Guidelines for Grant Applicants s1

2017 Main Cycle Grant Application Guidelines

New Canaan Community Foundation operates an annual, competitive grant evaluation and distribution process, directed by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and supported by professional staff. Community volunteers also play a key role in this review and decision-making effort.

Organizations should request support for their most compelling need. If you have not applied to NCCF for funding before, you are strongly encouraged to call the office in advance of submitting a proposal to review your grant request.

Eligibility

1. Organization must be tax-exempt and in good standing with the IRS. 2. Organization serves New Canaan residents or has significant impact on our community. 3. Eligible grant requests include: . Capital improvements . Operational or program expenses . New programs / projects . Education / professional development for staff or clients . Capacity building 4. Funding will not be considered for any costs already incurred or to build an endowment. Funding will also not be considered if a previous year’s grant will not have been fully spent by May 2017. 5. Any request that includes a collaboration with another organization must have a “letter of intent to collaborate” from that organization. 6. Organization cannot ask multiple funders for support for the same expenses. 7. Average grants range from $5,000 to $20,000.

Grant Application Deadline: February 10, 2017

1. The submission deadline is strictly enforced. 2. Application files must arrive by 5:00pm on the deadline via email. 3. Funding decisions are made by late-April and grant awards are distributed in late-May. 4. Under special circumstances, an application may be reviewed and a decision made outside the normal review cycle. The decision to review an application out-of-cycle is made by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. For more information about these “out-of-cycle” grants, please contact the office. Submission Requirements

The Community Foundation Grant Application Cover Sheet, Grant Application Form and Grant Follow-Up Report are available at www.newcanaancf.org. All required information must be provided electronically - hard copy submission is no longer required. A Grant Follow-Up Report for the previous year’s grant should be submitted electronically with your current grant application.

Electronic Submission Only:

. Three (3) PDF files: . Name files using name of your organization . Email to [email protected] . File #1: Grant Application Cover Sheet (includes a 5-6 sentence Executive Summary) . File #2: Narrative (Application Form Section A – Limited to 5 Pages) . File #3: All supporting information (Financial & Other Supporting Materials - Application Form Sections B & C) . File #4: Grant Follow-Up Report (If you received funding in last year’s cycle)

. We will email you to confirm receipt of your files. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please call our office at 203-966-0231.

Additional Information

In order to do a thorough investigation of each grant request, the Foundation will schedule a site visit to your organization, and may request additional information. A team of Board members and volunteers will meet with management and program staff to learn first-hand about your organization’s work and to better evaluate your proposal.

If you have any questions, please contact the office at 203-966-0231 or [email protected].

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