Greater Lawrence Summer Fund Grant Guidelines

Application Deadline: Postmarked by March 1, 2011
Grant Notification:  May 15, 2011
Grant Range:  $1,000 - $15,000 

Geographic Limitations

The Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF) grants are limited to summer programs serving inner-city youth from the Greater Lawrence communities of Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and North Andover.  Programs serving young people from diverse geographic areas should reserve the funds received from the GLSF to youth from the designated communities.  Evaluation of these programs includes the response to needs of urban youth.

Agencies located outside the area are eligible to apply for funding but proposals must include details on the number of Greater Lawrence youth participating.  Transportation is a factor in approving such a program.

Program Priorities

The Greater Lawrence Summer Fund connects donors interested in supporting enriching summer opportunities for inner-city school-aged children and teens with agencies in need of funding for programs.  The Greater Lawrence Summer Fund Committee has established the following objectives which describe the desired impact of the grants.  The Committee intends for these objectives:

OBJECTIVE #1
To respond to community needs for quality summer programs for as many school-age youth as possible in Greater Lawrence, including:

• Programs which provide educational skills development in ESL, math, reading and English.
• Programs which are planned and implemented in cooperation with other community agencies.
• Programs which provide services to special needs youth, minorities, including linguistic minorities, teenagers and children of working parents.
• Programs which offer multiple sessions and operate during the hours needed by working parents.

OBJECTIVE #2
To provide young people with opportunities for skill development, personal growth and exposure to new experiences, including:

• Programs which offer a mix of regularly scheduled educational, social and recreational activities.
• Programs which involve special arrangements with health, environmental and/or cultural resources.
• Programs which offer educational field trips and/or enrichment activities.

OBJECTIVE #3
To promote and encourage interaction and communication among youth and staff from different ethnic and racial backgrounds and from different neighborhoods, including:

• Programs whose design and recruitment of participants and staff result in racial and ethnic integration.
• Programs whose activities and recruitment procedures result in equal participation by both sexes.
• Programs whose design and recruitment procedures bring together participants and staff from different neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVE #4
To gain maximum impact of philanthropic dollars for summer programs, including:

• Programs which participate in cost-saving collaborative projects both public and private.
• Programs which charge fees to participants on a sliding scale basis.
• Programs which draw upon community resources such as staff, volunteers, donated supplies and facilities in addition to resources from outside the community.

Eligibility

Applicants must have a 501(c)(3) tax status under the IRS tax code and serve residents of Essex County.

ECCF is committed to non-discrimination. We support organizations that use all reasonable efforts to recruit, hire, train, promote, and serve persons without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law, except where such status is a bona fide qualification for the service being provided and is related to the organization's mission.

Stand alone programs within umbrella organizations may be eligible for capacity building support if they meet the following criteria:

• The umbrella organization provides the 501(c)3 status but not much more.
• The program has a separate budget and raises its own funds to cover this budget. The umbrella organization may cover a small amount of some administrative costs.
• There is a letter of agreement/understanding between the program and the umbrella organization.
• The program is core to the mission of the umbrella organization and serves a substantial number of the core client population.

GLSF grants will not be awarded:

• To individuals
• For costs related to programs/services provided to residents outside of Essex County
• For sectarian or religious purposes
• For political purposes
• For debt or deficit reduction
• For capital campaigns for buildings, land acquisition, or endowment
• To support academic research

Residential camps should meet American Camping Association (ACA) guidelines.   Day programs should meet the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) licensing requirements.

The GLSF is limited to non-sectarian programming for youth of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. Programs sponsored by religious organizations are eligible, provided enrollment is open to all youth, and the program is free of mandatory religious instruction, worship, or other sectarian activities.

Selection Criteria

In addition to the program objectives outlined above, applicants should consider the following criteria:

• The management staff should have considerable administrative experience, and there should be involvement of the Executive Director and Board of Directors in the planning and monitoring of the summer activities.
• An orientation should be provided for all staff members which should include program philosophy, the needs of youth served, and multicultural issues.  Special supervision and training is strongly recommended for teen employees.
• The program should be fiscally sound with a balanced budget.
• Funds should be used for program operation, not capital expenditures.

Application Deadline

Proposals must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, AND received electronically at grantsubmit@eccf.org no later than March 1st.

If the grant deadline falls on a day when the post office is not open, the postmark must be from the previous day of operation or earlier. Incomplete or late proposals will not be considered.

