Cmmunity Grants Guidelines Revised Nvember 2014 Prgram Gals The Cmmunity Grants Prgram is a bradly accessible, respnsive statewide grants prgram. Its lng-term gals are t strengthen the scial fabric f ur cmmunities and imprve life in Oregn. Mre immediate gals are t respnd t evlving, cmmunity-identified needs and t build civic leadership and engagement. Guiding Principles We believe that creative and sustainable slutins cme frm peple wh wrk in partnership t address cmmn needs and aspiratins. We give high pririty t investments that create psitive, substantive change and attempt t reslve prblems at their surce. We recgnize and respect Oregn s diverse regins and ppulatins, and we seek t advance equity, diversity and inclusin thrugh ur prgrams. Prgram Details The Cmmunity Grants Prgram awards 250-270 grants annually t nnprfits, with the average award $20,000 but a typical award range f $5,000 t $50,000. Awards ttal abut $6 millin per year, with abut 13-20 percent f the resurces cming frm dnr advised funds 1 and the balance frm OCF s discretinary funds. Tw Cmmunity Grant cycles ccur annually, with an applicatin deadline f January 15 fr a Bard decisin in early May, and an applicatin deadline f July 15 fr a Bard decisin in early Nvember. Abut 340-400 requests are submitted each cycle. Please visit OCF s website at regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants fr applicatin frms and additinal guidance. In assessing grant requests, OCF pays particular attentin t: The strength f lcal supprt fr the effrt The strength f the applicant rganizatin Whether the effrt addresses a significant cmmunity need Hw well the effrt fits within OCF s funding pririties and bjectives Whether the cmmunity is engaged in the wrk f the nnprfit 1 Dnr advised funds are created by dnrs wh advise OCF s bard n hw t use the funds incme. Nnprfits cannt apply directly t advised funds; hwever, OCF shares Cmmunity Grant prpsals with advised fund dnrs. Discretinary funds are created by dnrs wh leave allcatin at the bard s discretin. www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 1 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Fur Funding Pririties & Objectives fr Each Health & Wellbeing f Vulnerable Ppulatins (30%-40% f grants) 1. Imprve cmmunity-based health and wellness, including ral and mental/behaviral health 2. Address basic human needs, such as fd, husing and related services 3. Imprve the quality f life, safety and self-sufficiency f at-risk ppulatins Educatinal Opprtunities & Achievement (30%-40%) 4. Prmte scial, emtinal and cgnitive develpment f yung children, including prgrams that supprt and educate parents and effrts that engage vlunteers 5. Expand academic supprt, mentring and recreatinal prgrams fr children and yuth, particularly t clse the achievement gap 6. Braden wrkplace, career and pstsecndary experiences and pprtunities fr yuth 7. Imprve adult literacy, skill develpment, educatin and wrkfrce training Arts & Cultural Organizatins (15%-25%) 8. Strengthen and stabilize arts and cultural nnprfits, and supprt cllabrative effrts 9. Cultivate and supprt appreciatin f diverse cultures and art frms 10. Deepen cmmunity-based arts educatin fr children and adults 11. Encurage audience engagement, particularly t reach underserved ppulatins Cmmunity Livability, Envirnment & Citizen Engagement (10%-20%) 12. Prmte leadership develpment, vlunteerism, immigrant integratin, and civic participatin 13. Supprt stewardship and appreciatin f Oregn s utdr spaces and scenic beauty 14. Address scial, ecnmic and envirnmental challenges r pprtunities by bringing tgether disparate stakehlders 15. Preserve places essential t cmmunities civic and histric identities www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 2 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Nndiscriminatin Plicy OCF des nt discriminate n the basis f ethnicity, clr, religin, gender, gender identity r expressin, sexual rientatin, physical circumstances, age, status as a veteran, r natinal rigin. Applicants fr Cmmunity Grants must hld similar standards. Requests frm rganizatins knwn t have discriminatry plicies will nt be cnsidered. Prject Types Cmmunity Grants help nnprfits better serve their lcal cmmunities, with awards generally fr: Prgram develpment r expansin Mdest capital prjects Building the capacity f a nnprfit t strengthen r stabilize its peratins In additin, OCF ccasinally awards ne-year-nly bridge supprt fr cre peratins. Cmmunity Grants fr bridge supprt are rare and three imprtant elements are: The applicant s missin is a clse fit with OCF funding pririties The need is temprary The applicant has a clear, viable plan fr replacing OCF supprt with mre sustainable funding after the grant year Restrictins The Cmmunity Grants Prgram is