Guidelines for Funding Requests

2006

Determination of Potential Projects:

-Members have interest and communicate with Service Committee

-Service committee members investigate projects

-Letter/proposal request is received from potential project.

-Speakers come to meetings(not required).

- Program meetings are scheduled at potential funding sites(not required).

-Requests from individuals considered by the President.

Type of Grants:

Non-Profit Requests: Grants to community, non-profit organizations, either established or start-up. Must have 501(c)(3) status.

Emergency requests(out of funding cycle): Requests from an organization which needs to be responded to outside the normal funding cycles, because of urgency or time definitions. Must be approved by the Board and membership.

President’s Fund requests: The President’s fund will be a line item in the budget. The amount will be in the range of $500.00. Requests from individuals will be considered.

How to Apply: Written requests from individuals through a member of Altrusa will be submitted and directed to the President; a one time request. This is not a request from an organization. If the President agrees that this request is worthy, she will contact members of the Board for approval. In the case of rejection or approval, the President will inform the requester in writing of the decision, with a copy sent to the Service Committee Chair and the Treasurer.

Since the amounts requested are typically small, each will be dealt with as received until the line item is spent.

Caveat:

The club should avoid projects that might be considered controversial, i.e. religious or political projects.

Guidelines for All Non-Profit Grant Applications:

Letter/ written proposal using our grant proposal forms must be submitted to the Service Committee.

The Service Committee researches, discusses and determines if the project is consistent with the goals of the Club.

The Chair of the Service Committee( or any member(s) of the Committee) presents the Proposal(s) to the Board.

The Board recommends and approves (or not) and forwards their recommendations to the Membership as a whole for approval or not.

The Board has five criteria: (1) Does the proposal meet the goals of our organization? (2) Is there balance among the type of organizations we serve? (3) Can we afford to fund this Project? (4) Does this proposal directly serve the target population of the grantee’s organization? (5) Does this proposal cover the geographic area of the club’s membership?

Funds must be allocated at the time of approval.

If the membership rejects, the project proposal is returned to the Service Committee for reconsideration and review with member’s objections addressed. The project can be resubmitted for consideration.

Duration of Projects

The commitment for all projects will be for the amount approved and for the duration of one year. A letter is requested from each organization reporting on the use of the funds and the impact the funds had on the purpose of the organization. If the organization wishes to request additional funding, the organization should do so in writing following the Club’s requirements.

Disbursal of Funds:

Funds will not be disbursed until the Board and membership have approved the request(s).

Funds will be disbursed with-in 5 days of the award letter sent to the organization, with a copy of the award letter being sent to the treasurer.

Recommendation:

Because of the importance of the Service Committee to the mission of Altrusa, the Service Committee Chair is encouraged to attend all meetings of the Board.