Service Grant Eligibility Criteria

Service Grant Eligibility Criteria

SERVICE GRANT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  • Be classified as a 501(c)(3), be under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3), -or- be a public school
  • Be headquartered in one of the following counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa or Marin counties |Why?We are restricted to working in areas in which we already have pro bono consultants. We love the whole Bay Area, but unfortunately can’t make exceptions here.
  • Have at least 3 full-time employees or at least 8 full-time employees if applying for Human Resources Capacity Build, Performance Management, or Board Recruitment |Why?Service Grant projects are fun, but we aren’t going to lie – they are also hard work. We want to make sure your organization is equipped with enough resources to take on a team of 5 consultants over the course of 6 months.
  • Have an annual budget of at least $350,000 |Why?Similar to the above reason, smaller nonprofits tend to have a much more challenging time finding the resources needed to offer the project.
  • Work within one of our issue areas: health, education, environment, social services, arts
  • NOT promote religious doctrine
  • Have a board ratified strategic plan if applying for any of the following grants:
  • Key Messages & Brand Strategy
  • Visual Identity & Brand Strategy
  • Board Recruitment
  • Strategic Scorecard

BEFORE APPLYING, PLEASE:

  • REVIEW ALL THE DETAILS OF OUR AVAILABLESERVICE GRANTSAND CHOOSE THE ONE THAT ALIGNS THE CLOSEST WITH YOUR CURRENT NEEDS

Please note: While we welcome applications for all Service Grant types, we are extremely limited in our ability to award the following, highly competitive project types: Annual Report, Key Messages & Brand Strategy, WordPress Website, and Salesforce Implementation. Organizations are encouraged to apply for grants within the Strategy Management and Human Resources practice areas.

  • REVIEW THE TIMELINE FOR EACH GRANT ROUND.Each project runs on the same timeline, so be sure you don’t have any major conflicts or leadership transitions planned during the duration of the project:
  • September Round
  • December Round
  • March Round
  • June Round
  • ATTEND THE QUARTERLY RFP WEBINAR.Our Program Managers lead a webinar each quarter prior to the application deadline to offer more information about our process. You can register for the next webinar on our website. If you are unable to attend:WATCH RECORDING HERE
  • SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION CALL. Prior to our deadline, we offer 20-minute consultation calls with one of our Program Managers in which you can discuss the specific scope of the project, how to write a strong proposal, how we make grant decisions, and ask any further questions you have. We highly recommend you take advantage of these calls as the data don’t lie – nonprofits who have a call prior to applying submit stronger proposals and are more likely to move forward. Plus, we are just plain fun to talk to.SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION CALL HERE
  • NOW, YOU SHOULD FINALLY BE READY TO APPLY!
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