Organizational Development Fund
2015 Guidelines
Purpose and Eligibility: The Organizational Development Fund supports 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Linn County that have been fully operational for two years or longer in strengthening their ability to carry out their mission. An organization providing services outside Linn County may apply for a pro-rated portion of the project cost. This fund supports projects that improve the organization’s management, governance, and leadership by developing strategies, systems, structures, and skills. This fund is for building organizational capacity, but it is not intended to assist with construction of new facilities or renovation of existing facilities.
Deadlines for 2015: February 13, June 12, October 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Types of Projects Typically Funded (but not limited to):
· Organizational assessment
· Strategic planning
· Executive coaching
· Mergers or other restructuring efforts
· Fund development planning
· Succession planning
· Diversity initiatives
· Board development
· Skill building for leadership staff
· Program evaluation
· Strategic program redesign
· Transformational technology acquisition/implementation
· Collaboration between organizations to create efficiencies within the organizations or create efficiencies in serving the community? Discuss with program officer prior to submission.
Ineligible Activities:
· Fundraising events and activities
· Re-granting funds to other nonprofits
· Expenses that have occurred or will occur during the grant review process
Low Priority Activities:
· Travel out of the region
Maximum Request Amount: Up to $15,000 per 12 months. The Grant Opportunity Chart outlines typical award ranges which vary based on organization budget and organization age.
· The Community Foundation does not generally fund more than 20% of an organization’s budget. Some exceptions are made for small organizations such as start-up situations and volunteer-driven organizations. Organizational Development Fund grant requests are generally limited to 7.5% of an organization’s budget, up to $15,000.
· The Community Foundation reserves the right to make larger Organizational Development Fund grants in rare circumstances.
· Organizations may receive up to $50,000 in Community Foundation grant payments in one calendar year from any combination of the Program Fund, Organizational Development Fund, Endowment Challenge Fund, Linn County Fund and President’s Fund grants. For the purpose of this total, an Endowment Challenge Fund is considered a one-year, $25,000 grant.
Frequency of Application: Organizations may have no more than two active grants from the Program, Organizational Development or Endowment Challenge Funds at any given time.
How to Apply:
· Request Grant Portal Access (for first-time applicants only)
In order to complete the online application process, nonprofits must select one person to act as the grant administrator for the organization. The grant administrator will have access to the grant portal to submit online applications, check the status of applications, review grant histories and submit final reports. To request a grant administrator, the organization leader (president, CEO, executive director or board president) must send an email to with the first and last name, title and email address of the appointed person. Within two business days, theGrant team will email both the grant administrator and the organizational leader with a username and password. Note: Organizations will not have access to the online application portal until they have received this username and password.
· Login and Complete the Online Grant Application
o To login, go to www.gcrcf.org and click User Login found in the upper right corner.
o We encourage you to complete the application in this document before logging in to the grant portal.
o The online application portal is open one month before the grant deadline.
o If you need assistance, please feel free to contact the Grant team at 319.774.2370 or . Please be advised to begin the application process early. The Grant team is happy to provide assistance but may have limited capacity for technical assistance on the day of the deadline.
o In the grant portal:
§ Note: The “Organization Snapshot” should be updated as information changes and reviewed for accuracy at least once per year.
§ Applications must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the deadline. Please note the time stamp on the application PDF is Eastern Time, however, the deadline is calculated as Central Time.
Application Checklist:
Information: / Online Application / Required Uploadsq Organization Snapshot including Board List / X
q Proposal Narrative / X
q Project Budget (Form provided) / X
q Organization budget (Fiscal Year, 2 page max) / X
q Strategic Plan / Requested
q Budget Narrative explaining unusual or uncommon circumstances(1 page maximum) / Optional
q Supplemental materials / Optional
Questions? Contact: Rochelle Naylor, Program Officer, at or at 319.774.2373.
Organizational Development Fund
Application Questions
Please use the following worksheet to prepare your application. Verify character counts and correct spelling and grammar before inserting answers in the online application. (Note: All character counts INCLUDE spaces). Users are encouraged to copy responses to the online portal from the worksheet below. You may not copy and paste from a PDF or from a formatted table.
Organization Snapshot: Please note: This snapshot will be available to all Community Foundation fund holders.
Mission statement: (500 character limit)
Brief organizational history: (900 character limit)
Describe target population: (250 character limit)
Briefly describe key programs: (1,500 character limit)
Number of paid employees:
What is the total dollar amount of the current fiscal year organizational budget?
Describe volunteer support within organization: (250 character limit)
What year did your organization receive your IRS 501(c)(3) letter of determination?
List Board of Director names and professional roles: (Do not copy and paste from a PDF or from a formatted table).
Qualifying questions
Does the organization have 501(c)(3) status?
Is the organization located in Linn County, Iowa?
Has the organization been fully operational for at least two years?