nt a surce f nging annual funding fr yur rganizatin. Generally applicants may submit nly ne Cmmunity Grant applicatin per 12-mnth perid and preference is given t thse wh have nt received multiple Cmmunity Grants in recent years. OCF des nt supprt the same prject twice. If a prject is funded, the grantee may nt submit the same prject again (unless the prject was ffered a multi-year award pprtunity). Activities Typically Nt Eligible fr Cmmunity Grant Funding Events r perfrmances (either ne-time r annual) unless they will result in significant grwth in nging rganizatinal capacity, financial stability r audience diversity Annual fund appeals and cntributins t endwments Prjects in individual schls Grants t fund schlarship r re-granting prgrams Purchases r activities that ccur prir t grant decisins Deficit funding Replacement f gvernment funding Lbbying t influence legislatin Scientific research Religius activities www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 3 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Develping a Strng Cmmunity Grant Prpsal Cmpetitiveness Regardless f whether grant requests are fr prgrams, capacity building, capital prjects r bridge funding, they shuld be clearly written and present a strng case fr supprt. Belw are the elements that make grant requests cmpetitive. Organizatinal Qualities Missin is a clse fit with OCF funding bjectives Prgrams address an imprtant cmmunity need Cmmunity supprt is evident bth thrugh lcal cntributins and vlunteer engagement Applicant rganizatin has a track recrd f effective wrk Prject Qualities Prject fits applicant rganizatin s missin, expertise and lng-term gals Gd planning is evident in the prject timetable, gals, staffing and sustainability A Cmmunity Grant award (average f $20,000) has the ptential fr impact Significant funding is already in hand Plans fr evaluating impact are clear, apprpriate and achievable Any prpsed cllabratin with ther rganizatins has been frmalized Large Requests In the case f larger requests r multi-year requests, special attentin will be given t the applicant rganizatin s histry, including: leadership in its field stability in its staff and bard uniqueness f its prgrams in Oregn breadth and depth f its funding plans excellence in its financial management Prject Budgets Prject budgets must reflect revenues and expenditures, and crrelate clearly t prject activities. Grant requests may be fr ne, tw r three years. Prject budgets shuld have a clumn fr revenues and expenditures in the base year (the year preceding prject implementatin), fllwed by clumns fr each year in which OCF supprt is being requested. Applicants shuld indicate where OCF funds wuld be allcated (perhaps with an asterisk by these expenditures). OCF is lking fr signs f brad-based supprt, including funds frm the lcal cmmunity. Applicants may include the value f in-kind supprt (dnated gds r services) in their prject budgets. www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 4 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Guidance fr Capacity-Building Prjects Capacity-building prpsals are requests fr resurces t help a nnprfit better fulfill its missin. Gals ften are t adjust the rganizatin s efficiency, size r effectiveness. Methds vary but a gd nnprfit seeks t develp and sustain a quality wrkfrce, stable finances and effective versight. Sme experts describe the equatin as this: Leadership + Adaptability + Prgram Capacity = Sustainability OCF recgnizes that prgram expansin is nt always apprpriate. A nnprfit may be the right size already r it may have an eye tward grwth but must prepare fr that future. In either case, the nnprfit s greatest need may be t strengthen r stabilize its existing peratins. Examples f Eligible Activities Cllabrating with ther rganizatins t imprve services r eliminate duplicatin Strengthening gvernance, leadership r staff expertise Restructuring business mdels 2 and accunting practices t imprve financial stability Building and diversifying revenue streams 3 Develping and implementing lng-term strategic plans Refining cmmunicatins, marketing and utreach Imprving vlunteer recruitment, training and engagement Acquiring r imprving impact measurement tls and prgram evaluatin capacity Pursuing pprtunities t share space, equipment r ther administrative csts Enhancing technlgy (excluding rutine upgrades) Specifics Related t Capacity-Building Prjects Capacity-building grant prpsals shuld reflect bard-level cmmitment t the prpsed activities. OCF recgnizes that a nnprfit s needs are impacted by many factrs the ppulatin being served, the prgrams ffered, and the nnprfit s lcatin, age and sphisticatin. Prjects may encmpass a variety f activities but applicants shuld be clear abut the expected utcme f each. Our capacity-building supprt is nt meant t simply sustain day-t-day activity it is meant t help an rganizatin reach a new level f perating effectiveness. The anticipated utcme is greater nnprfit adaptability and durability. Lwer pririty is given t: nnprfits with n track recrd f cmmunity impact nnprfits with multi-millin-dllar annual perating budgets 2 By business mdel, we mean hw a nnprfit delivers services and supprts its activities thrugh a cst structure and a revenue strategy that cmbine earned and cntributed incme. 