Community Grants Program

Geographic Area: CFNCW considers grant applications only from nonprofit organizations in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties.  Proposals from nonprofit organizations outside of the three county area may apply ONLY if the proposed project benefits Chelan, Douglas or Okanogan counties exclusively.

IRS Charitable Status: A nonprofit organization must have a current tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.  Community projects that do not have tax exempt status may apply with a qualified Fiscal Sponsor.

Fiscal Sponsorship: Any Fiscal Sponsor for a project or program must meet the eligibility requirements established by the IRS. Contact the Foundation for more information before proceeding with an application. Organizations who act as a fiscal sponsor for other projects not directly associated with the organizations programs may submit multiple proposals per cycle one for their sponsored program and one for their internal programs.

Public Schools: Individual public schools may apply for support of programs that enhance learning.  Public schools with more than 50% Free and reduced lunch students will be given priority. Funding cannot be used to subsidize shortfalls from tax supported levies or core operational funding.  Applications are restricted to 1 per school per grant cycle.  The principal’s signature is required on all applications.

Private Schools: Private schools, defined as tuition based educational institutions, may apply for funding if more than 50% of student body is low income or receives tuition assistance.  Tuition assistance is not eligible.

Colleges, Universities, etc: Large organizations with many branches or departments must submit requests from the president’s office.  Tuition assistance is not eligible.

City or County Governments: Projects that are essential services provided by government such as infrastructure, administration, or services such as fire & police, are not eligible for funding.  However, non-essential, quality of life, community enhancement projects not typically funded through tax dollars may be eligible.  Please contact the Foundation before proceeding with an application.

Faith-Based Organizations: Grants from the Community Grants Program will not be made for religious purposes but may be made to faith-based organizations for the non-religious programs offered to the broader community.  Characteristics of eligible programs include: program is located in a house of worship; religious programs are separated from non-religious programs; program is available to people of all faiths and/or non-believers; program abstains from religious worship, instruction or recruitment as part of the grant funded program.  Please contact the Foundation staff if you have questions, clarifications or would like to have examples.

Computers: Community Technology of North Central Washington is a nonprofit organization which facilitates the recycling of quality computer systems for individuals and nonprofits.  CFNCW will only consider funding requests for specialized computer systems which are not available from Community Technology.  LCD and laptop requests are generally not funded.  Please call the Foundation for more information.

Multi-Year Requests: In order to provide the greatest immediate impact and to respond to current needs, multi-year requests are not accepted.

Repeat Funding: Because we receive far more qualified applications than we have funds available, organizations who have previously received a grant award shall wait two (2) grant cycles before submitting another grant application in order to allow others a chance to receive grant funding (i.e. if your organization was awarded a grant in the spring cycle of 2005, you should not submit another request until the fall cycle of 2006).  (Exception:  Public schools will wait one (1) grant cycle.) All organizations who have received a grant, must return the grant award report and not have any funds from the previous grant remaining unspent before applying for new funding.  This is applicable to all grant programs.

Multiple Submissions: Organizations are limited to one grant proposal for consideration during a single grant cycle.  Proposals for a single project may not be submitted to multiple CFNCW grant programs.  Ie:  a grant will not be awarded from both the Community Impact & Capital programs for the same project.

• Individuals
• Lobbying activities
• Debt retirement or budget deficits
• Tuition, scholarships or core operating expenses for public schools, charter schools, private schools, or universities and colleges
• Annual campaigns, fundraising campaigns or events
• Religious organizations for religious purposes (see Limitations & Restrictions Section)
• Political activities
• Purchases or activities that occur prior to grant decisions

General Information

The Community Impact Grants program is a competitive grants program designed to provide funding to a variety of nonprofit organizations in north central Washington. The Regional Impact Grant program is the flagship program of the Community Foundation of NCW’s Community Grants Programs. Grants are limited to use for general programs, special projects, start-up funding and small equipment needs. Grants are available to Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan County nonprofits**.

Frequency

Grants will be offered twice per year. Application deadlines are February 15 and June 15.

Grant awards shall be no more than $5,000. Projects that address documented community needs will be given funding priority. Chelan & Douglas county nonprofits are encouraged to review the information on documented community needs found at www.chelandouglastrends.org. Okanogan county nonprofits are encouraged to show documented community needs from similar sources.

Full project / program funding is highly unlikely—make sure you have other funding partners to complete your project / program. All limitations and restrictions apply to this program. (see pages 10-12)

**Methow Valley nonprofits may apply for funding from this program only for services provided outside of the Methow Valley.

All applicants must complete the Regional Impact Grant Application packet:

Incomplete applications will NOT be processed and you will be required to wait until the following grant cycle for your application to be considered.

 General Information

The Methow Valley Community Fund was created to enable the local citizens of the Methow Valley to recommend grants and to build a permanent endowment to provide ongoing funding for the valley nonprofits.  Grants from the Methow Valley Community Fund are limited to use for general programs, special projects, start-up funding and small equipment needs. Funds for the Methow Valley Community Fund Grant Program are from the Community Foundation's unrestricted endowment and from local contributions from generous donors from the Valley.  Grant applications are reviewed by the Methow Valley Community Fund Advisory Board made up of a group of volunteers from the Methow Valley.  The Advisory Board makes grant recommendations to the Community Foundation of North Central Washington and provide local input and oversight of the Methow Valley Community Fund.

Frequency

Grants will be offered on an annual basis.   Application deadline is January 15.

• Due to a limited grant budget, grants generally range from $1,000 to $5,000 for this program.
• Projects that address documented community needs will be given funding priority. 
• Full project / program funding is highly unlikely—make sure you have other funding partners to complete your project / program.
• Limitations and restrictions for all Community Grant Programs apply to this program, with the exception of Repeat Funding. Organizations may apply annually.  Applicants who were  previous year grantees must have expended the grant funding  and completed a grant report  before applying for new funding.

 All applicants must complete the application process as outlined in the 2010 MVF Guidelines.pdf

Incomplete applications will NOT be processed and you will be required to wait until the following grant cycle for your  application to be considered. 

ENDOWMENT GRANT PROGRAM UNDER DEVELOPMENT

As a result of the economic downturn, the Community Foundation has suspended endowment grants until further notice. Details of this program will be made available at a later date.

Endowment requests will not be eligible through the Community Impact Grant Program in 2010.

Please contact Foundation staff if you have any questions.