We have read and understand the typical grant amounts and duration as it pertains to our organization and this project.
Section 1: Proposal Summary
Organization name: (This will auto-populate from snapshot. This field will only show the original legal name at this time).
Proposal title:
Proposal summary: (purpose of requested funds) (900 character limit)
Total Project Budget inclusive of all funding:
Dollar amount requested from the Organizational Development Fund:
Section 2: Organization Overview
All of these fields are auto populated based on responses to the Organization Snapshot. You may amend the content of the following fields for the purposes of this application only.
Mission statement: (500 character limit)
Brief organizational history: (900 character limit)
Describe target population: (250 character limit)
Briefly describe key programs: (1,500 character limit)
Number of paid employees:
What is the total dollar amount of the current fiscal year organizational budget?
Describe volunteer support within organization: (250 character limit)
What year did your organization receive your IRS 501(c)(3) letter of determination?(not auto populated)
List board of director names and professional roles: (Do not copy and paste from a PDF or from a formatted table).
Section 3: Proposal Details
Detail reasons why the Community Foundation should invest in building this organization. What are its strengths? What is its value to the community? (2,500 character limit)
Current conditions in the area(s) the organization seeks to strengthen. What led to the decision to pursue this project? (2,500 character limit)
Detail the proposal. Include a description of the activities to implement the project, and anticipated timeline. (2,000 character limit)
Section 4: Application Background
How many bids did you receive for the proposed project/equipment/assistance?
How did you choose this bid over the others? (2,500 character limit)
How will the outcomes achieved make the organization stronger and contribute to the long-term stability of the organization? (2,500 character limit)
Does your organization have a current strategic plan? If so, please upload after submitting the application narrative. This can be done with the other attachment requirements using the optional attachments upload function
How does the proposed project relate to the organization’s strategic plan? (2,500 character limit)
Section 5: Objectives
Provide your program/project objective(s), the action that will be taken to reach this objective, how this action will be evaluated, and how you will know if the results are successful. Please be specific and measurable. A minimum of one objective is required, and you may add others as needed to fully articulate the purposes of your project/ program.
For each objective: Please click the "Add" link to add a new objective table.
Objective 1: (150 character limit)
Action: (300 character limit)
Evaluation method: (300 character limit)
Description of desired results: (300 character limit)
Section 6: Organization Contact Info
This will auto populate from the Organization Contact Information in our system.
Tax ID:
Name of organization primary contact: This is the Executive Director, Board Chairperson or organization President
Address information:
Website address:
Organization phone number:
Organization fax:
Additional questions include:
Primary Contact Organizational Role: (Executive Director, Board Chairperson or organization President)
Primary contact phone and extension:
Primary contact email:
Section 7: Submission Information and Signature
Who should we contact with questions regarding this specific application?
Application contact’s organizational role:
Application contact’s phone and extension:
Application contact’s email:
Submitter’s name/Electronic Submission Authorization
Submitter’s organizational role:
To Complete the Application: Go to Upload Documentation page shown under Applicant Dashboard
Look for the application ID of the recently submitted application and select the link for each of the required documents.
A green checkmark will verify that a document has been uploaded successfully.
The following documents are required to complete the application.
· Organizational Development Fund Budget Form(form provided is required)
· Organization budget
· Organization current strategic plan (requested)
· Optional budget narrative
· Optional supplemental materials
Financial Document templates are found within each funding opportunity page at gcrcf.org
Your application is not complete until all mandatoryrequirements are checkmarked ()
Organizational Development Fund
Scoring Criteria
A strong application will show the organization addresses the criteria below in relation to both the soundness of the capacity building activity and the readiness of the organization to undertake this activity.*
Organization and Community (maximum 2 points)
· Organization has multiple strengths.
· Organization provides value to the local community.
Project Plan and Evaluation (maximum 2 points)
· Current conditions/decision process clearly described.
· Description and timeline are clear and well planned.
· Vendor/consultant decision: multiple bids received and decision (or alternate process) clearly explained.
· Desired results/evaluation clearly stated/appropriate.
· How proposed activity will strengthen/contribute to long-term stability of the organization is clearly stated.
· Project budget is accurate, adequate, and realistic.
Organizational and Financial Management (maximum 2 points)
· Organization key programs are well-aligned with mission.
· Organization budget is balanced and appropriate to age, circumstances, and size.
· Organization board has varied skills/backgrounds and is an appropriate size.
Project Value (maximum 2 points)
· Current conditions in area(s) the organization seeks to strengthen align well with proposed project.
· Proposed activity will strengthen the organization's capacity to advance its mission.
· Proposed activity will strengthen the relationship between the organization and the community.
Total Score (maximum 8 points)
*An application on behalf of a collaboration is scored only on Project Plan and Evaluation and Project Value, with each of those two scores doubled to allow comparison with other applications’ total scores.
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