VCF Grant Seekers Forum - Check out the Q & A

Thanks to staff members of the VCF for moderating a series of online Q & A panels with nonprofit staffers. Browse the 4 pages of useful info and good luck with your applications!

Scroll down and/or go to the next page for the most current Q & A.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REFRESH YOUR BROWSER EVERY FEW MINUTES
(Log-in trouble? Shoot a note to Coordinator@CommonGoodVT.org)

Program Officers of the Vermont Community Foundation will be available online to answer your questions about their Fall 2010 Grant Round. Join them at a special CommonGoodVT Forum on:

* Monday, August 30th from 10am-11am
* Wednesday, September 1st from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

It’s easy to do:

1. Be sure that you have first reviewed the Application and the Grant Seeker Frequently Asked Questions

2. Get yourself a Forum Username prior to the session(s) you’d like to participate.

3. Log on at one of the times/dates listed above and ask your questions!

Note that the DEADLINE for the Fall 2010 Grant Round is 5PM on September 3rd. If you have any questions about this opportunity please contact Ryan Torres at 802-388-3355 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 802-388-3355 end_of_the_skype_highlighting x289 or rtorres@vermontcf.org

Posted 1 year ago #

rachelfunk77
Member

Hi,

I have two questions:

1. I am applying from a public library and we don't have a fiscal sponsor. Who should we get to sign the application?

2. I am unsure of what to include in the section where it asks about the budget narrative. I have attached the Project Budget, and it is very small. Should I summarize the Project Budget in the budget narrative?

Thanks,
Rachel Funk
Morristown Centennial Library

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Hello Everyone, This is Ryan at the Vermont Community Foundation here to answer your questions.

Sorry if there was any confusion about where to go.

As we get going, keep in mind that the screen will not refresh itself so you will need to do so manually to follow the discussion.

Posted 1 year ago #

CommonGood VT
Moderator

Rachel, Ryan is working on your question. Stand by. Thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Hi Rachel,

1) Is the library part of the Town? If so municipalities are eligible to apply.

2) The budget narrative question is a place for you to point out anything in the budget you think we should pay attention to. For example: if there was a budget shortfall last year you could talk about why and what strategies you are implementing to address it.

Hopefully that helps.

Posted 1 year ago #

rachelfunk77
Member

We are part of the town. Does that mean one of the trustees could sign?

Thanks,
Rachel

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Since this is an electronic application we do not require a signature.

If awarded a grant we will need one of the Trustees to sign the Terms of award letter.

Posted 1 year ago #

rachelfunk77
Member

I am still unsure about what to write when it asks about the fiscal sponsor. On the application, it says this is a required attachment. Do I just put the library as sponsor?

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Since you are part of the municipality they are the applicant and you do not need to list a fiscal sponsor.

Posted 1 year ago #

rachelfunk77
Member

Okay, thank you!
I just have one other minor question: would it be helpful/easier to read if the budgets submitted on a spreadsheet?

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Whatever format you have it in will work for us.

Posted 1 year ago #

rachelfunk77
Member

Great, thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

Before I log off is there anyone here who would like to ask the final question?

Posted 1 year ago #

Ryan Torres
Member

If anyone has any other questions please do not hesitate to call us here at the Vermont Community Foundation.

802-388-3355

You can speak to me(x289), Christopher Kaufman- Ilstrup(x295) or Jen Peterson(x288).

Also Jen Petersen will available here online next Thursday, 8/25 from 10-11.

Thanks
Ryan

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi this is Jen Peterson. I'm the Vice President for Grantmaking at the VCF and will on line live and taking questions about our Fall 2010 Community Fund grant round from 10:00-11:00 today 8/26.

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi. This is Jen again. Two things:

1. The deadline for the Fall Grant round is 9/3 at 5:00PM (not 9/5 as listed above).

2. For this live chat please remember to right click and refresh the page every few minutes to get the most recent posts.

