STRATEGIC RESTRUCTURING FUND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE GRANT APPLICATION SUPPLEMENT

Transcription

1 STRATEGIC RESTRUCTURING FUND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE GRANT APPLICATION SUPPLEMENT The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta s Strategic Restructuring Fund provides funds and/or management consulting services to support nonprofits as they assess, negotiate, design, and/or implement substantive strategic restructuring efforts that seek to promote more effective operations and high-performing programs based on community needs and assets. The Foundation publishes guidelines to help applicants understand the priorities and criteria of our competitive grants programs. Make sure you have reviewed the current guidelines for the Strategic Restructuring Fund found on our website. Feel free to call or our staff, as they are always available to answer your questions. Completing the Grant Application Supplement: Saving the Form: Before beginning to fill out the form, be sure to download and save the form to your computer. As the Strategic Restructuring Fund will receive many applications, please include your organization s name in the file name and in the subject line of your . (ex. ABC Center - Strategic Restructuring Fund Grant Application Supplement ) Navigating the Form: With your mouse, left click the grey boxes to activate the dropdown menus or to type in or paste in your answers. Use the Tab key or your mouse to go to the next box or section. Format Rules: Allow the text to wrap automatically within the box. Do not use the Enter key to change lines or use bullets in text boxes. Do not recreate or alter the application form. Character Counts: All character counts include spaces as characters. Un-answered fields: With the exception of certain questions not applicable to organizations requesting a Partnership Assessment, any field left blank will automatically exclude the application from consideration (it is incomplete and therefore ineligible). Grant Application Supplement Lead Organization s Name: Enter your organization s name as it appears on your 501(c)(3) letter from the IRS; if your organization is using a name different from the one on your 501(c)(3) letter, be sure you provide your legal name and the DBA (doing business as) name in this area of the application. Names of Partnering Organizations: Enter the names of the organizations involved in the proposed partnership. If you have more than two partners, provide the information requested on those additional partners in a separate document. Per the guidelines, you must have at least one nonprofit partner. Page 1 of 6

2 The Request Request Type: Identify to which partnership stage your request correlates. Details on the three stages can be found in the guidelines for the Strategic Restructuring Fund. Amount Requested & Request Time Period: Depending on the partnership stage, applicants can request a maximum of $100,000; details on the allowable request amounts for each of the three stages can be found in the guidelines. Applicants are also asked to identify the time period the request will cover: six, 12, 18 or 24 months. 1. Partnership Framework: Reviewers need to have a sense of any past relationships among the partnering organizations, whether every organization has been involved or not. While prior partnerships are not required, previous interactions among applicants can sometimes contribute to successful strategic restructuring efforts. Be sure to delineate the nature of past interactions including the period of time during which these interactions took place. 2. Rationale for Partnership Exploration: Reviewers want to understand why the proposed partners have come together at this particular moment in time and what is leading the organizations to pursue a deeper relationship with each other. 3. Accomplishments to Date: In some cases, partnerships have been in place for some time; those applicants are asked to detail achieved outcomes. Specify any accomplishments of the partnership described in this application, whether they are quantitative or qualitative, programmatic or operational in nature. Do not use this space to describe the partnering organizations accomplishments of projects unrelated to that described in this application. 4. Implementation Plan: Provide an implementation plan that outlines the various tasks associated with the proposed partnership as foreseen at the time of application. Be sure the plan includes timeline information and assigns accountability for the various tasks. Additionally, your response should identify which of the factors outlined on page 3 of the guidelines the partnership will involve. A strong answer will provide sufficient information for reviewers to make the connection between what you seek to accomplish and the various types of strategic restructuring efforts the fund is interested in supporting. 5. Organizational Capacity: Provide information about the staff and/or board positions from the various partnering organizations that will be engaged in the partnership. Describe each position s roles and responsibilities, including how coordination will be accomplished. Additionally, if any legal counsel or consultants have already been identified and are committed to supporting the partnership, include their information as well. The information provided in this answer should complement the bios requested in the attachments section. 6. Outcomes & Evaluation: In Part A of this question, applicants are asked to identify two desired outcomes from the list provided on page 4 of the Strategic Restructuring Fund Guidelines and craft SMART outcome statements for each of the desired outcomes specific to the applicant s proposed partnership. It should be clear to reviewers to which of the desired outcomes the applicant s outcome statements relate. Do not type in the statements found on our website; instead, select a statement and tailor it to your proposed partnership and be sure that your one statement follows the SMART criteria outlined below. Be sure that your outcomes are ones that will be achieved during the grant period identified in the request section of the application. In Part B of this question, applicants are given the opportunity to identify additional desired SMART outcomes for the partnering organizations. In most instances partnering organizations will have outcomes specific to their partnership that are not covered by those stated in the guidelines. In both Page 2 of 6

