Community
Foundation Grant Making Philosophy
The Community Foundation exists to develop sustainable
philanthropy for a broad range of community efforts by encouraging the
growth of a permanent charitable endowment, by providing donors with ways
to make giving easy and effective, by serving as a convener and catalyst
and by making strategic grants as community investments.
The Community Foundation of Tompkins County views grant
making as a dynamic process that supports an ongoing conversation about
need, best practices and collaborative opportunities among grant seekers,
donor advisors and the Foundation. We invite letters of inquiry so that
we may assist all in our role as a connector of causes and donors.
We serve as a meeting house for individuals, groups
and corporations who nominate grants from a wide variety of donor advised
funds at the Foundation. Our active participation in the Tompkins
County Funders Group and the Grantmakers Forum of NYS, and our adherence
to the national standards of the Council of Foundations uniquely positions
us to be of service to grant seekers and to donors. We seek to expand
our role as a locally based, well-informed, professional supporter of
the community by adding our knowledge to donor values and intent for grant
making with maximum positive impact.
The
Community Foundation 2009 Grant making Programs
1).
Howland Foundation Grants
The
Community Foundation of Tompkins County is the administrative agent for
the Howland Foundation - a trust established by Helen T. Howland in her
will to benefit Tompkins and Broome Counties . The Howland Foundation
supports grants in the areas of aging, youth, animal welfare, and the
environment. Grants are limited to qualified nonprofit organizations that
provide substantial benefit to these areas. Grant awards generally range
from approximately $1,000 - $8,000, with exceptions in some cases. A formal
Application is required from those organizations whose programs meet the
objectives set out by the Howland Foundation Trustees. Applications
are due by 5 p.m. on March 12, 2010.
We
are currently accepting applications from Tompkins County
supporting the areas of:
•
Aging
•
Youth
•
Animal welfare
•
Environment
We
are currently accepting applications
from Broome County supporting the areas of:
•
Animal Welfare
•
Environment
2010
Guidelines 2010
Howland Application
2).
General Letters of Inquiry
The
Foundation's Grants committee reviews grant inquiries as they are received
at their monthly meetings. Possible funding sources include the Community
Foundation's Tompkins Today and Tomorrow Fund, and various donor advisor
funds or field of interest funds. Please send Letters of Inquiry in hard
copy and electronic format to Janet Cotraccia, Program Officer, at jcotraccia@communityfoundationoftc.org.
Letters of Inquiry
should be no more than three pages and include the following:
-
A description
of your organization and its mission as well as the specific program
or project for which you are requesting funding. Please clarify
whether the program/project is established and ongoing.
-
A description
of the need that you are planning to address and how you hope to meet
this need. A description of the target population.
-
What evaluative
measures are you using and what results will you be looking for?
How do you define success of this program or project?
-
The name,
title, address, phone and email of the contact person to whom any
questions regarding the LOI can be addressed.
-
Total project
cost and amount requested from the Foundation.
3).
Crime Victims and Sexual Assault Fund
The
Community Foundation of Tompkins County is now soliciting grant applications
from non-profit organizations seeking to provide services to crime victims
and sexual assault survivors in Tompkins County.
Interested applicants must provide an electronic Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
of no more than three pages outlining need, goals, services, organizational
capacity, outcomes and evaluation strategy no later than 5pm on
Friday, September 24, 2010. In past years, the average grant
size has been $5,000. Please send LOIs, both in the text of the email
as well as an attachment, to jcotraccia@communityfoundationoftc.org.
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