WOMEN TO WOMEN FUND

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation

GRANT PROGRAM

GUIDELINES, CALENDAR, AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE

GUIDELINES

The Women to Women Fund makes grants to programs and projects that encourage the advancement and opportunities for economic, educational, physical, emotional, social, artistic and personal growth in women and children. Each year, Founding Members of the Fund select a focus area for the grant round.

Grant Focus for 2011: Programs that help single mothers with job training, mentorship, academic education, parenting education, and/or financial literacy education

Grant Amounts

• The Women to Women Fund has $25,000 in grant funds for 2011
• Grant applications between $5,000 and $15,000 will be considered

Grant Criteria

• The program or project must deal specifically with the grant focus:Programs that help single mothers with job training, mentorship, academic education, parenting education, and/or financial literacy education.
• Applicants must submit evidence of 501 (c) 3 tax status
• The program must be available to low-income women residing in McLean, DeWitt, Logan or Livingston Counties; however, programs do not have to serve all four counties.
• Programs should benefit larger rather than smaller numbers of women.
• Programs should promote systemic change, increase the range of options for women, foster self-sufficiency, and have the potential for significant impact beyond the time of funding.
• Programs should offer creative and innovative solutions to address the focus issue by building upon proven practical methods.
• Programs should facilitate cooperation and collaboration among organizations so as to avoid duplication of services.
• Programs should have a high probability of having a direct, positive impact on improving low-income women's education and readiness for the job market.
• Programs should utilize clear methods of measuring and reporting results.
• Programs should have the potential for obtaining matching funds or additional grant money (a bonus, but not an expectation).

What Is Not Funded

• Recurring expenses
• Endowment campaigns
• Annual fund raising events and expenses
• Conference or continuing education expenses
• Scholarships or expenses for individuals

Other Requirements

• Semi-finalists will be asked to make a ten-minute presentation to the Grants Committee and Fund members in the first week of December, 2011 (exact date/time to be announced). The person responsible for managing the program and the CEO or Executive Director of the organization should be present. As the Grants Committee will have read the grant proposal, the presentation should not be a reiteration of the information already submitted. A five-minute question and answer period will follow the presentation.
• A representative of the organization and one or two participants of the program will be invited to speak at the summer meeting of the Women to Women Fund in 2012.

CALENDAR

November 1, 2011--Grants are due by 5:00 pm

November 11, 2011--Applicants will be notified of their status; finalists will be asked to schedule a time for a presentation before the Grants Committee and Fund members.

First week of December, 2011 (exact date/time to be announced), In person presentations by semi-finalists.

January 3, 2012, Semi-finalists will be notified of the Grants Committee's decision.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

If possible, submit all components of the application electronically to kdavis@ilprairiecf.org. Otherwise, submit one copy of all components to Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, 2401 E Washington, Suite 300B, Bloomington, IL 61704.

Grant Application Cover Sheet

You may download a PDF version of the Grant Application Cover Sheet or copy the form into a Microsoft Word document and return it as an email attachment. Please provide all information requested.

Grant Application

The grant application must be no more than six (6) typewritten pages in a font size no smaller than 12 and should include:

• A brief background paragraph or two about the history of your organization and its overall goals
• A description of the proposed program including objective, implementation, significance in addressing the Woman to Woman Fund's grant focus, and anticipated program start and completion dates
• A brief description of any work related to the proposed project that your organization is currently involved in
• A detailed budget breakdown for the program to be funded, detailing how the grant money will be spent
• Qualifications of key personnel and evidence of organizational capacity to complete the 
• proposed program
• The method and timeline for evaluating the program/project's effectiveness
• Funds (and their source) currently available to allocate toward the program
• How the Women to Women Fund grant will be recognized by your organization
• How or if the program could proceed with partial funding

Additional Information Required

• A web location where we can find the organization's latest audit (or IRS Form 990) or a statement that you are willing to provide these documents upon our request
• Recent grants received and applications pending with expected notification dates
• A list of Board of Directors and Officers with their principal occupations and contact addresses
• A copy of the IRS letter conferring tax exempt status

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Women to Women Fund Grants Committee will carefully consider each grant and present their recommendations to the Board of Directors of Illinois Prairie Community Foundation for a final decision. A denial should not be taken as a negative comment on the applicant's work, but a reflection of the funding dollars available.

The CEO or Executive Director of the grantee organization must sign and return an agreement accepting all conditions of the Women to Women Fund grant before funds will be disbursed.

The grantee organization must submit a final report on the program within a year of the grant's funding. The grantee may request an extension if the program's completion requires a longer period. The Women to Women Fund may request other reports on the program's status and/or accomplishments.

If you have any questions regarding these policies or wish clarification of our procedures, please contact our office. We will be pleased to assist you. Contact information: (309) 662-4477 or kdavis@ilprairiecf.org