Women's Fund Grant Guidelines
Proposal Deadline: Postmarked by November 15
Grant Notification: April 1
Grant Range: $1,000-$5,000 (for up to 3 years, $15,000 total)οΎ
Program Priorities
The Women's Fund seeks to support existing programs or projects which offer the most significant impact for the grant dollar. To this end, the focus will be to identify programs or projects that serve women and girls in three major Fields of Funding interests:
Leadership & Empowerment (2004, 2007)
- Leadership skills for girls, teens and women
- Gender barriers
- Mentoring
- Engaging women and girls in leadership roles
Health & Well-Being (2005, 2008)
- Safety and security
- Gender barriers
- Self esteem
- Health promotion
Economic Self-Sufficiency & Security (2006)
- Career/employment readiness
- Access to employment opportunities
- Financial planning
- Promoting women and girls philanthropy
Priority will be given to organizations that involve women and/or girls in program development and organizational leadership.
Geographic Limitations
Nonprofit organizations located in and serving the citizens of Essex County, Massachusetts.
Eligibility
The Women’s Fund supports programs which serve women and girls in Essex County.
Generally, funds will not be awarded:
- For debt or deficit reduction
- To individuals
- For political purposes
- For sectarian or religious purposes
- To state and local government agencies
- For endowment or capital campaigns
- For research
- For feasibility studies
- To agencies with pending 501(c)3 status or using fiscal sponsors
Grantmaking Process and Reporting Requirements
The Women's Fund Advisory Board will select one Field of Funding Interest per year. Annually, (by April 1) the Women's Fund will make grants with a 1-3 year commitment to agencies within that year's Field of Funding Interest. Grants will be awarded up to $15,000.
The Women's Fund is administered by the Essex County Community Foundation. Recommendations are made by the Women's Fund Grants Allocations Committee for approval by the Women's Fund Advisory Board and ultimately by the Essex County Community Foundation's Board of Trustees.
All multi-year grants will be contingent upon satisfactory progress toward meeting the goals of the project. Agencies with multi-year grants will be required to submit an interim report by February 1st after receiving their initial grant and each February 1st thereafter for the term of the grant. Click here to download the report.
The Women's Fund will not award second or third year funds for multiple year grants until the interim report is received. Final reports for one-year grants must be submitted by May 1st of the year following the grant award. Final reports for multi-year grant are due by May 1st of the year following the final grant award. Click here to download the report.
Application Deadline
Proposals must be postmarked by November 15th. The deadline is met by the mailing of the complete proposal, not the date on the electronic submission.
Application Procedure
The Grants Allocation Committee reviews proposals annually for grants from the Women’s Fund. Proposals must be submitted both in paper and in electronic format.
- Paper format - One printed copy of the complete proposal including all required attachments. Please do not staple or bind proposals. Mail proposals to Essex County Community Foundation, 15 Cherry St., Danvers, MA 01923.
- Electronic format - Electronic submissions should include the Women's Fund cover page, narrative, and project budget and can be sent on as attachments to an email message or on a disk or CD. Important: Please include the name of your organization on your electronic file (i.e. XYZ Agency cover sheet.) Email proposals to: j.bishop@eccf.org.
Proposal Format
Proposals should include four parts: the Women’s Fund Proposal Cover Sheet, the proposal narrative, project budget and the attachments.
1. WOMEN'S FUND PROPOSAL COVER SHEET (1-2 pages)
A completed Women’s Fund Proposal Cover Sheet must be included with all proposals. The cover sheet may be copied into your own word document. Please include the numbers and headings from the Women's Fund cover form on the document. Click here to download cover sheet.
2. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE (2 pages)
The proposal narrative briefly introduces the organization and explains what the requested funds would enable it to achieve. The narrative should describe:
- The history, mission, programs and constituents of the organization.
- How women and/or girls are involved in the leadership and decision making of the organization
- The problem(s) or challenge(s) the grant will address.
- The project goals and plan for achieving these goals.
- How the project will specifically benefit women and/or girls.
- How the grant will affect the Health and Well-being of the organization’s clients.
- How Women's Fund grant money will be used.
- How the project will be evaluated.
3. PROJECT BUDGET Please include an itemized budget of all project expenses and indicate any other committed or potential funding sources.
4. ATTACHMENTS
- Copy of your IRS determination letter confirming 501(c)(3) status.
- Most recent year’s audited financial statements. If an audit is not available, please submit unaudited statements for the past two years.
- Itemized organizational expense and income budget. Please indicate the time period covered by the submitted budget.
- List of your Board of Directors and their affiliations.
For More Information
For more information or to discuss a specific program, please contact:
Julie Bishop
Grants and Nonprofit Services Manager
Essex County Community Foundation
15 Cherry Street
Danvers, MA 01923
978-777-8876 x 28
Email: j.bishop@eccf.org
For more information about The Women's Fund of Essex County, please visit: www.thewomensfundec.org
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