2014 Guidelines for Submitting a Full Proposal for the Grassroots Grants Program

Transcription

1 2014 Guidelines for Submitting a Full Proposal for the Grassroots Grants Program Due: August 7, 2014

2 Submitting a Full Proposal The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem has invited selected organizations to submit a full proposal to provide us with more detailed information about their proposed programs. Full proposals may only be submitted by those organizations that submitted a preliminary application and were invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals must be received by The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem no later than 11:59 p.m. on August 7, This document will outline the materials and information needed for a full proposal. In addition to this document, we recommend that you review the 2014 Grant Guidelines, the report Through a Gender Lens: The Economic Security of Women and Girls in Forsyth County, and additional resources such as the Frequently Asked Questions, Glossary of Terms, and Developing your Program with a Gender Focus prior to completing your proposal. All of these materials are available on the Women s Fund website at in the Grants section. If after reviewing these materials you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact The Women s Fund at or sabrina.slade@wsfoundation.org. An invitation to submit a full proposal does not mean that you will receive a grant from The Women s Fund of Winston- Salem. By inviting your organization to submit a full proposal, we are indicating that your Preliminary Application made the case that your proposed program appeared to fit our basic guidelines and we would like to know more about the program to determine if it is eligible to receive a grant. There are two additional stages of review that your proposal must pass through before receiving a grant. Review of Full Proposals The next step of the process after you submit your proposal is the review of all of the proposals by our Grant Review Committee. At this stage of the process, in addition to the basic eligibility criteria, the reviewers will be evaluating the merits of the program design, the organization s capacity to carry out the program, and the potential social change impact of the program. This committee will select a subset of proposals to move forward to our membership for voting. During this review, you may be contacted with additional questions or to schedule an interview or site visit. Applicants will be notified of the decisions of this group and whether or not their proposal will be voted on by our members. Notification will be made by no later than September 19, Membership Voting Our members serve as the final reviewers and decision makers in our grant process. All members will receive summaries of each proposal still under consideration and will vote to determine which proposals will receive funding. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by October 27, 2014 and grants will be awarded at The Women s Fund 9th Annual Lunch on November 19, 2014.

3 The Components of a Full Proposal The full proposal consists of several components outlined below. These components will be completed and to sabrina.slade@wsfoundation.org as part of the grant process. Other supplemental materials may either be ed or submitted in hard copy to The Women s Fund. The following materials must be ed to sabrina.slade@wsfoundation.org by August 7, 2014: Full Application The full application provides general contact information for the organization and basic information about the grant request. Please complete and submit this form along with additional information requested below. Additional Organizational Information This page of the grant application form asks for additional information about your organization s board financial contributions and your inclusion, equity, and diversity practices. Focus on Girls/Young Women This page of the grant application form must be completed by organization s that are seeking to provide programs for girls or young women (ages 20 or younger). Proposal Narrative & Responses to Supplemental Questions The proposal narrative is the heart of your full proposal. This is the narrative where you will provide us with detailed information about the work you are proposing and how it fits with the guidelines of The Women s Fund of Winston- Salem. This proposal is limited to a maximum of 3 pages. Some organizations will also be required to answer one or more of our supplemental questions (see page 9). Please note if required to answer any of these questions, you are allowed an additional ½ page for each of your responses beyond the 3 pages of the core proposal narrative. The proposal narrative and responses to supplemental questions must be ed to sabrina.slade@wsfoundation.org as either a single Word or PDF document. Line-Item Budget Request & Budget Narrative The line-item budget request provides us with specific details about the projected expenses associated with your proposed program, and the particular items for which you are seeking support from The Women s Fund of Winston- Salem. The budget narrative helps us to understand how the requested budget line-items will be used in the program. The budget request and narrative must be ed to sabrina.slade@wsfoundation.org as either an Excel or PDF document. A link to a budget template was ed to you with these guidelines and can also be found on The Women s Fund web site at: in the Grants Section under Application Forms.