3 responses (parts A and B), applicants must describe how they will measure and report on the specific outcomes. SMART Outcomes Outcomes are changes in people or operations as a result of the restructuring effort: knowledge, behavior, skills, performance (such as efficiencies), attitude and status. Outcomes are not activities or numbers of people served. Outcomes should follow the SMART guidelines: Specific: o Is well defined o Is clear to anyone with basic knowledge of the partnership/project o Answers who, what, where, when, which, and why Measurable: o Is quantifiable o Defines how much, how many, and how will I know when it is achieved? Achievable: o Refers to the partnership s capacity o Demonstrates requisite human, material, financial and institutional resources necessary to achieve the outcome Realistic: o Represents an objective toward which partnering organizations are both willing and able to work o Is within the availability of resources, knowledge and time Time bound: o Has an end date o Allows partnering organizations enough time to achieve the goal 7. Sharing Learnings: As stated on page 3 of the Guidelines, the Foundation holds a common inquiry with other funders and nonprofits to find the best practices to assess, negotiate, implement and evaluate partnership models between nonprofit organizations. Reviewers are interested in learning how you plan to share what you have learned with others. 8. Sustainability Plan: It is the experience of Foundation staff that strategic restructuring efforts take time and an investment of cash to yield success. Since the Strategic Restructuring Fund has limited dollars to award on an annual basis, reviewers need to understand what the applicant s plan is for seeking other resources to sustain the project and/or its impact after the life of the requested grant. 9. Attachments Checklist: This section explains the preferred method for submitting each of the attachments. Each attachment must accompany your application in order for the application to be considered complete. Please note that all attachments must arrive at the Foundation prior to the deadline in order for your application to be considered complete. Incomplete applications will be declined and will not be reviewed. Submit attachments along with application by to Grants@cfgreateratlanta.org. The following documents should be attached as separate documents and sent via to the Foundation with your application; be sure to label all attachments using the letters provided so that Foundation staff can easily match the document to the required attachment. Page 3 of 6

4 Related to the Proposed Partnership A. Budget & budget narrative: The budget for the proposed partnership must not be limited to the funding that is requested from the Strategic Restructuring Fund. It must encompass the entire proposed partnership. Your line-item budget should include all costs associated with the proposed project and a description of how the funds requested will be spent and how the amount was determined. It should include sources of revenue, distinguishing between in-kind and cash contributions, and indicate what funds have been committed and which are pending. Applicants must clearly demonstrate the required 10% cash contribution. Your budget and budget narrative do not have to be separate documents, per the example posted on our website. Note: organizations submitting requests for Partnership Assessments are exempt from submitting a budget and budget narrative. However, Attachment A or B must document the sources for the required 10% cash contribution or the organizations commitment to making the required contribution. B. Partnering organizations letters of support: One letter signed by the Executive Director and Chair of the Board of Directors of each partner organization on each organization s letterhead (including the lead organization) authorizing the submission of and support for the application. Organizations submitting requests for Partnership Assessments may include in their letters of support information detailing the sources for the required 10% cash contribution or the organizations commitment to making the required contribution. C. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): Staff and Board leadership of partnering organizations must sign a MOU that outlines roles and responsibilities of all partners, including fiscal and reporting roles and responsibilities for this project. Note: organizations submitting requests for Partnership Assessments are exempt from this requirement. D. Biographies of individuals taking on leadership roles for the proposed project: Provide no more than two paragraphs for each staff and/or board member, summarizing their individual professional qualifications and tenure with the organization. Additionally, if any legal counsel or consultants have already been identified and are committed to supporting the partnership, include their information as well. No resumes or CVs. The bios should reflect the individuals identified in question 5. Lead Organization ONLY E. Board Information Form (found on our website): download The Community Foundation s Board of Directors Form from our website ( and complete the document. Be sure to complete all fields and columns. F. Current fiscal year operating budget as approved by the board of directors with year-to-date actual information G. Most current Balance Sheet H. Two most recent audited or reviewed financial statements as dictated by budget size: Submit one copy of each of the two most recent audited or reviewed financial statements. Organizations with annual budgets over $250,000 must present audited financial statements; organizations with annual budgets between $100,000 and $249,999 must present reviewed financial statements. I. If attachment H does not include the most recent year-end, provide internal year-end year-end balance sheet and year-end budget with actuals: this is only Page 4 of 6

