer before submitting this application. 3

4 Example: 24 months 8. Requested Payment Schedule for all Grants Guidance: Enter the requested schedule for payments (in U.S. dollars/$ only) either each year of multi- year grants or the breakdown over the term for one- year grants. Example: Multi- year grant: $150,000; $125,000; One- year grant: 2013: January 1 - $50,000, July 1 - $50, What is your total overall program or project budget (including the grant amount requested from MasterCard Worldwide)? Guidance: Indicate the total overall budget for this project. This must equal the dollar amount stated in the required project budget attachment. Example: US$750, What is your total organizational budget? Guidance: Indicate the total annual budget for your last completed fiscal year. You will be required to submit your organization budget in the final section of the application. Example: US$3,500,000 Organizational Capability 1. What is your organization s mission and vision? Guidance: Mission is what you do, and vision is the end state you wish to achieve. The best mission and vision statements are short and clear. Describe how your mission gives you focus and guides your actions and decisions. Example: The Young Global Entrepreneurs Foundation (YGEF) mission is to provide life- skills training and quality educational programs, focused on financial and business skills to help prepare young people to be healthy, productive and engaged citizens. Our vision is for a world market where all engaged youth are able to enjoy a productive and meaningful quality of life. We use our mission and vision not only to decide what programs we offer and to whom, but also to incorporate the aspects of both productivity and quality of life into our students goals and the curriculum we offer. 2. Please describe what makes your organization uniquely qualified to implement this program or project. Guidance: Focus on ways you truly stand out and on how your strengths and past experience qualify you to successfully execute the project in this proposal Example: The Young Global Entrepreneurs Foundation (YGEF) is a global non- profit organization that invests in a worldwide community of businesses, governments, and civil society organizations committed to empowering youth to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. For more than 10 years, YGEF has been delivering empowerment and life training to the world s youth through our staff and partnerships with national and international NGO s who provide us with on the ground capacity to implement new programming. Currently operating in 78 countries and territories, our programs are catalysts of change that help young people obtain a quality education, gain employability skills, make healthy choices, and improve their communities. Our local presence in communities in conjunction with our programming allows 4

5 us to connect with students, businesses and the community to provide relevant teachings, support and resources to ensure that youth succeed. 3. As a result of your efforts, what has your organization achieved in the past three years that most relates to the program or project for which you seek MasterCard Worldwide support? Guidance: Rather than describing your organization, describe how many people or places have tangibly improved their behavior or condition through your efforts and in what ways. Example: Over the past three years, The Young Global Entrepreneurs Foundation has developed and led culturally sensitive leadership and business programming in some of the most remote areas of the world. Most recently, our work in rural Africa over the past 24 months has led to economic empowerment for more than 50 local youth. Your Participants 1. What is the issue or opportunity you want to address, and who is the community (described as people or organizations) you anticipate working with during the grant period? Guidance: State the challenge or problem you are trying to address in clear terms as it is experienced by the community (described as people or places), which is affected. Focus on the set of people, organizations or environmental elements in the geographic area you serve to explain the community issues that support the need for the proposed project. If your program or project is designed to impact a geographic site or sites rather than a population of people describe the place(s) here and in the following questions. Example: There are more than 1.3 billion young people aged in the world today and many lack the skills and opportunities to stay in school, find and keep a job, and become engaged in their community. In developing nations and rural communities this problem is even more relevant and real. YGEF is preparing to launch their Youth Entrepreneurship program in two key cities in India. Each year, as many as 12 million young people in India enter the labor market seeking jobs that can support themselves and their families. However, the Indian economy only creates approximately one million new jobs in the formal sector every year. Working on the ground in the cities of Jalpur and Bangalore, YGEF will focus on disadvantaged youth between the ages of 15 and 18 to provide them with business and life skills training, mentoring from local business members and technical assistance on starting and/or expanding a business. 2. Describe the specific barriers and difficulties faced by the majority of the population or place you plan to serve. Guidance: Help us understand the level of difficulty you anticipate in helping people or places achieve the proposed result by defining the kinds of barriers you expect the majority of the participants to face. Describe these barriers in terms of the behaviors and conditions faced by those you plan to serve PRIOR to your working with them. If you were to take a snapshot of the participants or places before you interact with them, describe the barriers they would have to overcome to achieve success in the program or project. Your answer to this question will help us understand what your project/program is intended to change. Example: Barriers of the youth we plan to serve include: 5

