Round 12

ProposalForm for Partners for Places

Instructions: Deleteall instructions in red before saving your version of the proposal

  • Cover Sheet and Proposal Narrative must not exceed 10pages in total
  • Complete all sections in the cover sheet and narrative in order including the numbered and lettered headings and questions in your narrative
  • If you are requesting continuation funding for a prior Partners for Places grant, you must submit a grant report along with the renewal application
  • Save your documents with the following formats:
  • Narrative: “Your City Name Partners for Places Proposal Narrative” (MS Word)
  • Budget: “Your City Name Partners for Places Budget” (Word or Excel)
  • Form 990: “Grant Recipient’s Name Form 990” (PDF)
  • Match letter(s): “Your City Name Matching” (Word or PDF)
  • If you are applying on behalf of a county, use the name of your county not your city.
  • Email your proposal and materials to , and include in the subject line “Partners for Places Proposal from Your City Name” (or county)

Cover Sheet

  1. Name of Applicants: please list the names of the team partners including the sustainability director and name of foundation(s)

City or County: / State
Name of Person
Title
Department
Mailing address:
City: / State: / Zip:
Email:
Telephone: / Ext:

The person above is: (check one):

☐A USDN member

☐A member of a USDN-affiliated Regional Network

☐A US or Canadian local government employee who leads a multi-departmental and community-wide urban sustainability initiative

☐Certified STAR Community

Foundation name:
City: / State
Name of Person
Title
Mailing address:
City: / State: / Zip:
Email:
Telephone: / Ext:
  1. Primary Contact Person

Name:
Title:
Organization:
Mailing address:
City: / State: / Zip:
Email:
Telephone: / Ext:
  1. Proposed Grant Recipient

Name of Organization:
Federal Tax ID #:
Contact Person:
Title
Mailing address
City: / State / Zip
Email:
Telephone: / Ext:
  1. Amount of request:
  1. Amount of Local Match:

Name of matching organization(s):

  1. Total Project Budget:
  1. Project Title (for use on website’s “Idea Bank”)
  1. Purpose of Project (25 words or less):

I[ ]do[ ] do not agree to have the above primary contact person (B), project title (G), purpose of the grant (H), and Project Background and Overview (A below) uploaded to the “Idea Bank” onthe Funders’ Network website.

Proposal Narrative

Address each area below in order

  1. Project Background and Overview of goals, strategies, and activities

Helpful Tip: Explain the background of this project and give an overview. Why this project? How did it come about? What’s this project going to do? What’s the purpose of the project?

  1. URL link to or PDF attachment for at least one of the following (check all that apply). Include an excerpt and page reference to the section of your plan that will be advanced by your project.Leave this section blank if the proposal is to create a plan.

☐Officially adopted local sustainability, climate action, adaptation/resilience, or comprehensive plan provision that explicitly addresses sustainability

☐Aplan endorsed by the mayor or city manager that states the goal of balancing economic development, environmental quality, and equity

☐Certified STAR Communities’ plan

  1. Key staff/implementation partners and stakeholders

Helpful Tip: First list and/or describe the key staff at the city, foundation, and any other implementation partners of this project, then complete the charts below regarding demographics and priority audiences/stakeholders.

Demographics of City or County(fill in Table)

Total Population
% People of Color
% Low-income Residents (below 300% of federal poverty level)
Major Immigrant and Refugee Communities (please list)

Priority Audiences/Stakeholders for the Project

(ex. youth, businesses, low-income communities, etc.)

