Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Late Proposals will not be accepted
June 15, 2010
Dear Friends:
We invite you to apply for a grant from the Open Door Fund (ODF), a fund of The Community Foundation Boulder County (TCF). If you have any questions about this Request for Proposals (RFP) or the ODF process for consideration, we encourage you to contact Elvira Ramos of The Community Foundations staff, either at 303-442-0436 x111 or at Elvira@commfound.org.
The Open Door Fund The Open Door Fund is a permanent endowment of The Community Foundation Boulder County, which supports the Boulder County community by raising money and distributing grants for programs that enhance the lives of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Further information is available at www.opendoorfund.org. For 2010, ODF plans on providing $35,000 to community agencies in this grants round.
2010 LGBT Boulder County Survey
In the spring of 2010 the Open Door Fund Advisory Committee conducted a survey of LGBT people who live or work in Boulder County. A major purpose of the survey was to help guide the ODF Advisory Committee in making grants that have the most positive impact on improving the lives of Boulder County LGBT residents. As a result, this RFP emphasizes proposals that meet needs identified by LGBT respondents to the survey. Results of this survey will be available shortly at www.opendoorfund.org. We encourage applicants to review these findings.
Priority Areas for 2010 Grants
Proposals that meet one or more of the following aspects identified by the 2010 LGBT Boulder County Survey are more likely to receive funding. These attributes do not have to the only or most important aspect of the work you propose.
* Proposals that encourage connections among Boulder County LGBT people – including social and recreational activities.
* Proposals that increase awareness of and access to existing services to the LGBT community.
* Proposals that reach out to diverse or underserved communities to include them in current services, or design new services to address unmet needs.
* Proposals to start up or expand existing services, activities or programs to the LGBT community living in areas of Boulder County outside the city of Boulder.
We fund:
1. General operating funds for LGBT-focused organizations;
2. Specific programs and projects doing significant work in the LGBT community. These might include:
o Communications and Networks (which may include newsletters, resource guides, internet services and more);
o Gathering Places and Safe Venues; o Mental Health and Counseling;
o Social, Recreational, Arts, Cultural, and Workplace Needs and Programs;
o Youth, Elder, Family and Relationships Needs; and o Other Unmet Needs. If we’ve left out an important area, let us know. Please identify the need and tell us more about it in your application. See our website for abstracts of programs we’ve funded in the past.
Eligibility Criteria for Applicants to the Open Door Fund
* Proposed funding must support the LGBT community;
* Applicants must be non-profit organizations with an IRS 501(c)(3) designation or governmental or public entities. Non-governmental groups or organizations without a 501(c)(3) designation may only apply in partnership with or be sponsored by one of the non-profit 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 Open Door Fund will fund general operating expenses for those organizations serving the LGBT community, specific projects or activities by LGBT focused organizations and occasionally efforts of non-LGBT organizations to expand their programs to the LGBT community; and * The Open Door Fund will not fund projects that further a particular religious or political doctrine.
Instructions for Proposals
Proposals submitted in response to this RFP must follow the outline presented below. Please include the following sections in your proposal, in this order. Please do not exceed one page each for Sections I – III. The first page of your proposal should be the Summary Sheet Form (which is available at www.commfound.org/grants/cga_template.doc), then each of the following sections:
Section I: Organizational Background. Discuss the founding and development of your organization, including the original issue your organization was founded to address and how that may have changed over time. Please also include your mission statement.
Section II: Need. Please discuss the need you are trying to address through your organization or proposed project/program. Please describe the target audience for your organization, service or activities.
Section III: Proposed Services/Activities. Discuss how your organization will address the need outlined in Section II, including the type of services or activities you provide and what benefits your target population will receive. Explain how your proposal will meet one or more of the Open Door Fund priority areas discussed above. If you are applying for a specific program or project, discuss what outputs or outcomes you expect – and how your work will have substantive and meaningful impact the LGBT community.
Section IV: Budget. Make sure your budget includes both revenue and expenses. For the revenue portion, please be sure to breakdown funding sources. For program requests, we require both and program and an organizational budget; for general operating requests, only an organizational budget is required. Please contact the foundation if you’d like to see a sample budget.
Section V: Additional Materials
A. Collaborations. If your proposed project involves collaboration with other agencies, please provide a list of those with whom you are collaborating on this project. If your proposal includes a partnership or is jointly submitted with a second or more agency, you must proved a letter from your partner.
B. Progress Report. If you received Open Door funding in 2009, please submit a grant progress report. It may be downloaded from https://www.commfound.org/grants/grantreportform.html. Without it, your 2010 ODF proposal will not be considered.
C. Additional Documentation. Please submit the following items (note: if you have received funding from the Open Door Fund or The Community Foundation within the past 12 months and the information requested is still current, you do not need to resubmit):
* A list of your Board of Directors, or that of your 501(c)(3) sponsor’s;
* A list of key staff;
* Proof of your (or your sponsor’s) 501(c)(3) status. If you are partnering with a fiscal sponsor, you must include a letter on their letterhead confirming the affiliation;
* A copy of your organization’s non-discrimination policy; and
* A copy of The Community Foundation’s diversity matrix, available at https://www.commfound.org/programs/eli/diversitychart.html.
Deadline for Proposal Submission
The deadline for proposal submission to the 2010 Open Door Fund is 5:00 pm, Wednesday, July 14, 2010. Late proposals will not be accepted.
Please submit your proposal electronically in PDF format to application@commfound.org . You will receive a return email confirming that your materials have been received.
If electronic PDF submission is not possible for you, please contact Elvira@commfound.org or call 303-442-0436, x111). ODF staff will be happy to work with you to ensure that you can submit an acceptable proposal. We will not accept faxes.
Open Door Fund Grant Cycle Timeline
June 16-July 14 Questions to The Community Foundation
July 14 Proposals Due by 5:00 pm
August 12 Interviews with Applicants
September ODF 2010 Grants Announcements
In Community,
Lori Dumler, Chair Elvira Ramos
ODF Advisory Committee Director of Programs
The Community Foundation The Community Foundation