6 Weak basic life skills, including reading, general comprehension and underdeveloped communication skills Low confidence and early failures in school and work Poor concept of money, how to acquire and manage it effectively Your Results 1. Please indicate which program area your results will primarily impact? Guidance: Based on the final results sought for your participants, please select the program area, as defined below, that best fits your project: Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development Providing new and existing entrepreneurs with skills, knowledge and resources to succeed. Access to Capital Helping create new businesses, and supporting existing small businesses so they can thrive and grow. Business Literacy for At- Risk Youth Building the skills and competencies of youth to navigate the world of work and create opportunities for themselves. 2. What results do you expect to achieve? Guidance: Results are not activities such as participation in workshops. They are specific verifiable changes in behavior made possible by these activities. Example: By December 2014, 114 out of the 200 at- risk youth from Jalpur and Banaglore will have started or expanded their business, leading to at least 65 businesses that will have been either started or expanded. These businesses will in turn create at least 156 new jobs in the local community. Click here for a guide sheet to help you create a strong results statement. 3. For the MasterCard results specified in our Grant Guidelines and outlined below, what specific results do you expect your target population to achieve? Include both numbers of participants you plan to serve and the number that you predict to achieve the respective results. Guidance: Only complete the result(s) statement(s) below relevant to the proposed project. More than one result trail may be applicable in some cases. List the number of individuals who will achieve each respective result. Please note the difference between the number of persons to be served versus the number of participants who will achieve the desired result. The number to achieve the result should be smaller than the number to be served. By the end of the grant period: Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development How many at- risk youth will you serve during the grant period? 200 How many at- risk adults will you serve during the grant period? N/A 6

7 Of those you plan to serve: How many will express interest in starting or expanding a business? 197 How many participants will demonstrate the skills to successfully start, expand or run a business? 168 How many participants will obtain needed resources for start- up or expansion? N/A How many participants will start or expand a business? 114 How many new businesses will be created? 45 How many businesses will be expanded? 20 How much additional or new revenue will be generated? (in $ s over the grant period) N/A How many new jobs for at- risk individuals will be created? 156 Access to Capital How many Lending Organizations will you serve during the grant period? N/A How many existing Small Businesses will you serve during the grant period? N/A How many New Businesses will you serve during the grant period? N/A Of those you plan to serve: How many lending organizations have demonstrated their ability to provide new product offerings or solutions to new or existing small businesses? N/A How many new customers (entrepreneurs/small businesses) will be made aware of the new product offering(s) or solution(s)? N/A How many existing customers (entrepreneurs/small businesses) will be made aware of the new product offering(s) or solution(s)? N/A How many new small business owners/entrepreneurs will be able to obtain direct, secure and reliable financing? N/A How many existing small business owners/entrepreneurs will be able to obtain direct, secure and reliable financing? N/A How many new small business owners/entrepreneurs will confirm use of products that have helped start their business? N/A How many existing small business owners/entrepreneurs will confirm use of products that have helped expand their business? N/A Business Literacy for At- Risk Youth How many at- risk youth will you serve during the grant period? N/A Of those you plan to serve: How many at- risk youth served will set goals for improvement and develop an action plan? N/A How many at- risk youth served will use action plan to increase competency in business, including financial or soft skills? N/A 7