Priority Audience/
Stakeholder (top 5) / Existing Relationship with Each Priority Audience/Stakeholder / Audience/
Stakeholder Involvement in Project Development
(Y or N) / Planned Audience/
Stakeholder Involvement in Project Implementation
(Y or N)
None / Developing / Mature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
  1. Detailed work plan that describes project activities, deliverables, and timeline
  1. Information on how the project addresses key selection criteria. Remember to address each of the key areas listed below in order. Points will be awarded based on the extent to which your proposal explains the following related to the Selection Criteria:
  1. Degree to which the partnership project (1) advances a key aspect of one of the following plans, (2)supports creation of one of the following plans, or (3) addresses an area identified for performance improvement or implementation for Certified STAR Communities.Please click here for guidance if the project is for creating a plan.(25 points):
  • A community-focused sustainability, climate action, adaptation/resilience,or comprehensive plan provision that specifically addresses sustainability
  • Anymulti-issue plan endorsed by the mayor or city manager that explicitly states and pursues the goal of integrating and/or balancing economic development, environmental quality, and equity

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 25 points for this section. One of the two main goals of the Partners for Places grant program is to support important sustainability projects that will advance your community’s plans. Explain how your project will help your community make progress on the selected part of your plan. Make a convincing case for how the selected aspect of your plan is vital to achieving your community’s sustainability goals.

  1. Extent to which there is a collaborative process betweena city or county sustainability director and local place-based foundation(s) in developing the proposal—including the role of each in developing and implementing the project(25 points)

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 25 points for this section. The other main goal of Partners for Places is to start or advance collaborative relationships between sustainability directors and local, place-based foundations. Use the grant opportunity to build this relationship.While a community group or nonprofit organization can be the grant recipient and work on the project, the sustainability director and the local, place-based foundation must actively participate together in the project development and implementation. The proposal must describe the roles of each party. Explain how the sustainability director and the local funder collaborated on the proposal and what each of your roles will be in implementing the project. You could describe any common interests that both of you identified.How did the sustainability director and local funder come together to decide on what the project would be? What was the role of the sustainability director and the local funder in assuring the success of the project?Finally, if a nonprofit or other organization has a significant role in the project, explain how they worked with the sustainability director and local place-based foundation to develop the proposal.

  1. Extent to which the partnership project is thoughtfulabout strategy, activities, outcomes, and how to assess and demonstrate impact (20 points)

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 20 points for this section.

  • Describe how your strategies and activities are thoughtful. What evidence do you have that the strategies will succeed?
  • Describe what outcomes you’re aiming for with this project. What are the outputs and deliverables?
  • Describe how you will measure and demonstrate impact. How will you assess whether the project is successful or not? What are the metrics?
  1. Extent of community engagement of priority audiences/stakeholdersin project development and implementation, including people of color, people with low incomes, and/or residents from immigrant or refugee communities (10 points)

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 10 points for this section. Describe how your priority audiences/stakeholders were involved in developing this project and how they will also be involved in implementing this project. Describe how your proposal incorporates strategies for inclusive and successful communityengagement, such as building relationships with communities of color, creating a welcoming atmosphere at all events, insuring accessibility for all participants, developing alternative and culturally appropriate methods for engagement, maintaining an ongoing presence in the community, and developing partnerships with organizations of color.See guidance on successful community engagementhere.

  1. Extent to which the project design reduces disparities for the most marginalized while improving well-being for all. (10 points)

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 10 points for this section. Describe how the project could impact racial or other disparities and how the project will have a positive impact for people of color, people with low incomes and residents of immigrant and refugee communities. What specific steps would be taken to reduce disparities while also improving well-being for all?

  1. Whether: 1) the proposal represents a new relationship between a city or county sustainability director and a local place-based funder(s) or 2) demonstrates that it is resulting in a measurably stronger and sustained existing relationship.(10 points)

Check one below and then explain:

☐New Relationship: The sustainability director and local place-based funder did not know each other before beginning work on this project, or this is the first project collaboration for them.

☐Existing Relationship: The sustainability director and local place-based funder have worked together on one or more sustainability projects.

☐Measurably Stronger Relationship: The sustainability director and local place-based funder knew each other and have worked on other projects, but now have a measurably stronger relationship.

Helpful Tip: Your proposal can earn up to 10 points for this section. If the proposal is resulting in a measurably stronger and sustained relationship, explain how the relationship will be stronger. Will you meet more often about projects, opportunities, and challenges than in the past? Will you undertake more collaborative projects than in the past? Will you co-convene meetings for the first time? Will the sustainability director serve on a funder committee for the first time? Will the funder serve on a government sustainability committee for the first time?

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