Application Procedures

New agencies may wish to discuss their proposal with the ECCF Grants Manager (see contact information below) before submitting an application.  One proposal per agency please.

Agencies which received a grant for the previous summer must submit a Final Report before applying for a current year grant.

Agencies participating in the Greater Lawrence Summer Fund should not submit SEPARATE proposals for their summer program to donors participating in this coordinated grant making process.  An agency may submit a proposal to donors who are not part of the coordinated process.

Proposals must be submitted in paper and electronic format:

• Paper format - One printed copy of the cover sheet, proposal narrative, and project budget must be mailed.  Please do not staple or bind proposals.  Please do not send hard copies of attachments.  Mail proposals to Essex County Community Foundation, 175 Andover St., Suite 101, Danvers, MA 01923.
  
  
• Electronic format - Electronic submissions should include the cover sheet, proposal narrative, project budget, and any required attachments.  Important:  Please include the name of your organization in the electronic file name.  For example,” XYZ Agency - Cover Sheet”.  Email proposals to grantsubmit@eccf.org.

Proposal Format

A complete GLSF proposal includes a GLSF cover sheet, proposal narrative, project budget, and attachments.

1.  GLSF COVER SHEET: (1-2 pages) 
A completed ECCF GLSF cover sheet must be included with all proposals.  Click here to download Cover Sheet. The cover sheet may be copied and saved as your own MS Word document.

2.  PROPOSAL NARRATIVE: (maximum 2 pages)
The narrative should be a description of the program and indicate how it will run on a daily basis.  Please use the following outline as a guide:

• Provide a statement of the problem and why you wish to undertake this project. Please include:
  • Defined target population
  • Description of the community needs the program will address
  • Explanation of how your program will meet individual needs
  • Description of how your program differs from, collaborates with or compliments similar services to this population.
    
    
• Describe the organization involved, including current services to the community.
  
  
• Identify any special programming components such as in the following areas:
  
  
  • Multi-cultural training and programming
  • Basic educational support (tutoring, remediation, reading, math games, computer literacy, reading clubs, etc.)
  • Latchkey (home survival skills, cooking, getting around by public transportation, etc.  Include any special curriculum used, i.e. Camp Fire, Girl Scouts, etc.)
  • New approaches to skill development.
  • Environmental awareness (i.e. gardening, nature exploration, etc.)
    
    
• Given the summer is so short, what specific objectives can your program realistically accomplish?  How will you measure your successes? How does this project serve low income families?

4. ATTACHMENTS:
Please include the following attachments with your electronic proposal:

Accreditation/certifications Copy of your IRS determination letter confirming 501(c)(3) status, only if you have not received an ECCF grant in the past or your status has changed.

Most recent year’s audited financial statement.   If not available, please submit unaudited statement for the past year.

Itemized organizational expense and income budget for the current year.

List of your Board of Directors and their affiliations.

Review Process

The Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) staff together with the Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF) Committee members review all proposals for the fund in the early Spring of each year.  The review and allocation process takes approximately two months.  Our goal is to mail grants to agencies by May 15th, well in advance of program start dates.

Proposals that do not meet deadlines or guidelines will be screened out by the ECCF Vice President for Grants and Services or the GLSF Committee.  Applicants will receive early notification if they are screened out at this time.  All other grant notifications will be sent out by May 15th.

The GLSF Committee makes allocations to agencies based on need.  The need is established through Committee proposal reviews and the information gained through annual site visits which are done while the programs are in session.

A staff person or member of the Committee may contact applicants for additional information about a proposal or to arrange a site visit.  The Committee may also contact other funders, community leaders or local agencies to learn more about the work of organizations applying for funds and to discuss the outlined plans.  Copies of proposals submitted to ECCF may be shared with others during the review process.

Reporting Requirements

A final Annual Report Form, including the program's final budget report, is due after the program has ended or by March 1st. This final report must be received to be eligible to apply for funding the next year. Accountability plays a big part in this collaborative process.  Click here to download the Final Report Form.

For More Information

For more information or to discuss a program idea, please contact:

Julie Bishop
Vice President for Grants and Services
Essex County Community Foundation
175 Andover Street, Suite 101
Danvers, MA 01923
Tel: 978-777-8876
Email: j.bishop@eccf.org
Website:  www.eccf.org