4 The following materials may be ed to or hard copies may be provided to The Women s Fund of Winston-Salem. Hard copies of these documents must be received by no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 7, Note: All items that are ed must be in Word, Excel or PDF formats. Images (jpeg, tiff, etc.) cannot be ed. If you scan an item to submit it, please make sure you scan to PDF, not an image. Signed Authorization to Submit Proposal The authorization form MUST be signed those who are authorized to apply for funding on behalf of the organization. In the case of most nonprofit organizations, this typically means the Executive Director and the Chair of the Board of Directors. In the case of government agencies and colleges and universities, the form must include the signatures of those who are authorized to apply for funding on behalf of the institution. In the case of proposals from the Winston- Salem/Forsyth County School District, the site supervisor (typically a principal) must sign in the Executive Director space and the Superintendent of Schools must sign this document. Please build adequate time into your proposal development process to have obtained these signatures prior to the proposal due date. Supplemental Materials Board of Directors List A balance sheet and income statement (P&L) for your last completed fiscal year and current year to date (not required for public agencies) Letter(s) of support or Memorandum(s) of Understanding with any collaborative partners Copies of any policies or documents that demonstrate your organizations inclusion, equity and diversity practices If using a fiscal sponsor please provide a letter or Memorandum of Understanding outlining the role and responsibilities of the fiscal sponsor The Women s Fund may to ask you for additional supplemental materials as part of its review process. However, at the time of proposal submission, we ask that you only submit the supplemental materials requested.

5 The Proposal Narrative The proposal narrative will provide us with substantive information about your plans for this grant. The proposal narrative should be no longer than 3 pages total (Additional space is allowed if you must answer any of the supplemental questions. Note that the page count for the narrative does not include the line-item budget, budget narrative or any of the supplemental materials). Although 3 pages may seem like a limited response space, the point is to be concise and to focus your narrative on the most relevant information (as outlined below). The proposal narrative should be typed with a minimum 12-point font size and one-inch margins. Below are the sections that must be covered in your proposal and suggested lengths for each section. The recommendations presented provide guidance based on elements of successful and unsuccessful applications to The Fund. After describing each of these components, we will provide a sample section from an actual funded grassroots grant application. Background and Issue Statement - (approximately 1-3 paragraphs) This section should provide a description of the specific problem or issue your program will address. You should provide a brief history of how this issue has evolved in the environment in which your project or activity will focus. This section should give a clear sense of the scale of the issue and how it is related to improving the economic security of women and girls in our community. Key information to include in this section: How and why your organization came to focus on this issue. How have women and girls been engaged to define their needs and the solutions to this problem? What data or information supports the need for your work? What is your understanding of the root causes of this issue? Specifically, focus on any social, political, environmental or systemic factors that you will be addressing. Why is it timely or urgent to address this issue now? For evaluation grants, please provide this background information on the issue that is addressed by the program that you are evaluating and state the purpose of conducting the evaluation. BACKGROUND AND ISSUE STATEMENT (Sample from successful proposal from HandsOn NWNC) Effective leaders are essential to the vitality of nonprofits and their missions. Based on recent demographic research, many of today's nonprofit leaders will transition to other careers or retire within the next decade. Nonprofits must begin to develop middle managers and other professionals to take on the responsibilities of leadership in order to maintain their effectiveness in delivering critical services to our community. One specific challenge nonprofits must address is the adequate training and preparation of women to lead organizations. Although women comprise almost 70% of the nonprofit workforce nationally, women typically lead smaller organizations with smaller budgets as compared to men. In 2006, women led 55% of nonprofits with budgets of $1 million or less, yet only 36% of nonprofits with budgets greater than $1 million, and even fewer nonprofits (24%), with budgets over $5 million. Additionally, the median compensation for women is approximately 28% less than the median compensation for males in nonprofits of every size. Although there are several factors that influence why women are disproportionately represented among leadership in nonprofits, one root cause is the lack of adequate leadership development among middle tier staff. In many cases, nonprofits do not pursue staff development due to cost and the perception that training is a luxury, not a necessity. Acquiring leadership skills are essential if women are to be competitive for leadership positions, and a recent study confirmed that women seeking leadership roles expressed a greater desire than men to increase skills, leadership capability, and confidence before pursuing executive positions. Additionally, women desire strong professional networks for peer support. Providing women with the opportunity to acquire and develop leadership skills will give them increased confidence in their abilities to compete for leadership positions and may help reduce inequities in compensation as they become more empowered and request compensation equal to that of their male counterparts in similar positions.

