Asian Pacific Fund

Capacity Building & Civic Engagement Funding Guidelines & Letter of Intent

Purpose

The Asian Pacific Fund is a community foundation committed to strengthening the Asian and Pacific Islander community in the Bay Area by increasing philanthropy and supporting organizations that serve our most vulnerable community members. Our grant making for 2017 and 2018 will be focused on strengthening our affiliate organizations through two-year capacity building grants. In an effort to simultaneously strengthen our voice as a community, we are also asking all grantees to commit to a civic engagement effort.

Background & Areas of Focus

Based on feedback from our affiliate executive directors, we know that grants to support capacity building and civic engagement efforts are a top priority, yet they can also be among the toughest areas to secure funding. In response to this need, we are supporting two-year capacity building and civic engagement grants. Capacity building efforts include those focused on executive and board leadership development, fundraising, governance, organizational development, and/or infrastructure.

In addition to funds supporting a capacity building effort, each grant request must include a civic engagement component. While we are the fastest-growing racial group in America, we know that effectively advocating for our rights requires the power of our collective action and voice. Civic engagement efforts should be designed to move your constituents one step further along the path toward being civically engaged. Civic engagement efforts can include but are not limited to: voter education; voter engagement; getting out the vote; citizenship assistance; advocacy and policy change; workshops to build leadership and advocacy skills; workers’ rights and/or youth organizing; community engagement in school and local government decision-making. The proposal should reflect how you are expanding or building on your current civic engagement activities.

Up to 50% of the grant funds received can be used towards this effort, with a minimum of 25%. The goal is to have your civic engagement activities be as cost-effective and sustainable as possible, so that they can be woven into the fabric of your organization’s work.

Please note that if you have already received a capacity building grant from APF, we strongly encourage you to apply jointly for funds that support an innovative collaborative capacity building and/or civic engagement effort, with another affiliate organization.

Eligibility: Must be an affiliate organization of the Asian Pacific Fund. Affiliates receiving significant funding directly or indirectly from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation are not eligible to apply.

Funds Available: $350,000 per year for two years; grants of $20,000-$30,000 per year. In addition, each grantee will receive a $10,000 challenge grant to be raised by the end of 2018.

This initiative is funded in partnership with the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation and PG&E.

Key Dates

Monday, August 29th: Letters of intent due by 6 p.m. (via email)

Monday, September 19th: Notification of invitation to submit a proposal

Monday, October 24th: Proposals due by 6 p.m. via email or received via mail

Friday, November 18th: Notification sent to organizations selected to continue in the process via site visits

Friday, December 9th: Notification sent to selected grant recipients


ASIAN PACIFIC FUND LETTER OF INTENT

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

Organization's Name:

Federal Tax ID#:

Mailing Address:

Telephone:

Website Address:

Executive Director/ CEO's Name:

Executive Director/CEO's E-mail Address:

Organization's Current Budget: $

Total Contributed Revenue:

Breakdown (in dollars and percentages) of revenue from: Government, Foundation, Corporate, Individual, Other

Percentage of Contributed Revenue from Board Members:

Contact Name for Grant Application:

Title:

Email:

Telephone:

Requested Grant Amount for Capacity Building: $

Requested Grant Amount for Civic Engagement: $

State the purpose of your proposal/request for each area in no more than two sentences:

What is the capacity building area that best applies to your proposal?

__ Leadership Development: e.g., executive director coaching, succession planning, director level training

__ Fundraising: e.g., development consultant, grant writer, executing development plan

__ Governance: e.g., board trainings, board recruitment, roles & responsibilities

__ Organizational Development: e.g., strategic planning, marketing & messaging, data & research

__ Infrastructure: e.g., include hardware, software

__ Other (please specify):

What are the civic engagement strategies that best apply to your proposal?

__ Voter engagement: e.g., voter education, getting out the vote, citizenship assistance

__ Leadership Development; e.g., workers’ rights workshops, youth organizing workshops, and other trainings that build the leadership and/or political education of directly impacted communities

__ Organizing and Advocacy: e.g., events to raise awareness about issues affecting the community, engaging constituents in advocating for policy changes

__ Other (please specify):

II. REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

1. IRS letter of determination 501(c)(3)

2. Names of board members, length on the board, affiliation and compensation, if any.

3. List of key staff members and titles

4. A balance sheet and income statement covering your organization's most recently completed fiscal year.

5. Most recently filed 990

III. PROJECT SUMMARY

Title of Project/Program:

STRENGTHENING ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING: Please summarize your proposal, including brief but specific information about how your capacity building project would strengthen your organization, what you hope to accomplish, and how you will measure the success of the project/program. [maximum word limit: 300]

STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: In addition to your capacity building project, please describe your civic engagement program/project, including what you hope to accomplish, how you will measure the success or your program/project, and indicate if these are new efforts or building upon current activities. [maximum word limit: 150]

IV. Submission Information

Please email letter of intent with attachments to: and include the name of your organization in the subject line and “LOI” (for example: “Asian Pacific Fund – LOI”)

An email acknowledging receipt of your letter of intent will be sent within 24 hours. If you do not receive an acknowledgment, please contact us.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Joan Van at or 415.395.9985 x600.

Asian Pacific Fund 2017-18 Funding Guidelines – page 5