Before beginning your CoFo grant application, please review the helpful information listed below:

1. Collaborative grants provide funds for a program or project that requires significant participation from two or more organizations in cooperation to fulfill objectives of the program or project. The scope or complexity of the project will benefit from each organization’s expertise or provided services, and/or will enable more effective and efficient delivery of the program or services than individual organizations working alone or separately. Collaborative grants are mutually beneficial to all involved organizations; however, financial responsibility is placed on a sole fiscal agent. Collaborative efforts are not defined by referrals between agencies, networking, information exchanges, and minor altering of activities. Collaborative applications require:

• Jointly developed structure and agreed upon common goals and direction.
• Shared risks and responsibility for obtaining those goals.
• Working together to achieve goals, using expertise and resources of each collaborator.

2. Deadlines can be found on our website at GiveToGrant.org/Grants.

3. All applications are submitted in the online grants system.

4. The Community Investment Manager conducts application research. Organizations should expect contact through email, phone, or in-person in the time between application submission and notification. It is of vital importance to provide answers to questions in a timely manner.

5. Notification occurs by letter approximately 2-3 weeks after full application deadlines.

6. Organizations awarded a grant are required to sign a grant agreement form to accept the conditions of the grant.

7. Organizations awarded a grant are required to meet with Community Investment Manager to go over expectations of grant and receive payment.

8. Organizations awarded a grant are required to present their grant story at the High 5 event, also indicated in the grant agreement.

Grant Process Guidelines

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.

Due Diligence

In the week following the grant due date, our staff will complete a due diligence process to make sure rules have been followed and the necessary information is included in the proposal. Click the link below to review the due diligence process.

Application Questions

Beginning with our Crowdfunding Competitive Grant Cycle (Application open January 24th-March 27th) our application questions may change. Please click the link below to review those questions before applying.

Evaluation Questions (Rubric)

As part of our strategic plan (developed May 2018) we are aiming to define our grants process. Through that definition, we are aiming to be more transparent, educational, and streamlined in our process. Part of that transparency is to outline exactly what each proposal will be graded upon. Click the link below to view the evaluation questions (rubric).

How to Write a Successful Grant Request

Use these helpful tips to achieve writing a successful grant request (accountability, partnership, stakeholder support, sustainability, transformative, and other helpful tips).

GrantStation Details

Grant Station offers nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies the opportunity to identify potential funding sources for their programs or projects as well as resources to mentor these organizations through the grantseeking process.

The Community Foundation has purchased this database subscription and would like to make it available to our local nonprofits. If you believe this database might help you find, build, write, and win grant opportunities to fund your programs and projects, we ask that you make a $25 donation to our Annual Operation’s Fund by clicking the button below and including your request in the donation details. We will forward you the login information.