Millennium Trust Request for Letters of Intent

THE MILLENNIUM TRUST
A Fund of the Community Foundation

REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INTENT
DUE BY 5 p.m. MARCH 30, 2010

INTRODUCTION
The Millennium Trust was established as a permanent fund of The Community Foundation to serve the needs of Boulder County residents into the future.  It was created by donations from thousands of Boulder County residents who each gave their last hour of income in 1999 to help meet the needs of the new millennium in the areas of the arts, environment, civic involvement, education, and/or health and human services.  Since its inception, the Millennium Trust has awarded more than $650,000 in grants to the community.

Each year, twenty Millennium Trust donors are selected at random to serve on the advisory committee.  This group determines the Millennium Trust funding priorities for the year and makes grant recommendations to The Community Foundation Board of Trustees.  

FUNDING FOCUS FOR 2010
The 2010 Millennium Trust Advisory Committee is seeking programs and projects that focus on the Development of School Readiness in At-Risk Children (0-8 years old) for potential funding.  Eligible applicants will address one or more of the following: literacy, verbal and other academic skills; health and health screening (including behavioral health); access to preschool; engagement of parents and families; connecting families with existing resources; and addressing cultural barriers.  We are particularly interested in programs that will:
* Leverage the grant for maximum impact (such as grant matching, partnerships, additional grants, or other ways to multiply the impact of the grant); and
* Provide sustainable results on both the population to be served as well as the ability of the organization to provide the needed services on a continuing basis.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Nonprofit, governmental or other public groups interested in applying for grants from the Millennium Trust are invited to submit a letter of intent describing the proposed project.  The Millennium Trust Advisory Committee will review the letters of intent and choose a number of finalists to submit a full application.   Applicants should submit via email one copy of the following:
   
I.    Letter of Intent- A letter of intent, which should be no longer than two typed pages and should include:
    * How the proposal meets the funding focus for 2010
    * Why the project is important for participants and other residents of Boulder
          County
    * What the project will accomplish and how it will be accomplished
    * The time frame for accomplishing the project
    * Who will be involved in the project
    * How to keep the project going in the future (if applicable)
    * How much money is requested
II.        Organization Summary – this can be found on
    http://www.commfound.org/grants/cga_template.doc
III. Budget- A separate budget page, listing expenses and brief descriptions of how each expense supports the proposal, should accompany the narrative description  
IV. Diversity Chart Assessment- A copy of can be found on our website at http://www.commfound.org/grants/diversitychart.xls
V. Tax Status- Proof of your tax-exempt status
VI. Anti-Discrimination Policy- Either a signed copy of The Community Foundation’s anti-discrimination policy affirming that your organization is in compliance with the statement, or a copy of your organization’s anti-discrimination policy.  A copy of The Community Foundation’s policy can be found on our website at http://www.commfound.org/grants/antidiscrim.html .

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
* Projects must meet the funding focus for 2010
* 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 must provide services or conduct the proposed activities within Boulder County for the benefit of Boulder County residents.
* The Millennium Trust does not fund projects that further a particular religious or political doctrine.

FUNDING RANGE
The Millennium Trust will award $74,000 in grants in 2010.Grant proposal requests will be considered within the $5,000 -$15,000 range.

TIME LINE
March 30, 2010            Letters of Intent Due by 5:00 p.m.

May 10, 2010             Finalists notified / Request full proposals from finalists

June 14, 2010            Full proposals due from finalists

July 21, 2010            Final recommendations made by committee

End of July 2010        Notify grant recipients

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING LETTERS OF INTENT
All Letters of Intent must be submitted electronically, preferably as one pdf file to grants@commfound.org.  Again, we ask that you submit one pdf file containg all pieces of your Letter of Intent.

For more information, please contact Margaret Katz or Elvira Ramos at
The Community Foundation, 303-442-0436 or email grants@commfound.org