Responsive New Grants
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2012 Schedule
The deadline to submit a pre-application for this grants process has passed.
Full application due: May 24
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The 2012 Responsive Grants Process is open to all requests for organizational support and projects that serve
our region. The three types of responsive new grants in 2012 include the following:
- General operating support (GOS)
- Project support
- Capacity building support
These grants are generally awarded to address an agency's operating, programmatic or capacity building needs. The full application review process for responsive new grants -- from pre-application to grant award or decline -- takes seven months. Notification of award or decline is sent by email within ten working days of the Board of Directors meeting in October. Upon notification of awards, grantees are asked to sign an agreement delineating the terms of condition of the grant and payment plan.
There is only one grantmaking cycle per year for Responsive New Grants from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven & the Valley Community Foundation. This is a joint application process that occurs online and requires that a pre-application be submitted as the first step. The pre-application deadline for 2012 is Friday, March 2, by 5pm. Those organizations encouraged to take the second step of submitting a full application will be notified by the end of April. Below is a description of the three types of responsive new grants.
General Operating Support (GOS)
General operating support is defined as a grant made to further the general mission and work of an organization, rather than for a specific purpose or project. Only organizations that have been incorporated for at least five years AND have received a Responsive New Grant from either The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven or the Valley Community Foundation are eligible to apply for general operating support. General operating support gives nonprofits flexibility to direct their spending where it is needed most and allows greater focus on achieving an organization’s mission. Nonprofits demonstrating strong management and a good track record of accomplishments will be given priority consideration. Refer to the Guiding Principles for Nonprofits: Leadership, Evaluation and Sound Management.
Sample Pre-application Merit Score Sheet (used in the review process)
Project Support
Project support is defined as a grant made for a specific new or existing projects.
Sample Pre-application Merit Score Sheet (used in the review process)
Capacity Building Support
Capacity building support is defined as a grant for short term financial assistance to build the infrastructure of an organization for long term success. Requests for capacity building include but are not limited to board development, strategic planning, evaluation and capital expenditures including equipment, building renovations or relocation. Only organizations that have been incorporated for at least five years AND have received a Responsive New Grant from either The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven or the Valley Community Foundation are eligible to apply for capacity building support.
Sample Pre-application Merit Score Sheet (used in the review process)
Read the Foundation's
Guiding Principles for Nonprofits: Leadership, Evaluation and Sound Management.
If you need guidance on which pre-application to submit, please call Denise Canning, Grants Manager, at 203-777-7076.
The following policy as to out-of-cycle Responsive Grant consideration was adopted unanimously at the Valley Community Foundation’s May 17, 2011 Board meeting.
The Valley Community Foundation (“VCF”) receives, considers and decides upon applications for Responsive Grants in a single, annual competitive round, in conjunction with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
VCF recognizes the importance of having a clear, transparent and well-understood Grantmaking process, which provides a level playing field to all applicants, and which will be seen in our community as being applied in a fair and even-handed way.
It is VCF’s view that comparing applications to one another has given us the opportunity to select the best applications for funding, and is the manner in which we choose to continue to select our Responsive Grant recipients.
At the same time, however, VCF recognizes the importance of being able to promptly respond to community needs whenever they may arise, and understands that we should to have a process that is flexible enough to enable us to do so.
Accordingly, we acknowledge that exceptional circumstances may arise, under which an applicant could request that we respond to a Grant application in advance of the next regularly-scheduled competitive round of Responsive Grantmaking.
In such situations, VCF will weigh the relative importance of the above level playing field/fairness considerations in light of the particular circumstances presented, while at all times remaining diligently aware that Out-of-Cycle consideration gives an applicant the advantage of having a proposal reviewed on its own, without being compared with others.
As a result, in the rare and exceptional circumstances in which a delay until the decision date of the regularly-scheduled process would: (a) cause undue hardship (which hardship must not have been caused by, or result from an applicant’s own action, inaction or making); and/or (b) result in the inability of the applied-for program or activity to be undertaken, VCF may decide that such Grant application can receive an expeditious consideration.
Therefore, when any written communication to VCF is received requesting Out-of-Cycle consideration of a Grant application, VCF staff will review that initial communication in a timely fashion. If, in the opinion of VCF staff, such request meets the standards set forth herein and, further, merits encouragement of a full Application, the issue of whether or not to invite a full Application, on an accelerated out-of-cycle basis, will be referred to the Executive Committee, which will make such determination after receiving the recommendation of the staff.
In circumstances where the Executive Committee has decided to invite a Grant Application Out-of-Cycle, a full Application (with a specific time schedule) will be encouraged.
Upon receipt, such full Application will be presented to the full VCF Board for consideration and decision in a timely manner.
Thank you for your inquiry to the Valley Community Foundation.
Applications for the Community Grants Program (formerly Valley Small Grants) are considered through a request for proposal process. Grants are awarded to groups working in the Naugatuck Valley to motivate and leverage civic engagement efforts across the community.
The deadline to submit an application through this process for 2012 is February 24, 2012.
Please note:
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Contact Laura Falanga, Administrative Assistant, at
lfalanga@cfgnh.org or 203-777-7084 for more information about the VCF Community Grants program.
Thank you for your inquiry to the Valley Community Foundation.
It is the policy of the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) to make Grants in a range from $200 to under $5,000, which contribute to and support the not-for-profit organizations serving the Valley community, or which meet an emergency/urgent need of a Valley applicant.
We welcome applications from not-for-profit organizations located in or serving the Naugatuck Valley communities of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and/or Shelton, Connecticut.
The Revolving Response Grants process is designed to promptly address these needs through a simplified application and an expeditious quarterly response.
All applicants must be a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 ( c)(3) or other applicable section of the Internal Revenue Code, or must have a fiscal sponsor with such appropriate status.
Any grant recipient must adhere to a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of age, sex, religion, national origin and sexual preference in all aspects of organization operations.
No applicant may receive more than one non-emergency/urgent grant in any calendar year, and this program may not be used to request event sponsorships.
Please contact
csullivan@valleyfoundation.org if you have any questions regarding this program, or your application.
Thank you for your inquiry to the Valley Community Foundation.
Sponsorships for events are awarded throughout the year to nonprofit organizations or groups located in or serving the Naugatuck Valley communities of Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and/or Shelton, Connecticut. Sponsorships may not exceed $2,500 per event.
The VCF Board of Directors meets on a monthly basis, at which time it will vote on sponsorship requests received since its last meeting.
Checks for sponsorships are issued monthly. Therefore, to assure that any approved grantee would receive funding in advance of the event, it is recommended that any sponsorship application be submitted at least sixty days in advance of the event.
If there is an option of ad placement associated with your event, please submit a
Sponsorship Ad Placement Form with your application.
Please email
csullivan@valleyfoundation.org if you have any questions regarding this program, or your application.
Donor advised funds enable a donor, or a committee established by the donor, to make grant recommendations according to their interests. Grantseekers cannot directly apply for funding from these funds; grants are distributed throughout the year.
The majority of scholarships distributed from funds at the Valley Community Foundation are administered through the Guidance Departments of each
school or external parties. Scholarships are awarded throughout the year from several individually-named funds and deadlines may vary. Please visit our Scholarships page for more details.