Will the trainings be available to those that don't get funded?That is still being discussed. Stay tuned for additional information.
Will having an operational budget of more than $500,000 leave us out of the competition?Priority will be given to organizations that have annual budgets of under $500,000. Funding and admission to the program in the end will be to those that will most benefit from it; that is the bottom line.
If organizations with budgets over $500,000 are not the priority, how will they be able to participate in the grants process?They will be identified during the technical review of the proposals and set aside. If they are within the 24 best, most fitting for the program, they will be selected to participate in the program.
Do we have to make a case of being a feeder community of Santa Ana?No as we have already made the case for it in our proposal to the federal government. All communities in Orange County will be considered feeder communities in Santa Ana.
If we are an organization that provides community outreach, not directly offering services, will we be able to apply to the program?
It depends on what type of outreach and what the purpose of the outreach is for. For example, if you conduct outreach and serve clients by connecting them to resources and referrals, that would be considered your direct service. The funds will only be allowed for capacity building purposes.
Are community-organizing programs disqualified from participating in the program?
No, because such programs do provide services to the targeted population. Yet, it depends on how you propose to apply the funds.
How much total time (in hours) should our Executive be expected to attend trainings, modeling, and coaching? It looks like 32 hours of training for the 4 areas of capacity development (32 hours); 32 hours of coaching; and 8 hours of modeling. That is 72 hours total over a six month period.
Executive Directors are required to attend ALL training sessions (32 hrs). The one-on-one technical assistance focuses primarily on the ED, but may include one or two other key individuals. The TA does not become a mini training
session-but is the application of the training and other issues happening in the organizations.
Can funding go to cover the salary of staff that spends time implement organizational changes? For example, could we pay for the time our Director of Operations spends researching and retooling our phone system (if we asked for the grant to cover the purchase of a new phone system)?
This would be an example of an activity under organizational development. The rule of thumb is: CCF funds cannot be used to provide direct services. As long as this staff person is solely being paid to research, develop and retool the phone system, that would be considered capacity building.
Are the grants awarded in a lump sum upfront, or is funding dispersed as the reimbursement of expenses?
All funding will be disbursed in two payments. 1) First payment will be disbursed by the end of May 2010. 2) Second and final payment will be disbursed by the end of July.
Can the dollar amount requested represent the total cost of the capacity building project, or like most foundation funding, should the CCF request only represent a part of the total project cost?
There is no match required for the project.
I understand that CCF funding can't be supplied to projects that directly solicit funds. We are thinking of requesting funding to develop a fundraising plan, which Tony mentioned is an appropriate use. But can we also seek funding to support what we anticipate might be elements of the plan? That is, could we request funding for a special event, or donor software, or a grant consultant, or a DVD? (I'm thinking maybe "no" on the event but maybe the others are OK?).
That is correct. CCF funds cannot be used to do any sort of fundraising, including special events. The donor software, grant consultant, and DVD would increase the capacity of your organization and therefore are allowable expenses.
If we received CCF funds from the past, are we still eligible for this Desarrollo LEARN Compassion Capital Funds project?
Yes. This is a whole new round of funding, therefore, you qualify. However, you cannot be a sub-grantee for multiple CCF programs.
How many of each organization will be able to participate in the trainings?
Organizations accepted into the LEARN project will receive details regarding all trainings, meetings, etc., during the orientation.
Could funds be used to pay for rent?
No funds will be used for rent purposes.
What if the funding is used to purchase a vehicle, and might expose some to faith related actives?
Vehicles purchased may not be used for any type of inherently religious activities. Also, there will be no capital acquisition through this project. Capital Acquisition costs are defined as items that cost $5,000 or more.
Do we apply for a specific area of capacity building ie ONLY a leadership development plan vs. a plan that combines all four OR a combination of 1-3?
You can apply for capacity building in one or all four areas of the priority areas listed according to the RFP.
Does our project have to be linked specifically to the priorities of service outlined in the RFP ie., specifically our elder program and/or at-risk youth programs? Or can it be linked to something that would help the agency as a whole? What I mean is that we do have an elder program and an at-risk youth program, but want to know if it would be ok if we linked our ideas to other programs such as civic engagement related programs or diabetes related programs OR even a program that focused on human resources related policies and implementation that could benefit the agency as a whole.
The capacity building must ultimately make positive impact to the targeted populations listed in the RFP.
While our programming is faith-optional, the focus of our capacity-building grant request is likely a fundraising or other strategic plan, which doesn't have an inherent faith component and is not related to program delivery. Is that an appropriate explanation in terms of our application?We cannot provide specific comments on the language of your proposal at this time; however, fund development plans along with strategic planning are capacity building activities. Therefore, they are allowed. As long as the capacity building is not used to build and develop inherently religious activities, they will be acceptable activities.
We have recently incorporated and our previous work has been through churches and other organizations. We don’t have financial statements, yet we could collect letters from these organizations stating the amount of donations received for us to fund our previous activities. Would that suffice?If you do not have any formal financial records or audits, any type of financial records such as bank statements will be accepted. If you have a fiduciary organization managing your funds, please submit records of your finance records. If there are no financial records available, a letter stating the reason why there are no financial records will be acceptable.
What is the fiscal year?
The fiscal year is based upon your organization's fiscal year. For example, fiscal year for the state is July 1 to June 30, while federal fiscal year is from October 1 to September 30.
If our organization's budget is just over $500,000, would they still have the opportunity to compete?
Organizations with budgets over $500,000 may submit proposals but priority will be given to those who have budgets of $500,000 or less.
Is there a template for the cover letter? To make sure it is in compliance for the grant qualifications.Regarding the cover letter, we will not provide a template. It must e signed by the Board Chair. The letter should include the support and agreement of the Board of Directors of your organization. This is to ensure that this is a board supported application.
Do we still need to fill out the Intent to Apply form to submit our proposal?
No you don't, yet by doing so it helps us by giving us an idea of how many organizations will be submitting applications and make the preparations necessary for it.
When filling out Form SF424 (budget), what should we be filling out?
Work on Section B - Budget Categories (number 6, subsections a-k). The column that require completion are (e) - Federal and (g) Total; skip (f) Non-Federal, as we are not requesting a match.
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