Resources

Good morning! I’m reaching out to see if there are any community foundations working with their local governments to re-grant ARPA funds to nonprofit organizations in their service area? We have been approached by a county government in our region to manage the distribution of the ARP (American Rescue Plan) funding they have allocated to nonprofit organizations. We could see how this would fit within our purview as the region’s community foundation but have some questions about the financial and legal implications of receiving federal à county funding. Are there any community foundations in this network that have worked with their local governments in general, or more specifically, around ARP funding that could share their experience related to these questions? Thank you!

Hello – we are wondering if any of you know of states and/or funders that have already developed funding priorities using a racial equity lens and/or prioritized communities hardest hit by the pandemic? Thanks! Best Ken

We are currently conducting research on foundation giving to rural vs urban communities, and I am reaching out to inquire if anyone is aware of any resources in the past 5 years specifically focused on demonstrating this difference? Thank you,

Good afternoon, The Frey Foundation is in the process of reviewing our grant variance policies, including but not limited to no-cost extensions, changes of scope, additional/supplemental funding, or budget variances. Does anyone in the GEO community have examples of variance policies that they use within their grantmaking practice that they are willing to share? Regards,

Happy (Western Hemisphere) New Year everyone. I would love to hear from the PUBLIC Foundation community. Do you have any high-level language you include in the Terms of Reference for Board Directors that summarises their role in grantmaking decision-making or approvals? We are in the process of updating the role our Board plays in grantmaking decision-making. In parallel, we are working with an external organization to strengthen our capacity on meaningful youth engagement. The end result being a more youth inclusive grantmaking decision-making process. In the meantime (before the meaningful youth engagement piece of work is completed – not for another 7 months or so) we need to update some of our governance documents including BoD terms of reference. Hence, I am just looking for examples of generic language so as to not commit ourselves to anything too specific on grantmaking decision-making/approvals, but it is a HUGE motivator and reason why people want to support our organization and join our Board … so I need to mention something. Thanks everyone.

We are interested in revamping our application format and were interested in collecting samples. Does anyone in the GEO community have a blank application they could share as an example?  

I hope this message finds you well! My name is Maurice L. Speaks and I am the Project and Finance Coordinator for Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE). PACE is currently conducting research on grant programs that are focused on providing nonprofit organizations with funding specifically for professional development. I am reaching out to inquire if anyone is aware of any foundations or other grantmakers that run grant programs specifically focused on providing funding for professional development?

Hi there - as we plan for next year we are looking at how long we fund the organizations in our portfolio. We don't have any rules about this. A large number of organizations have been in our portfolio for 6 years or more. I am thinking about how to balance long-term commitment with bringing in new partners in a context where I can't increase staff. Would appreciate any examples of how folks manage this. Thanks! Lisa

The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is interested in best or promising practices, or guidelines/policy that work for your foundation around funding faith-based programming/organizations that provide health and social services in the community. We are interested to know if you impose any restrictions on the use of funding for any types of faith activities and whether you require that the health and human service programs provided by faith-based entities serve ALL residents regardless of their faith, gender identification and/or sexual orientation. Thank you in advance.

Hi GEO Friends, Our board members have made some discretionary grants that have led to interesting lessons and outcomes. For example, one joined forces with a city agency to fund a civic project that gained significant public attention and engaged numerous residents. The grant was so successful that the project was extended and later opened the door to other community engagement projects in that location. What started out as a small grant, had an big impact in a short amount of time and has since led to new partnerships. We have other examples like this. Our board members would like to blog about their experiences. We are aware of the dangers of doing this, of course, and our staff will pull together a list of pros and cons for the board to consider. However, we are wondering if any foundations have done anything to amplify their discretionary giving? If so, how did it go? If you think this is a terrible idea based on experience, I’d love to hear about that as well. I would appreciate your input. Thanks so much.