8 How many at- risk youth will demonstrate competencies needed to start and run a business? N/A How many at- risk youth will take the first steps to start a business? N/A 4. Are there any additional results you anticipate your participants achieving during the grant period that you would like to share with us? Guidance: If there are any other key results that you think will be relevant, please provide a brief summary of them. Example: 50 of the 168 at- risk youth that start or expand their business will hire and train at least 1 new full time employee. 5. How will you know when your project s results have been achieved? What information or evidence will be used to verify success? Guidance: Verification is easier and less costly than evaluation. Explain how you will confirm that results were achieved. Keep it as simple as possible and look to methods that are low effort and low cost. You may be able to use existing data sources or rely on existing measurements. You may also be able to use observations and reports by others or in some cases, self- reported behaviors. Example: Program staff and teachers will track each of the students and collect information about their training, businesses and/or employment status each month to determine if targets are on track. In addition to the indicators outlined in this application, we also plan to measure results and verify success through the following indicators: - Number of people with access to the platform - Number of downloaded platform material - Number of cell phone application downloads - Number of participants in the presence(???) courses - Small and micro entrepreneur statements on the usage of the tools provided Your Project 1. What are the key elements of your project that are critical to achieve the stated results? Guidance: Your project should reflect a coherent strategy to achieve a result. Tell us the key elements of your program or project that must be in place for you to succeed with those you serve. Be sure to include the essential elements and the general structure that must be in place and how much interaction is required throughout the project to ensure success. Example: Developing and implementing the Youth Entrepreneurship Training program in both Jalpur and Bangalore will require each of these core components: Program Development and Market Assessment: In order to ensure that training is tailored to local youth and market realities, YGEF will conduct market assessments to identify economic growth sectors, market demand, and potential business development opportunities for participating youth. Participant Selection: YGEF will introduce the local youth and their communities to the program through a series of workshops and/or presentations. Based on those who express interest, we will select program participants from youth showing the most 8

9 entrepreneurial aptitude, drive and tolerance for risk- taking that is critical for entrepreneurial success. Entrepreneur and Business Training: Selected youth will attend three 2- day training sessions, one focused on life skills and the other on business and financial fundamentals. Youth will develop a business plan that will be reviewed and will, if required, be given assistance/guidance in obtaining financial support. Those at- risk youth who are in the best position to grow their businesses and employ other youth, will also be invited to attend a 2- day enterprise development training focused on business growth and management. Technical Assistance and Mentoring: YGEF will provide young people with access to mentors, including local MasterCard employees and other technical support to help young entrepreneurs refine their plans, succeed in the start- up phase, and grow their businesses. 2. How will you track success during the grant period? This includes defining 3-5 key participant milestones you will use to manage progress, the critical project steps you or others will take to help participants accomplish each milestone, and a timeline of when those milestones will be achieved. Note: All milestones should occur within the grant period. Click here for a workbook to help you create a strong set of steps and milestones. Guidance: A strong answer to this section includes: 1. Milestones that clearly reflect 3-4 key progress points that the participants need to achieve in order to be 'on track' to reach the project results (e.g., participants enroll, they demonstrate new skills, they use skills on their own, they achieve the program target) 2. Critical steps that include only the major activities that are required to move the organization or participants to each progress point (e.g., provide outreach, provide training, provide 1:1 counseling, provide follow- up and verification) 3. A clear IF - THEN relationship between a major project activity and the milestone that defines success for that activity (e.g., IF we provide outreach, THEN at least 100 new participants will enroll in the program) 4. A timeline that reflects when a milestone will be accomplished - not when the activity will be implemented. Example: 1) Conduct market assessment including interviews with local community members, businesses, etc. Milestone: At least 12 community members interviewed and 6 local businesses participate in market research (Jan Mar 2013) 2) Develop and conduct participant introductory presentations and workshops Milestone: At least 250 at- risk youth in each location will participate in workshops and agree to be tested (April 2013) 9

10 3) Conduct entrepreneurial aptitude testing Milestone: 100 at- risk youth in each location selected to enroll in (May 2013) 4) Deliver 3, two- day sessions plus 6 mentoring sessions per participant, aimed at closing gaps of target population focusing on life skills, business and financial training. Milestone: At least 168 of the participants will complete the 3 two- day sessions and demonstrate the skills to successfully start, expand or run a business (June December 2014) 3. List other committed funders of this program or project and include the dollar amount of their commitment during the grant period described in this application. Guidance: List all funders associated with the program or project. Designate funding amounts and if funding has been secured. Example: YGEF has secured project funding from BCBS of India ($75,000) and the American Foundation for India ($100,000). Total amount secured for the project to date is $175,000. Key People and Groups 1. Who will lead this program or project? If that person is not yet on staff, what kind of talent will you need in order to implement this project? Guidance: Explain why the project leader is most qualified to achieve the desired results. If the success of this project is dependent on a person s training or education, be sure to explain the relevance. Example: Dr. J. Advani, our local program officer, will oversee the development and delivery of the entrepreneurship curriculum. Dr. Advani has been with YGEF for the past six years and prior to that was a professor at the University of India for ten years. He has successfully developed the curriculum for most of our current programs but most importantly for those geared toward youth entrepreneurship. He is an outstanding member of our local community who obtained his Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Delhi. 2. Are any partners or intermediaries critical to your success? If so, what must they do, what is the evidence that they are committed to doing it and how do you monitor their performance? Guidance: Focus on those groups who have a role in your success and on their commitment to play that role. An intermediary is a group or person whose behavior you do not control, but who must do something for you to succeed and/or to enter a setting. A partner is a group (e.g., consultants or other) which has the skills or talents to augment or counterbalance your own organization s skills as a part of project delivery. Explain why this is the best partner for you. Example: We are excited to work with the senior vice presidents of local financial institutions in the Jalpur and Banaglore communities. These talented professionals have committed their time, knowledge and expertise to assisting us in delivering a strong curriculum and identifying potential students in their local communities to participate in the program. We have a letter from each of them stating their commitment and the amount of time they can contribute each month through September Will any of the grant dollars awarded be reallocated to a partner or intermediary? (Yes/No answer) 10

