$10,000 Available for Volunteer Projects

Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate. Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. This year, Make a Difference Day takes place on October 26 & 27, 2012. This year, Mohawk Industries has made available $10,000 to United Way of Northwest Georgia.

Grant or grants must be used for volunteer projects taking place on Make a Difference Day. Organizations, groups or schools can apply to United Way to receive grant funding by completing this application. A committee of United Way volunteers will select which projects receive full or partial funding. Total funding available is $10,000. The grants will be from $100 – $1,000. Please apply for an amount that you feel is realistic for your project.

Grant Recipient Requirements

DATESThis grant is for projects taking place on Make a Difference Day, Saturday, October 27, OR on Friday, October26.The project should be completed in its entirety during this two-day period. This grant application is due by noon on Monday, August 27th, 2012. Please email your completed application to .Applications will ONLY be accepted via email. Please look for confirmation that your email was received.Please call Andrea Dobbins at 706.876.1580 if you do not receive email confirmation. Grant recipients will be notified via email by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 31, 2012.

OPEN TO THE PUBLICYour project must be open to the public to volunteer, and must be designed for at least 8 volunteers to work aa minimum of 3 hours eachfor every $100 of grant funding for which you apply.For example if you apply for $1,000, you should have at least 80 volunteer slots, with each volunteer slot lasting at least 3 hours. You can specify age restrictions on volunteers or skill restrictions.

USE OF LOGOSAll marketing and collateral materials for the project must display the United Way of Northwest Georgia logo, the Mohawk logo, and the Make a Difference Day logo and state that “This Make a Difference Day volunteer project was made possible by funding from United Way of Northwest Georgia through the sponsorship of Mohawk Industries.”

OWNERSHIP OF PROJECT SUCCESSThe grantee organization will be responsible for managing and implementing the project, managing and recruiting volunteers, providing original receipts to United Way of Northwest Georgia for supplies purchased with the grant money, and using the provided sign-in sheets and including a copy in the wrap up information to United Way.

WHO CAN APPLYAny 501(3)c non-profit agency,public or non-profit school, or government agencyin Whitfield County or Murray County in the state of Georgia is welcome to apply for the grant funding.

TRAINING Grant recipients must senda designated Volunteer Leader, who will be leading the project, tothe Make Difference Day Project Coordinator Training on Wednesday, September 12th from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. at United Way located at 816 S Thornton Ave, Dalton, GA.Your Volunteer Leader should NOT be a staff person from the agency/school. The Volunteer Leader should be a volunteer, such as a board member if you are a non-profit agency or a PTA volunteer if you are a school.

NON-DISCRIMINATIONAll organizations that apply must have a non-discrimination policy in place.

PROMOTIONAll projects will be promoted through the UnitedWayVolunteerCenter’s website, through the United Way email newsletters, and through posters.

REGISTRATIONProject registration will be facilitated through an online system.Please encourage interested volunteers to use the online registration system. If your organization uses a paper application, you will need to enter the registrations into the online registration system within two business days of receiving the application. The online registration system will gauge capacity and determine when projects are full. The online registration process will be covered in the Volunteer Leader training.

CHECKSA grant check will be mailed to organizations on Monday, October 1st. You must have a Volunteer Leader attend the training on August 22nd from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. to be eligible to receive funds.

REPORTSA Volunteer Count Form should be emailed to no later than 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 27th. We use this data for a press release. Receipts, a project completion form, and your sign-in sheets are due on Wednesday, October 31st. These can be dropped off at the United Way office between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

USE OF FUNDSGrant funding cannot be used for food, gifts, t-shirts, or to pay for rental of space or speaker’s fees.Grant funding should be used for supplies that are directly related to and will be used during the volunteer project. Supply budgets should not consist of purchasing major tools that could easily be borrowed from volunteers or agency board members.

Agency/Organization’s name: ______

Address: ______City: ______State:___ Zip:______

Contact Person: ______Title:______

Phone: ______Fax: ______Email:______

Short Description of Volunteer Activity: ______

I have read and understand the Grant Recipient Requirements and agree to follow the requirements.

Signature by authorized individual from organization______

Printed Name______

Please submit a typed proposal, no longer than 3 pages including:

  1. Name of The Volunteer Project
  2. The name, phone, and email Address of the Volunteer Leader of the Project (not the staff person from the agency/school)
  3. Location of the project including the physical address and directions
  4. The expected long-term impact of this project to the community
  5. A list of the project tasks including: a description of that task, the number of volunteer slots that will be available for that task, the start and end time for each task, and any age, skill level, or training requirements for the volunteers. If your project is funded, this information will be used to set up online registration for your project at volunteerNWGA.org.
  6. A budget for your total project designating the funding you are requesting,a description of the supplies, and the vendor. Please give options for scaled back versions for your project if full funding is not awarded.
  7. A timeline for the project including: start and finish dates and times and what work will be accomplished on Make a Difference Day, October 26 & 27, 2012.

Please email your completed application to no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 27th. Please submit application ONLY via email and look for confirmation.