Deadline: 5 pm, Friday, October 1, 2010.

Overview

The Community Trust is the permanent grantmaking fund of The Community Foundation and  addresses needs throughout Boulder County across issues in the arts, health and human services, the environment, education, basic needs, youth, and civic life. It's the most flexible and responsive of the Foundation’s funds, and is driven by members of the community who evaluate proposals and conduct site visits during a competitive process of application.

Every fall more than sixty County residents volunteer to serve on one of nine committees to review grant requests from Boulder County non-profit organizations. Community Foundation staff facilitate the committee meetings, coordinate site visits for committee members to visit potential grantee organizations, and present The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees with the committees’ grant recommendations.

If you are interested in serving on a Community Trust Grant Advisory Committee, please contact Elvira Ramos, Director of Programs,

Community Trust Grant Timeline

Eligibility and Application Process

Non-profit, governmental or other public groups interested in applying for grants from The Community Trust Fund are invited to submit an application describing the proposed project.

• The Community Foundation accepts proposals for specific projects and programs as well as for unrestricted expenses, capital campaigns, start-ups endowments and technical assistance.
  
  
• Our five primary funding areas for the Community Trust Fund are: the Arts, Civic Engagement, Education, the Environment, and Health and Human Services.
  
  
• Applicants can be any non-profit organization with an IRS 501(c)(3) designation or any governmental or public entity. (Groups or organizations that do not have IRS 501(c)(3) designation may only apply in partnership with one of the nonprofit designations listed above.)
  
  
• The group or organization applying must provide services or conduct the proposed activities within Boulder County for the benefit of Boulder County residents.
  
  
• The Community Foundation does not make grants to organizations where grant money from our unrestricted or field of interest funds would be used to further a particular political or religious doctrine.

Application Components, Deadlines, and Instructions for Submission

The Community Foundation uses the Colorado Common Grant Application (CGA) for its Community Trustgrants process. The application consists of the following components, which should be submitted in the order listed below.  The checked items below are required for applying for funding from The Community Foundation. Unchecked items maybe submitted but will be considered supplemental. The Colorado Common Grants Application, Templatem and Users' Guide can be found at
www.coloradocommongrantforms.org/nonprofits/indexhtml.

  Section I: Cover Letter (one page)
Include the purpose of the grant request and a brief description of how the request fits with the The Community Foundation’s mission and grantmaking priorities.

  Section II: Summary Sheet Form
Please use the 2-page Colorado Common Grant Application template.
Download the Colorado Common Grant Application template.

  Section III: Narrative

  Formatting: Use 12-point font with 1-inch margins and include the HEADING provided for each question. It is not necessary to repeat the text of the questions. 

  Page Limit:
General Operating Requests: 4-page limit; answer questions 1–3 and 5–11.
Program or Capital Requests: 5-page limit; answer all the questions.

Narrative Questions

  1.  Organization Background
  2.  Goals
  3.  Current Programs
  4.  Program and Capital Requests Only
  5.  Evaluation
  6.  Collaboration
  7.  Inclusiveness
  8.  Board/Governance
  9.  Volunteers
  10. Planning
  11. Optional

  Section IV: Attachments

Financial Attachments

  1(a).  Organization budget
  1(b).  Program or capital budget, if applicable
  2.  Current (year-to-date) financial statements
  3.  Year-end financial statements, audit and
          Sources of Income Table
  4.  Major contributors
  5.  In-kind contributions
  6.  Explanation of items in financial attachments, if applicable

Other Attachments

  7.  Board of directors list
  8.  Proof of IRS federal tax-exempt status, dated within the last five years
  9.  Anti-discrimination statement adopted by the board of directors
  10.  Key staff
  11. Annual report, if available
  12. Evaluation results (optional): Provide the organization’s most recent evaluation results, relevant to this request. 

Additional Attachments for Organizations Using a Fiscal Agent/Fiscal Sponsor

  1. The memorandum of understanding or the contract between the organization and the fiscal agent/fiscal sponsor.
  2. Proof of IRS federal tax-exempt status for the fiscal agent/fiscal sponsor, dated within the last five years.

  Section V: Community Foundation Additional Attachments

  Diversity Chart Assessment
Organizations applying for funding through any grant cycles of The Community Foundation are required to submit a Diversity Chart as part of the funding application. This information will be used to track changes in demographics within Boulder County organizations. Only aggregate information will be available to the public; individual organization reporting will be kept internal at The Community Foundation. A copy of the Diversity Chart matrix is available at www.commfound.org/programs/eli/diversitychart.html

 Progress Report - If you received Community Trust funding in 2010, please submit a one-page progress report.  Without it, your 2010 proposal will not be considered. www.commfound.org/grants/grantreportform.html

Application Submission
Please submit your proposal electronically in pdf format to .
You will receive a return e-mail confirming that your materials have been received. If electronic PDF submission is not possible for you, or if you have any questions regarding your proposal, please contact:

Elvira Ramos, Director of Programs

or

Missy Carrier, Grants Administrator

Thank you for your time and effort in completing this application!