6 Program Plan (approximately 1-1 ½ pages--this should be the most detailed and specific section of your proposal and therefore should constitute the bulk of your proposal) This section should provide a detailed description of the work that you are proposing to do to address the issue that you have identified. This section should describe how your work will help solve the problem and create the type of change that you are seeking. Key information to include in this section: A description of your target population, including how they will be recruited to participate in the program or project. How many women/girls will be directly impacted by this project? How many will be indirectly impacted? What activities and strategies will you use? Please be very specific and explanatory when discussing the activities and strategies you will use. For example, if you are holding workshops, describe the format, length, and number of workshops as well as who will participate and lead the workshops and the topics covered. Why did you choose this approach and what makes you think it will be successful? If the program is based on best practices or is a replication of a successful program tell us this. How has this approach been designed with a gender focus to meet the specific needs of women and/or girls? How will the program or project be implemented and who is responsible for the implementation? If relevant, explain the role of any other organizations involved in implementing this program or project. Explain how their participation will benefit and strengthen the program or project. PROGRAM PLAN The program will address the need for more women to ascend to higher levels of leadership within the nonprofit sector. The target population will be mid-level female staff (managers, assistant directors, program coordinators, other professionals) currently serving in Forsyth County nonprofits who are committed to public service and are interested in gaining leadership skills that would enhance their ability to pursue leadership positions within their organization or within the nonprofit sector. HandsOn NWNC will advertise the program in our monthly e-newsletter, which currently has nearly 700 subscribers from over 365 different nonprofits, and will post program information on our website. Women interested in participating in Women s Emerging Leaders must complete an application that includes: personal and professional goals; desired programs benefits; descriptions of other group learning or leadership development experiences; statement of intended organizational benefit; and, anticipated leadership goals/challenges over the next 3-5 years. Also required is a letter of support from the applicant s board chair, along with a certification signed by the applicant and the board chair stating their understanding of the time, cost and evaluation commitments of the program. Participants for the program will be selected by a volunteer committee. The program, Leadership Essentials, is a two day leadership workshop developed by the Center for Creative Leadership specifically for community-based leaders. HandsOn NWNC will contract with an adjunct faculty member of the Center to co-lead the workshop along with the HandsOn Executive Director. In addition to the Leadership Essentials curriculum, the training will also incorporate researchbased content that focuses on issues and perceptions unique to women, such as the choices and tradeoffs that women face as they juggle professional and personal issues. Specifically, participants will: learn the essential elements of leadership, receive insight into their personal leadership skills and challenges, learn techniques to give and receive feedback, gain fresh perspectives and practical advice on how to tackle their personal leadership challenges, learn to make choices based on tradeoffs and rewards, learn how to overcome biases, and develop strong bonds to a new group of local female peers within the sector that will provide future career support. The training is designed for women only and incorporates modules that focus on leadership issues unique to women. The class size is limited to 20 participants in an effort to encourage networking and create a safe place in which to learn and practice new skills and techniques. The workshop will be conducted by women dedicated to building female leaders.

7 Objectives & Impact (approximately ¼ to ½ page) This section should list specific objectives and impact for the work you are planning to do. Objectives are well-defined, specific, and quantifiable statements that summarize the anticipated results of the activities of your program. Objectives should be measurable and time constrained. You should also make sure they are realistic and can be accomplished. There are two types of objectives: Product objectives include activities that result in the development of a tangible product. Example: To develop a policy brief on the state of child support enforcement in Forsyth County. Process objectives include measurement of key activities that you engage in as part of your program. Example: To train 25 low-income women as child care advocates. Please state a minimum of three objectives for your proposed program or project. The objectives MUST be listed as either bullet points or numbered. They MUST be measurable and specific. Impact is the change or benefit for individuals or the larger community that you hope to accomplish as the result of your proposed work. Impact should correlate to the social change shifts (in behaviors, definition, engagement or institutions and policies) that you are seeking. Impact can be either short-term or long-term: Short-term impact is what you plan to achieve over the course of your grant. Example: Increased utilization of child support enforcement programs by low-income women. Long-term impact is what you are seek to accomplish that may take a longer period of time. These relate to the changes that you seek to create in the knowledge, attitudes, thinking, and practices of individuals, groups of individuals, the larger community, and the systems and policies of organizations and institutions. Example: Increased funding for child care subsidies. Please state both the short and long-term impact you seek to accomplish through this work. The impacts MUST be listed as either bullet points or numbered. OBJECTIVES AND IMPACT Objectives To identify 20 women in mid-level staff positions in Forsyth County nonprofits to participate in the training program with the support of their organization. 100% of participants will identify personal leadership skills and challenges and will develop practical steps to achieve their personal leadership goals. 75% of participants will achieve at least one of their leadership goals within one year of the training program. 50% of participants will remain in contact with at least one other workshop participant, formally or informally, within one year after the conclusion of the workshop Impact Short term impact includes the development of skills, knowledge and peer support among women in mid-level staff positions that will help prepare them for future leadership roles in the nonprofit sector. Long term impact is an increased number of women in leadership positions in Forsyth County nonprofits.