Posted 1 year ago #

SolarFestVT
Member

Hi Jen, this is Patty Kenyon from SolarFest. We have a question about what makes a good grant application. For instance, is it best to focus on certain topics, like affect on low income populations, or working with children, or outreach?

We are just wondering if there are certain issues that get more attention than others.

We were declined in the spring round so we are wondering how we might elevate our application and if a certain focus might help that?

Posted 1 year ago #

Tom Ayres
Member

Hi Jen -

Our organizational budget for FY11 (beginning September 1, 2010) was literally just approved at last night's board meeting. Is that the budget we should attach to our upcoming grant application or do you want the budget for FY10, just now concluding?

Tom Ayres
Champlain Valley Area health Education Center

Posted 1 year ago #

CommonGood VT
Moderator

Jen, thanks for moderating.

Typically, how successful are grant applications that are comprised of organization's collaborating on a single project? For example an environmental organization working with a local municipality--- Are there fatal flaws that collaborating organizations need to be on the lookout for when applying?

Thanks!

Posted 1 year ago #

HomeShare
Member

Hello Jen,

If our organization serves multiple counties, should we target the grant to just one? Also, for letters of support, are you looking for clients who have used our services or organizations we work with?
thanks,
Kirby

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi Patty,

Great question. First, I would say to definitely give us a call and we can walk through our evaluation of your specific proposal and it's strengths and areas for improvement. That's the best way to get clarity about how to develop your proposal for the next round.

As far as what makes a good grant application generally I would encourage everyone to carefully read the criteria for evaluation that we list in the application as it explains all that we are looking for in each application and we review each proposal and how it reflects each of these criteria.

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi Tom,

Please send your FY11 org. budget.

Thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #

TCPerkins
Member

Hello,
I am having trouble navigating the VCF site. Can you tell me where to download the 2010 Community Fund Application?
Thank you!
Tara

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi Kirby,

If your organization serves multiple counties please tell us that and about your work in all the counties. We have an expressed interest in having a breadth of reach with our grants so it will be important to know where your organization works.

As far as letters of support go we love to see ones from people using your services as well as from your partners in the community. The intent of letters of support is to understand the support and interest in the broader community for your work.

Posted 1 year ago #

SolarFestVT
Member

Thank you Jen, I will make sure that we do just that. Thanks for taking my question!

Patty

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Hi Tara,

Please call Stephanie Tuxill at the VCF 802-388-3355 ext 222 for technical support regarding the application. She's a whiz and will be able to help you much better than I!

Posted 1 year ago #

Denise Smith
Member

Hi Jen! How likely are you to fund an organization that received funding in the Spring if we are focusing on a different project?

Posted 1 year ago #

TCPerkins
Member

Thank you for your help. I will contact Stephanie now.
Tara

Posted 1 year ago #

jpeterson
Member

Regarding the question about collaborations, we are very happy to receive applications from nonprofits that are collaborating tho only one may apply and they will be considered for general operating support and not project support for the collaboration. What that means is that we will provide unrestricted support that you can choose to pay to cover expenses related to the collaboration or keeping the lights on--it's really totally up to you. What that also means is that we will evaluate the proposal from the perspective of the organization and what it is working to accomplish vs the project--although know about these kinds of collaborations definitely helps.

The one exception to this is if a municipality, public school or religious institution is the applicant. In those cases, they must apply for project support and we request that they call first to discuss the project and it's eligibility before applying. We also have a revised set of questions that we ask these groups to respond to as the application questions are set up for organizational evaluation and not project support.

Posted 1 year ago #

Tom Ayres
Member

Jen -

I realize that this is an operations grant (unrestricted). That said, much of our work is project-focused and in multiple areas related to workforce pipeline development and cultural competence in health care. What do you recommend we include in the application in terms of outcomes data? Should we try to do it for each of our programs/projects, or just highlight certain ones?

Tom Ayres

Posted 1 year ago #

VCF Grant Seekers Forum - Check out the Q & A

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