5 required when an organization s audit/review for the last completed fiscal year has not been finalized J. Current strategic or business plan: send the Foundation the entire strategic plan, not a summary of the plan. As stated in the Guidelines, the Strategic Restructuring Fund requires organizations to have a current written strategic or business plan for the whole organization that covers at least 24 months which includes the organization s entire current fiscal year and includes the following: mission statement; evidence of an environmental scan (an assessment of stakeholder and community needs); stakeholder participation (staff, board, consumers/clients, volunteers, etc.); strategic goals and measureable objectives; implementation plan showing action steps, a timeline and assigned staff and board responsibilities; quarterly, semi-annual or annual written assessment by staff and board to measure organizational progress toward goals. If your organization does not have all of these components in one document, for example the strategic plan does not include the assessment of progress toward goals, include any document(s) that demonstrates the progress made. For organizations considering integration/merger at any stage (assessment, readiness/negotiation or design/implementation): ALL partners in the proposed partnership should submit attachments E-J K. Two-year pro forma budget for the merged organization: Organizations that are requesting funds for the design/implementation of a merger must include a two-year pro forma budget for the merged organization. A pro forma Latin for "as a matter of form" budget is a predicted budget based on unusual circumstances or possible changes to an organization s structure, revenues, profits or expenses. In this case, a pro forma budget forecasts revenues and expenses in advance of the merger. A pro forma operating budget will allow organizations to plan for the future by predicting the financial impact of the proposed merger. Authorizing Signatures: Prior to completing this section, review 2016 Strategic Restructuring Fund Guidelines, which describe how the Foundation does business through the Strategic Restructuring Fund, addressing eligibility, submission deadlines, grant request amounts and other topics. Then type in the name of the Lead Organization Staff Leader and the Lead Organization Board Chair and enter the date. Typing in the names of the Organization Leader and Board Chair acts as their signatures; electronic signatures (images of actual signatures) are not necessary. By typing in the names of the Organization Leader and the Board Chair, they authorize submission of the application and take responsibility for its content. You may find the Guidelines on our website. Submitting an application to the Strategic Restructuring Fund Current Form: Applicants must use the 2016 Strategic Restructuring Fund Grant Application Supplement form provided on the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta s website. The Foundation will only consider submissions that use the current form; old or outdated forms are not acceptable and will not be reviewed. Please check the year at the top of the application before completing and submitting the form. Deadline: The Foundation s deadlines are NOON on dates indicated in the Strategic Restructuring Fund Guidelines. Submissions received after the NOON on the deadline day will NOT be accepted for that cycle; they will be deferred to the following cycle unless the submission was for the final cycle. In that case, the submission will NOT be accepted. Filing Your Grant Application Supplement: The Foundation accepts submissions any time prior to the deadline. your Grant Application Supplement as a MS Word attachment to Grants@cfgreateratlanta.org no later than NOON on the deadline day. Page 5 of 6

6 Submissions received after NOON on the deadline day based on the Foundation s computer date and time will be automatically declined as late. No staff may extend the deadline. Staff urges you to file your application several hours in advance of the deadline to avoid any computer-related problems that could arise when many applications are filed at one time. Note the name of the applicant organization and the phrase Strategic Restructuring Fund Grant Application Supplement in the subject line of the . Risk of Automatic Declination: The Foundation will decline any application that does not meet the eligibility criteria. Incomplete applications (those with any blank fields) will be automatically declined; every question and field must be completed (with the exception of those not applicable to organizations seeking a Partnership Assessment). Online Nonprofit Organizational Profile and Common Grant Application: All organizations that are a part of this application must have completed their Nonprofit Organizational Profiles and Common Grant Applications through the online portal and submit this Grant Application Supplement and any required attachments to be considered for funding. The link to the online portal can be found on the Foundation s website: Acknowledgement of Receipt of Application: If the application is filed within one week of the deadline, applicants will receive an automatic notifying them that the Foundation has received their application within minutes of submission. If your organization does not receive the acknowledgement , please contact our Grants Manager by calling Applicants who file earlier will receive notification within 48 business hours. Questions? Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in the orientation session. Prospective applicants who are unable to join the live online session are encouraged to review the online orientation session presentation (PowerPoint and audio) posted on our website. If you have questions after reviewing the recorded orientation session, the guidelines and this document you can also our staff at grants@cfgreateratlanta.org. Page 6 of 6