8 Economic Security Impact (1 paragraph) Briefly, please discuss what specific economic security recommendation your proposal is addressing and outline how your program will increase the economic security of women and girls. Please see our report Through a Gender Lens: The Economic Security of Women and Girls in Forsyth County to review the economic security recommendations. ECONOMIC SECURITY IMPACT This program addresses the recommendation to Provide women with the education and training necessary to access higher-paying jobs. The large pay disparity between women and men is indicative of the need for training targeted specifically to women if they are to increase their skills to better perform at and maintain their jobs, earn a better wage, and be considered for leadership positions. This is especially true since women are overrepresented within the nonprofit workforce, but are greatly underrepresented in leadership positions--especially for mid and larger size organizations--and in wage disparity. This program will prepare women to seek better paying leadership positions, either within their current nonprofit, or perhaps to eventually seek positions within progressively larger nonprofits that often have better pay and benefits. Accelerators and Inhibitors (1 paragraph) This section should provide an analysis of the accelerators and inhibitors that may impact the implementation and success of your grant. Key information to include in this section: Accelerators: What internal and external factors may advance your efforts? Inhibitors: What internal and external factors may provide a barrier to achieving your objectives and outcomes? What will you do programmatically to maximize the accelerators and minimize the inhibitors? ACCELERATORS AND INHIBITORS: Our accelerators include a strong network of approximately 365 nonprofits that seek us out for capacitybuilding opportunities; previous experience from offering other successful training programs and the capacity and reputation of the Center for Creative Leadership and their leadership development programs which are recognized as among the best in the world. The inhibitors that may impact the successful implementation of this project are the continued slow economy, and the lack of investment by nonprofits in organizational and leadership development, particularly in tough financial times. Evaluation (1 paragraph) This section should describe how you will monitor the progress you expect to make, how you will measure that you are achieving your objectives and desired impact, and how you will assess the effect of your proposed activities on the problem described in your proposal. Key information to include in this section: How will you document and measure your progress towards your objectives and impact during the grant period? What tools, instruments or other methods will you use to collect this information? For planning, evaluation and research grants, please describe how you will track key milestones in your process. EVALUATION: Project success will be determined by short term measures including individual evaluations taken immediately after the training that document the quality of the training received and any personal behavioral/cognitive changes as a result of what was learned; and, long term measures including participant interviews at six months and one year intervals that track progress on leadership development goals, continued contact with peers, and organizational, programmatic or additional behavioral changes.

9 Organization Information (approximately ¼ to ½ page) This section should describe your organization s capacity to carry out this proposed work. Key information to include in this section: Briefly describe your organization s mission, history, and accomplishments. How does this proposal build on your organization s history and accomplishments? Describe your board and staff skills and experience in implementing similar programs and projects. Describe your experience working with this target population. If you require a fiscal sponsor, briefly describe your history and relationship with your fiscal sponsor and how their sponsorship will benefit and strengthen the program or project. For planning, evaluation and research grants, if you are engaging any outside consultants or organizations to assist in your project, please outline their capacity to carry out this type of work. ORGANIZATION INFORMATION HandsOn Northwest North Carolina (HandsOn NWNC) is a new organization resulting from the 2007 merger of Nonprofit Connections and Volunteer Connections. The mission of HandsOn NWNC is to strengthen the community by increasing volunteerism and building the capacity of local nonprofits in Forsyth, Davie, Davidson, Surry and Yadkin counties. This five county region includes approximately 955 nonprofits, over 365 of which are currently part of the HandsOn NWNC network. 90% of the organizations with which we work are inside Forsyth County. Planning, developing and implementing a variety of programs dedicated to building the infrastructure of these nonprofits is part of our mission. We help nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions more efficiently and effectively by providing a comprehensive menu of programs focused on skill-building, best practice training, organizational assessment assistance, leadership, and resource development. Overall, 96% of our evaluation respondents have stated that our initiatives have helped increase their effectiveness in at least one way, while another recent survey of our network revealed that 90% are either satisfied or very satisfied with our capacity building programming (topic, quality of training, relevance of material, applicability of information, effectiveness, and cost) and over two-thirds stated they would recommend HandsOn to others, confirming our value and worth.