3 Requests t build earned incme streams r cntributins frm individuals and businesses are mre cmpetitive than requests t build grant writing capacity. www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 5 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Questins OCF Asks During Prpsal Review Hw is strengthening yur rganizatin s capacity imprtant t the cmmunity yu serve? What is the cntext fr this effrt? What specific capacity-building steps will yu take? Hw will yur rganizatin be different as a result f this effrt? D yu have a lng-range plan adpted by the bard? Has the bard identified the prpsed activities as a majr pririty? Hw much time will bard members devte t it? What srt f staff time will be devted t prject activities? If additinal staffing is part f yur capacity-building request, hw have yu determined the apprpriate skills, salary and recruitment strategy? And hw will yu sustain the psitin after the grant perid? If yur prject invlves cllabratin with ther rganizatins, have the prpsed partners agreed t participate? Are yur gals fr imprved capacity clearly defined? Hw will yu knw if yu have achieved yur gals? www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 6 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Guidance fr Capital Prjects Capital prjects seek t imprve the physical assets f an rganizatin. Typical prjects include: building cnstructin and renvatin technlgy furnishings equipment vehicles Specifics Related t Capital Prjects Requests fr capital prjects shuld clearly detail tw things: (1) Hw the quality f life in the cmmunity will be imprved as a result r hw the nnprfit will achieve significant new efficiencies (2) Hw the nnprfit will maintain the new asset(s) Lwer pririty is given t large capital campaigns fr which an average Cmmunity Grant will have less impact. And capital campaigns fr cllege campuses r medical centers are a lwer pririty unless the prject will have a direct impact n the neighbring cmmunity by husing cmmunity-based prgrams r prviding significant public access t meeting spaces and cmmunity services. Questins OCF Asks During Prpsal Review Prperty acquisitin, cnstructin and renvatin D yu wn the prperty? If nt, please describe hw an OCF investment in imprvements wuld supprt the lng-term gals f yur rganizatin? Is wnership f prperty r facilities critical t yur missin? Culd new facilities be leased rather than built? What are the cmparative advantages f wning and leasing? Has yur rganizatin cnsidered a lan as a feasible alternative t a capital fundraising campaign? Culd sme f the csts be cvered thrugh in-kind dnatins? Is there an pprtunity fr greater cmmunity invlvement thrugh in-kind cntributins? What are the plan and timetable fr develping the prperty? What are the restrictins n the use f the prperty? What is the status f any permits r licenses needed fr this prject? www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 7 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg
Technlgy What advantages will technlgy investments prvide? Hw will yu measure the impact f new technlgy? Have yu sught technlgy dnatins r reduced prices? What kind f technical supprt is available t ensure the technlgy has the greatest impact? And have yu factred in the cst f training fr staff? Furnishings and Equipment Hw will new furnishings r equipment change r enhance existing prgrams? Will the changes be substantive? Have suitable in-kind dnatins been slicited? Vehicles What srt f vehicle are yu requesting and why? Hw will this vehicle impact the persns served by yur rganizatin? Have lcal car dealerships r ther businesses r individuals been cntacted fr in-kind dnatins? Will staff need special training r licenses t drive the vehicle? General What are the csts f maintaining and ptentially insuring the new capital assets? Des the prject increase r reduce yur annual expenses? If it increases annual expenses, d yu have the nging capacity t raise additinal funds? Is the prject actually a maintenance effrt (e.g., rf repair, plumbing upgrades, r replacement f furniture) that culd be cnsidered the cst f ding business? D yur prpsed changes reflect mandates by the Americans with Disabilities Act r ther legislatin? www.regncf.rg/cmmunity-grants Page 8 f 8 503.227.6846 r grants@regncf.rg