Community Grants 2023 Application Guidelines

Theme: “Responding to Community Challenges”

Welcome to West Marin Fund’s Community Grants 2023

West Marin Fund is a community foundation that inspires giving and mobilizes resources to enhance the long-term wellbeing and quality of life for all in coastal West Marin. We provide grants and training for local nonprofits and convene key stakeholders to help identify and fund equitable solutions to challenges facing people who live, work and visit in West Marin.

Community Grants 2023 funding supports nonprofit organizations to develop strategies, build out programs, and enhance services to address challenges that West Marin communities will face over the next 24 to 36 months.

West Marin Fund invites applications from nonprofit organizations and groups that provide programs and services in unincorporated West Marin. Nonprofit organizations serving West Marin play an important role in responding to a wide array of community challenges. Some of these challenges are systemic and have been the focus of programmatic interventions for many years, while others were heightened due to increased economic disparity, the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and other emergencies.

Community Grants 2023 funding seeks to enable nonprofits to develop a longer-term, multi-year strategic approach, while at the same time focusing on and refining near-term program priorities for those they serve.

West Marin Fund is committed to supporting activities that promote justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion; challenge racism; and positively affect the health and wellbeing of marginalized communities, particularly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, as well as members of low-income households.

To submit an application, you must complete all required sections and upload all required documents. You can apply as a registered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization, or as a group using a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status. Note that throughout the application we use the term “organization” to mean formal organizations, informal groups, collaboratives or collectives as relevant.

Please ensure that you carefully review the information on this page prior to filling out the application.

Application Deadline

Applications must be submitted online by 5pm on Tuesday March 28th, 2023.

Timeline

March 28th, 2023 – Online submission deadline
May 2023 – Notification of decision, grants disbursed
March 2024 – Activities completed
April 2024 – Final report due

“

It always seems impossible until it’s done.
– Nelson Mandela

Application Guidelines

Purpose & Approach

West Marin Fund’s Community Grants offer nonprofit organizations the opportunity to enhance and strengthen their program services, activities, and delivery designed to address critical issues and improve the lives of people who live, work, and visit in West Marin.

Organizations need to show that they:

Have an informed analysis of the challenges currently facing people who live, work and visit in West Marin;
Have a stated plan and goals for addressing those challenges;
Have provided services in the last 12 months that made a difference to more than a handful of persons;
Are advancing racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion;
Use, or are developing, a variety of feedback, data, and information collection strategies to inform the development of their programs;
Can demonstrate responsible fiscal management and adequate accounting procedures;
Have a fundraising plan in place;
Work collaboratively with other nonprofit organizations to improve programs and services.

Eligibility

Community grants are awarded to organizations serving West Marin.

Applicants must:

Be a registered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization or have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor;
Be based in or provide services in West Marin, ideally for the last three years;
Have a commitment to racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Only one application may be submitted by an organization. Please note, organizations may receive more than one grant if they are acting as a fiscal sponsor for a successful applicant.

Non-Eligibility

West Marin Fund does not fund the following:

Individuals;
Colleges and universities;
Debt reduction;
Disaster relief outside the Bay Area;
Government agencies;
Organizations that have a report that is overdue, nor received an extension, on a previous grant;
Political organizations and political purposes. This includes lobbying activities to influence legislators or voters on specific, pending legislation; and participation or intervention in an election campaign that expresses a view in support of or opposition to a candidate for public office;
Programs or equipment that were paid for prior to the grant proposal period;
Religious organizations, unless it is for activities that benefit the entire community, regardless of religious affiliation.

Grant Range

The minimum amount awarded is $4,000 and the maximum is $7,500. Please give careful thought to your organization’s ability to carry out the proposed activities should you not receive the full amount requested.

Budget

Please use the template provided to show the projected expenses and income for the proposed activities to be funded. Costs for trainings and a contribution towards salaries of staff who are directly involved in implementing the proposed activities may be included. Once the Subtotal of Proposed Activities Expenses has been calculated, an amount not exceeding 10% of the subtotal may be included for your organization’s general administration costs or the fiscal sponsorship fee.

Duration & Reporting

If awarded a grant, your organization will be expected to use the funds within ten months. Final reports will be due in the eleventh month, with a clear accounting of expenditures and a short description of use, impact and lessons learned.

Supporting Documentation

Financial Documents

Summary Profit & Loss Statement for the last completed fiscal year
Balance Sheet for the last completed fiscal year
Organizational Budget for the current fiscal year, including anticipated revenue and expenses

Governance Documents

List of current Board of Directors (or Officers/Steering Committee, as appropriate)

Fiscal Sponsorship

If you use a fiscal sponsor, you will be prompted and required to submit the following fiscal sponsor’s documents:

Letter of Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding with fiscal sponsor
Summary Profit & Loss Statement for the last completed fiscal year
Balance Sheet for the last completed fiscal year
Organizational Budget for the current fiscal year, including anticipated revenue and expenses

Additional documents

Other documents may be submitted on an optional basis if they are relevant to the application, such as a project plan and budget, or annual report.

Application Process

Submitting Your Application

Log on or Create a New Account online
Review the detailed application guidelines
Complete the application form
Upload the required supporting documents

Selection Process & Schedule

West Marin Fund’s Grants Review Committee will review and assess each application based on established criteria for its Community Grants program. The Committee submits its grant recommendations to the Board of Directors of West Marin Fund, who make their final decisions taking into account the availability of funds.

If you have any questions regarding your application and the required supporting documents, please contact us well in advance of the deadline so that we can provide you with the support you need to submit your application on time.