11 4. If yes, please describe how your organization selects such partners or intermediaries, including any due diligence that is conducted and how you monitor their progress and results. Project Visibility and Volunteers 1. What is your communications strategy for this project, including traditional and social media? How will MasterCard Worldwide philanthropic support be communicated to the public? And how will you confirm the placements itemized in question #2 below? Guidance: Describe how you will communicate (to participants and the general public) about this program/project and progress toward results. Be specific about how MasterCard Wordwide s grant will be acknowledged throughout your communications activities. Example: We will include MasterCard Worldwide and its logo as a key sponsor of this program on all of our marketing materials (e.g., brochure, presentations) and on the program page on our web site. Our plan is to place articles in 3 local papers and e- zines. Our executive assistant will confirm all placements and provide drafts for MasterCard s review prior to placement as well as final copies in our project reports. 2. How many of the following placements do you anticipate with regard to this program? Newspaper articles N/A Local or national radio spots N/A Local or national television spot N/A Internet articles 3 Social media placements: o Facebook 6 o Twitter 5 Other Forums/Conferences N/A 3. Who is your target audience for these communications (e.g., policy makers, commentators, government, community members) and what do you hope to achieve through them? Guidance: Describe who you plan to reach with your communications, what your goal is for communicating with them, how these audiences and communications will help your organization and this program/project and progress toward results. Example: YGEF s target audiences for communications on this project are both the local youth who we wish to encourage come to our initial sessions but also local educators and community members who have influence over these youth. Informing both populations about the project and its goal to train and help the local youth in India succeed in business we hope will drive participation levels up and ultimately improve the quality of life for these young people. 4. If applicable, what opportunities are there for volunteer engagement? Guidance: Categories of volunteers might include: MasterCard Worldwide employees, MasterCard Worldwide retirees, students and community members. Sample volunteer options include: on- site or remote volunteerism, skills- based volunteerism, volunteer keynote speaker, volunteer panelist, board placement, knowledge sharing, etc. Volunteer opportunities are encouraged, but not required for a grant. 11

12 Example: We would like to request three to five MasterCard Worldwide volunteers from the local offices participate in the first year of the program, with an expectation to increase this number in future years. We would request that they be skills- based volunteers who can enhance the training that we provide to the students by sharing their real world experiences and applications via classroom presentations. 5. What capacity and experience does your organization have for managing volunteer experiences, and who will manage this effort? Guidance: Please provide us with details as to how your organization works with volunteers, including staff responsible for volunteer management, training of volunteers, on- site management, etc. Example: Our Community Engagement Manager is responsible for all volunteer activities. She not only works with organizations such as MasterCard but also local community members who wish to volunteer to ensure placement at appropriate locations and activity level, training or briefing as required, and tracks dates and times of volunteer service. In addition, she conducts a short survey after each volunteer opportunity concludes to collect feedback from volunteers on their experience. 6. How will these volunteers contribute to the achievement of the desired results for this project? Guidance: Tell us why these volunteers make a difference at your organization and how their involvement in this program will contribute to the achievement of the results described in this application. Example: We have found that students value and relate to the real- life experiences and knowledge that volunteers offer them. When the students interact with someone who has had similar life experiences or someone who has similar aspirations, it becomes real for them, and they begin to see the real possibilities for their life. It gives them the desire, will and determination to be successful and achieve their goal of graduating from this program. 12