Checklist
To complete a grant application, you are required to submit these 6 documents listed below:
Project Budget ∙ Balance Sheet ∙ Income Statement ∙ Fiscal Year Budget
List of Board and Key Staff Members ∙ Letter from Your Board
Additionally, depending on the proposal details, you may also be required to submit 3 Quotes (if your proposal requests funding for goods or services) or a Partnership Agreement (if your proposal includes providing services to another organization). Applicants are also required to submit a Signed Statement by the organization’s CEO and Board President indicating their understanding of the proposal and approval of application submission.
Before you begin your application, review the Grant Process Guidelines listed below. As of December 2018, our Board of Directors finalized guidelines that would determine boundaries of our grant funding. We share these with you now, so you are aware of what we will not fund.
First time organizational applicants are required to meet with our Community Investment Manager prior to submitting an application. Click here to schedule a CoFo grants process review meeting.
1. Project Budget
Your Project Budget should describe revenues and expenses for the project/program concerning areas covered by the grant you are requesting. Include examples of commitment from your organization, board members, fundraising efforts, grants, and other sources of revenues. Expenses should equal revenues and be itemized based on project/program expense categories.
The Community Foundation of Grant County requires grant applicants to submit three (3) quotes for goods or services (one of which must be a local quote, if possible) with your project budget unless your request for goods or services is for highly specialized equipment, only available through very limited national vendors—then only one quote is required. Note: If your request is for goods or services that can only be obtained through all online sources, you are still required to provide three quotes. This will most likely apply to smaller equipment requests that can be purchased through large online retailers like Amazon, Walmart, etc. It is preferred the quotes simply be a document with a list of links to the online source, or a screen shot picture of the website’s “cart.”
2. Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position)
Your organization’s Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position) should describe your organization’s assets and liabilities.
3. Income Statement
Your organization’s Income Statement will describe in more detail your organization’s revenues and expenses for a recent time period.
4. Fiscal Year Budget
Your organization’s Fiscal Year Budget will show financials based on your most recent fiscal year (12-month period that your organization uses to report it’s finances). This report should be based on the fiscal calendar that your organization uses to determine your budget.
5. List of Board and Key Staff Members Contact Info
Your Board Members are an important part of your organization. Board members are the fiduciaries who steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure the nonprofit has adequate resources to advance its mission. Please include your Board Member names and their contact information.
Compile a list of your Board members including their role on your Board, as well as key staff members or volunteers that would be responsible for administering your grant.
6. Letter from Your Board and Executive Director
This letter should be written by both the executive director of your organization, and your Board president. In this letter please indicate that both the executive director and Board members have approved the pursuit of this grant.
If your organization is volunteer-based, two executive Board members should sign the letter; for example your Board chair, and Board vice-chair.
Additional Application Details
Depending on the proposal details, you may also be required to submit 3 Quotes (if your proposal requests funding for goods or services) or a Partnership Agreement (if your proposal includes providing services to another organization). Applicants are also required to submit a Signed Statement by the organization’s CEO and Board President indicating their understanding of the proposal and approval of application submission.
First time organizational applicants are required to meet with our Community Investment Manager prior to submitting an application.
Click here to schedule a CoFo grants process review meeting.
Suggested Organizational Policies:
Nepotism ∙ Conflict of Interest/Disclosure ∙ Wistleblower ∙ Document Retention/Destruction ∙ Gift Acceptance ∙ Board Terms
We believe that organizations conducting charitable activities with both public and private donations should establish basic policies that govern the organization and provide for optimal transparency. If you have and abide by the following policies, please attach them. If not, we recommend that you strengthen your organization by adopting them in the near future.
Nepotism Policy
Anti-nepotism policies prevent related individuals from working in the same company or department. The policy is intended to ensure effective supervision, internal discipline, security, safety, and positive morale in the workplace. It also seeks to avoid the perception of favoritism, conflicts in loyalty, discrimination, the appearance of impropriety, and conflicts of interest.
Conflict of Interest/Disclosure Policy
The purpose of a conflict of interest policy is to protect an organization’s interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of one of its officers or directors, or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement, but not replace, any applicable state and federal laws governing conflicts of interest.
Whistleblower Policy
Whistleblower policies are critical tools for protecting individuals who report activities believed to be illegal, dishonest, unethical, or otherwise improper.
Document Retention/Destruction Policy
A document retention/disposal policy makes it a crime to alter, cover up, falsify, or destroy any document with the intent of impeding or obstructing any official proceeding, this policy provides for the systematic review, retention and destruction of documents received or created by your organization. The purpose of this policy is to provide instruction for the preservation of pertinent documentation due to threatened, pending or otherwise reasonably foreseeable litigation, audits, government investigations or similar proceedings.
Gift Acceptance Policy
A written gift acceptance policy can help manage the expectations of donors, (while treating them with respect) and also serve as guidance for board and staff members who are either on the asking or receiving end of contributions.
Board Term Policy
Regular turnover among board members encourages the board to pay attention to its composition, helps to avoid stagnation, offers the opportunity to expand the board’s circle of contacts and influence, and provides a respectful and efficient method for removing unproductive members. Seventy-one percent of nonprofit boards have term limits for board members, and the most common are two consecutive three-year terms. Term limits do not prevent valuable members from remaining in the service of the organization or the board in another capacity.
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