Chester County

GRANT INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

The Community Foundation holds over 270 charitable funds in trust for individuals, families, corporations and nonprofits. In general, application is made to the Community Foundation as a whole for consideration by each of our separate donor advised funds. We have a small pool of unrestricted funding at the Foundation, but over 95 % of the grant dollars issued by the Foundation are granted through the generosity of the donor advised funds.

The Community Foundation sends each fund advisor a list of possible grant applications each quarter. They may opt to fund any of the proposed grant requests. Funding is more of an art than a science. It depends on a donor's personal preference for a request given their field of interest and geographic preference.

A grant application will stay active for 12-18 months. Our average grant size is about $1,500-$3,000. Of course, some donors can provide more. While most of our grants are for general operating support, a donor is "connected" through identification with a particular project or program.

We would encourage you to submit an application to the Community Foundation, remembering that funding depends on the various donor preferences. Electronic applications are preferred, so please download our GRANT APPLICATION, fill it out, and email it back to grants@chescocf.org.

Please contact us if you have any questions! Email grants@chescocf.org or call 610-696-8211.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Proposals submitted by Chester County nonprofits will be considered for 2 types of grants:

1) DONOR ADVISED & FIELD OF INTEREST FUNDS: Proposals received at any time throughout the year are eligible for funding consideration from the Foundation�s Donor Advised Funds and Field of Interest Funds. The Chester County Community Foundation holds in trust over 250 funds established by individuals, families and corporations. Grant proposals are shared with Fund Advisors to assist them in making grant decisions related to the funds they have entrusted to the Community Foundation. Grants made from donor advised funds may be made to charitable organizations from various fields of interest including arts and culture; humanities; education; community improvement; environment; health; and human services. These grant awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000. Grant decisions are made intermittently throughout the year.

2) FUND FOR CHESTER COUNTY: STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE: Proposals received by September 15 of each year will be eligible for funding consideration from the Foundation�s unrestricted grant making fund, the Fund for Chester County: Strengthening Communities Initiative. These highly competitive, small grant awards typically range from $1,000 to $2,000. Preference will be given to small and mid-size nonprofits, with budgets under $500,000, that provide services to Chester County residents that strengthen the social, cultural, health, educational and/or economic character of a community. An emphasis of the initiative is to illuminate the work of emerging nonprofits. The nonprofit must be located in Chester County to receive a grant from this fund. Distribution of grants will occur by late February.

A proposal is considered �complete� when the Chester County Community Foundation has received the Grant Proposal Summary Sheet, Grant Proposal Narrative, and Attachments. Completed proposals may be submitted via U.S. postal service or e-mail. E-mail proposals are strongly encouraged, and an electronic form is available at www.chescocf.org.

Applicants to the Fund for Chester County: Strengthening Communities Initiative:
� Must be charitable, tax exempt organizations with 501(c) (3) certification
� Must be located in and support charitable activities in Chester County

The Fund for Chester County: Strengthening Communities Initiative will not fund:
� Individuals
� Organizations that do not provide services in Chester County

Please send completed applications to:
Beth Harper Briglia, Vice President of Donor Services and Grantmaking
Chester County Community Foundation
28 West Market Street
West Chester, PA 19382
grants@chescocf.org

I. CHESTER COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT PROPOSAL
SUMMARY SHEET

Contact Information:

Organization Name:

Address:

Phone:

Web Address:

Contact Name:

Contact Title:

Contact E-mail:

Fax:

Year Incorporated:

Have you previously applied to The Community Foundation:			Yes:	No:
If �Yes�, please indicate date and amount of each grant, if any, received from the Foundation:
(1) Year:	Amt Rec�d: $	(2) Year:		Amt Rec�d: $
(3) Year:	Amt Rec�d: $	(4) Year:		Amt Rec�d: $

Field/s of Interest:
Arts, Culture and Humanities	Community Improvement	Environment/Animal Welfare
Health	Human Services	Education	Literacy

Organizational Information:

Geographic Area Served (If not all of Chester County, specify primary Chester County municipalities served):

Annual # of Clients & Description of Population Served:

Mission Statement:

Organization Description:

Annual Budget $

# of Full-Time Equivalent Paid Staff

	% of budget for program expenses	# of Board Volunteers
	% of budget for administrative expenses	# of Active Non-Board Volunteers
	% of budget for fundraising expenses	# of Volunteer Hours
100	% of total

Top 3-5 funding sources:

Proposal Information:

Grant Amount Requested: $
Description of Grant Purpose:

II. CHESTER COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT PROPOSAL NARRATIVE
Please provide the following information clearly and concisely.

1. Organization�s history, goals, key achievements and distinctiveness

2. Funding request:

	A. Specific Chester County needs and issues addressed

	B. Organizational impact (for general operating proposals) or project impact (for project proposals)

	C. Overall strategies to implement the organization�s mission (or project)

	D. Why it is important to fund this now

3. Timetable, with anticipated outcomes and their relevance to the nonprofit�s mission

4. How impact and results will be demonstrated