Forms & Guidelines for Grant Seekers
For your convenience, the forms and guidelines listed below are available for download from this website. Please note that some of the forms are in PDF format. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these files. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, click here to download the latest version.
Please note that the application forms have changed. Area foundations have worked together over the past couple of years, and with the assistance of a consultant have developed an Uniform Grant Application. We’ve done this to be responsive to grantee requests, and hope that it will make the grant application easier for you. The Community Foundation is pleased to have been part of this effort. On this website you may access both the forms and tips for using them by following the link we’ve provided.
We’ll use the application as is throughout 2012, and will review it at year end to make any needed changes – so please keep us informed about how it’s working for you.
For Community Fund Grantseekers - 2012
Community Fund Grant Proposal Guidelines
Note: All applicants MUST call the Community Foundation at (607) 772-6773 BEFORE preparing the proposal to confirm that the project/purpose falls within the Foundation’s guidelines for the current year.
Submission
Deadlines:
Spring
- closed
Fall
- Tuesday September 4, 2012
Applications, including electronic copy, must be received in Foundation offices by 4:30 pm on the submission deadline date.
Note:
- An organization may submit only one proposal during a calendar year.
- If an organization currently has an open, or active, grant awarded in a previous grant cycle, it cannot apply.
- If an organization received an award in one grant cycle, it must skip two (2) years (3 grant cycles) before it can apply again.
- Organizations may not resubmit a proposal for a project or program previously declined.
Who May Qualify?
- Any 501(c)(3) where a grant will benefit significantly (but not necessarily exclusively) residents of the Foundation’s service area: Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and/or Tioga counties.
- Certain local government agencies, municipalities and public school systems within the Foundation’s service area.
- Organizations requiring a 501(c)(3) as a fiscal sponsor may be eligible to apply.
Types of Support Available
Fall 2012
- Program – proposals that address a specific program need.
- Capital – proposals for property purchase, equipment purchase, facilities improvement, and capital campaigns. *
- Operating Support – proposals from established organizations (minimum of 10 years) that are in financial distress due to a reduction in traditional funding sources for operations (e.g. individual contributions, event revenue, federal/state/local budget reductions).
* For major capital requests/programs the Foundation only accepts requests when 75-80% of the total funding has already been committed.
Grants will be awarded in the amount of $1,000 (min.) to $15,000 (max.).
We Do Not Consider Requests For:
- Funding to reimburse an organization for costs that were incurred prior to the date the grant was awarded.
- Funding to pay existing mortgages
- Grants to individuals
- Funding for individual musical/theatrical productions or performances
- Funding in support of special events, such as music or arts festivals, conference sponsorships, workshops, etc., unless there is a realistic, actionable plan for follow-up activities or sustainability.
- Funding to churches or other organizations for religious purposes
- Funding to organizations that have so many counterparts (e.g. scout troops, ambulance squads, volunteer or municipal fire departments, individual schools within a school district, individual school classrooms, PTAs) that it would be difficult to assess the relative merits of similar proposals.
The Community Foundation participates in the Uniform Grant
Application (UGA).
Find the application here in
Word and here in
pdf
Proposal
Format: (Refer to the UGA narrative instructions)
1” margins on all sides
No smaller than Times New Roman 12-point font
The Community Foundation requires the following additional attachments to the Uniform Grant Application:
- Evidence of competitive bid information (e.g. two quotes/estimates) for the purchase of equipment or construction/renovation work.
- A photo or drawing of any planned construction project.
- One (1) electronic (“soft”) copy of the Uniform Grant Application Narrative (in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat format) via e-mail (to: Jensen@stny.rr.com) or on a CD-ROM.
- Copy of the Proposal Checklist here
Please do not submit additional materials – including cover letters, photos, diagrams, etc. – unless such material are requested at the time of your initial phone call (or subsequent calls) to the Foundation. Please do not use binders, folders or report covers for individual copies of proposals. Please do staple or clip together the pages of each individual copy of your proposal; this is to ensure that each of the reviewers receives a complete proposal packet.
Please refer to the Proposal
Checklist. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about
submission procedures or the proposal process. Please contact Robert Jensen,
Program Officer, at 607-772-6773 or via e-mail: jensen@stny.rr.com
For Women's Fund grantseekers: the 2012 Deadline is Tuesday July 10,
2012 4pm in Foundation Offices. Guidelines can be found here.
For Artists Fund grantseekers: the 2012 Deadline is Wednesday May 9, 2012, 5 pm at the offices of the Broome County Arts Council, 81 State Street, #5, Binghamton, NY 13901-3319. Find the application here.