10 Supplemental Questions The questions in this section only apply to certain applicants. Many applicants will not be required to answer any of these questions. Some applicants will need to address one or two of these questions. Please see the situations described below to determine if you need to answer any of the supplemental questions. Please note if required to answer any of these questions, you are allowed an additional ½ page for each of your responses beyond the 6 pages of the core proposal narrative. If you are requesting funding for a new program or organization Please describe how you have assessed the need for the program/organization to ensure that you are not duplicating the work of others. If another similar program/organization exists, please describe why your program/organization is needed and how it will be different. (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) If you are seeking funding for a program previously or currently funded by The Women's Fund (i.e. a continuation grant) Please summarize the successes and challenges of the program to date and describe what you will do differently (if anything) to enhance the program or to address previous challenges. Please describe your plans for long-term sustainability of the program. (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) If your organization has previously received funding from The Women's Fund for a different project (not a continuation grant) Please describe the status of that project now. Has the program been sustained and if not why not? (up to 1/2 page allowed for response) SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTION IF YOU ARE REQUESTING FUNDING FOR A NEW PROGRAM OR ORGANIZATION The need for the Women s Emerging Leaders Program emerged from discussions with female staff members of nonprofits about the need for leadership development training specific to women. This was coupled with the demographic research that shows so many nonprofit leaders transitioning out of the field in the coming years highlighting a need to develop emerging leaders now so that nonprofits can maintain their effectiveness in delivering critical services to our community. Currently, there isn t a program in our region that offers this type of training specifically tailored to females in nonprofit mid-level leadership positions. Although women could take skill based and leadership development courses on their own, these programs are not tailored to the unique needs of women. In addition, other programs would not allow the women to build the same cohort of female peers that is an integral part of our program. While the cost per-person is relatively high, our program is significantly cheaper than similar training offered by the Center for Creative Leadership and other high-quality organizations. Indeed, the research demonstrates that perhaps the single, best way to increase the quality of nonprofit services (and, thus, produce quality outcomes for the thousands of poor women receiving these services in Forsyth County each year) is to focus on the development of nonprofit leaders.

11 Formatting Guidelines The core proposal narrative should not exceed 3 pages total (additional space allowed for responses to supplemental questions) Font size should be no smaller than 12 point. Margins should be no smaller that ¾ of an inch. The proposal narrative should be single spaced. Please number each page of the proposal narrative. Please include subheadings for each of the sections of your proposal.

12 The Budget Request You must submit both a line-item budget request and a budget narrative with your proposal. The Line-Item Budget Request The line-item budget request will provide us with specific details about the projected expenses associated with your proposed program or project and the particular items for which you are seeking support. Your budget should include individual line-items for all personnel and operating costs to implement this program or project. There should be three columns. The first column should include the amounts for the total project budget and the second column should include the amounts that you are requesting from The Women s Fund of Winston Salem. The third column should contain your budget narrative/justification. Some guidelines for completing your line-item budget request: Complete both columns, even if your total project budget and request to The Women s Fund are the same. Include all line items that are part of your total project budget even if you are not requesting any funding from The Women s Fund for some line items. Although your total project budget may exceed $10,000, your total request to The Women s Fund should not exceed $10,000. The $10,000, should include all personnel and operating expenses and up to 10% in indirect/overhead costs. When listing personnel, specify position titles (not individual names) and percent Full Time Equivalent (% FTE) for each staff person that will help implement the project. Make sure that everything adds up properly and that the numbers in this budget match the amounts you enter on your proposal coversheet. The Budget Narrative A detailed budget narrative of project expenses must be part of your line-item budget request. For each line item in the line-item budget, please provide a brief description of how the requested funds will be used and if applicable, how you arrived at the figure. The line items should relate back to the activities described in your narrative. Other Sources of Funding As part of your budget narrative, please list other sources of funding that have either been committed or requested for this program/project. Please indicate the source, the amount committed or requested and the status of the request (committed or requested). Please also include in-kind contributions. Indirect/Overhead Costs The Women s Fund will support indirect or overhead costs of up to 10% of the direct project costs requested. Indirect/overhead costs are defined as the expenses that are incurred in the everyday business of operating an organization that are not linked to any one specific program. Some of the items typically included in this category are rent, utilities, office equipment rental or maintenance, fundraising, insurance, and audit or legal fees. If you are requesting indirect/overhead costs, these items should not appear as individual line items in your budget request unless they are directly related to the proposed program. NOTE: You can find an excel spreadsheet template for use for creating your budget on our website at forms.

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