Information for Grant Applicants
The decision to apply for the Everychild Foundation grant triggers an intensive application process that can take up to a year and will involve time and dedication by agency leadership and staff, strategic thinking, and thorough knowledge of agency documentation and resources.
General Information
Number of annual grants: 1
Size of grant: Up to $1 million
Types of grants: New or expanded direct service projects. May include capital, program, or a combination of both.
Target population: Children in the greater Los Angeles area
Applications process: By invitation only
Format: Use only the Letter of Inquiry form, revised annually and given to invited applicants between September and November of each year.
Letters of Inquiry due date for 2014 grant (awarded in November 2013): First draft due December 3, 2012; Final draft due January 24, 2013
Grant decision made: October of each year
Grant decision announced: November of each year
Funds available for grantee: Beginning of first quarter of the following year
Exceptions to deadlines: None
Eligibility Guidelines
1. The agency is ideally seeking funding for an unduplicated, innovative project that targets a specific, critical, unmet, direct-service need of children in the Los Angeles area – a “gap” in the system of services for children – and the agency can demonstrate that its proposal is the best approach to meeting the need
2. The critical, unmet need identified by the applicant agency can best be addressed by private philanthropy, alone or in combination with public funding. However, applicants should note that we do not consider applications for funding to replace lost dollars from other public or private sources and we do not fund the reorganization of existing services.
3. The project serves a significant proportion of the children who need the service. If the project will initially serve a small number of the total children in Los Angeles County who need the service, we would prefer the project be replicable, but it is not mandatory. If potentially replicable, the applicant must discuss how (i) the project would be a replicable prototype and (ii) the agency would disseminate information about the prototype.
4. If the project includes services to adults, the agency must demonstrate that children are the primary population served, and adult involvement is incorporated to improve those services to children.
5. A one-time grant of up to $1 million can constitute any of the following:
- All or a substantial part of the entire funding for the project.
- Complete funding for a discrete portion of a larger project.
- Final funding for a larger, otherwise fully funded project.
6. The agency must demonstrate that it has the organizational capacity and experience to:
- Implement and sustain the project;
- Administer our grant, based on the agency’s history of administering grants of comparable size.
- Develop or continue diverse, sophisticated fundraising strategies to sustain ongoing operations and fund this and other projects of comparable scope.
7. If the proposal relates to an expansion of an existing program, the agency must, to the extent applicable, provide:
- Specific criteria for measuring the program’s success and describe how it performed during the pilot stage;
- Analysis of what the agency learned through the pilot and how the program’s redesign incorporates improvements;
- Qualitative and quantitative information about the program’s impact on targeted children;
- Budgets showing how the program has grown; and
- Description of its strategies for expanding the program and sustaining it as a core program of the agency. If the proposal is for a capital project, this criterion applies to the services that will be provided in the facility.
8. The project is already part of the agency’s overall strategic plan and will be ready for implementation in the calendar year following the grant award in November. We generally do not provide lead grants, particularly for projects requiring substantial funding. For multi-year projects, we would expect to see concrete results within the first year of the grant.
9. The agency is an acknowledged leader in its field of children’s services.
10. The agency’s board of directors is comprised of unpaid volunteers.
11. The agency is headquartered in and its primary service is focused in the Greater Los Angeles area. It does not benefit from a national fundraising affiliation.
12. The project and agency are non-sectarian and the agency does not proselytize or target sectarian populations for services in practice, mission or strategic planning.
13. The agency is able and willing to help publicize the Everychild Foundation and can provide suitable donor recognition opportunities.
14. The project purpose does not duplicate the previous year’s Everychild Foundation grant.
Additional helpful information
1. Examine the Everychild Foundation website at www.everychildfoundation.org. Carefully review our mission and our past grantees to determine if your agency and your project are a good match for our grant.
2. Determine if your agency has the organizational capacity to implement our grant based on its history of implementing comparable grants and your agency’s history and sophistication in developing diverse fundraising strategies to sustain ongoing operations and fund new projects.
3. Pay particular attention to the timing of your project. We make our grant award in November, and your project must start two months later in January.
4. We do not duplicate grants from prior years. In addition, we will only consider grants that have a different focus from the previous year’s grant,
5. Carefully review the eligibility criteria.
6. Review the timeline below to be certain that your project planning will match our deadlines and that your project will need funding commensurate with the size of the grant by the end of the year.
Timeline
The Everychild Foundation grant process takes an entire calendar year. Specific due dates will be supplied to applicants as soon as the Grant Screening Board confirms its calendar. In general, the process unfolds as follows:
September – January: The Foundation’s Grant Outreach Committee conducts outreach to potential grant applicants that have been identified by our members and grant consultant, provides the Letter of Inquiry format to eligible applicants, and comments on draft Letters of Inquiry to ensure that they are complete. Draft Letters of Inquiry are due to the Grant Outreach Committee by December 1 and final letters are due in late January..
February: The GSB reviews Letters of Inquiry to determine which meet all eligibility requirements and address the current most pressing needs of children. Applicants are notified whether they are invited to continue with the grant review process and are asked to submit a Document Package that includes the following:
Required Documents
Applicant agencies must provide all of the following documents during the Document Review phase of Grant Screening.
1. Annual report and/or newsletters – one complete year
2. Operational budget for current year with line items for each major revenue source and expense, including a line that shows any allocated administrative expenses)
3. Audited financial statements for 3 years
4. Complete IRS Form 990 for prior year (including all attachments)
5. IRS certification of 501(c)(3) status
6. Strategic plan and status report, or other documents defining how the proposed project advances the strategic direction of the agency
7. Chart of organization, including the proposed project; include names of staff in key positions
8. List of major funders for five years; include amounts and years of grants
9. Publications, evaluation reports, accreditations
10. News coverage, video (if any)
11. Board of Directors roster with professional and community affiliations; also include Advisory Board and other governance or fund raising groups (if applicable)
12. Additional board information: frequency of board meetings, list of standing committees, frequency of board review of financial statements, length of board terms, board recruitment process, and board giving requirements
13. CV’s of key staff
14. List of activities and actions that demonstrate the agency is a leader in its field of services to children
15. Disclosure: Information about any lawsuits, present or former leaders’ criminal activities; adverse auditors’ opinions; accreditation or licensing problems.
16. Information specific to the proposed project, as requested by the GSB.
The Foundation relies on all statements and documents that applicant agencies provide to us throughout the grant process. Accordingly, any applicant that becomes aware of any material change in its situation or in information provided to us has an obligation to communicate changes in circumstances to the Foundation immediately. The Foundation’s formal Grant Agreement expressly incorporates all information that has been provided to the Foundation by the grantee throughout the application process.
March – April: GSB members review applicant document packages and meet in April to determine which applicants will go forward to site visit. Site visit questions are then distributed to each agency. Questions must be answered in writing at least one week prior to the site visit.
May: The GSB conducts its site visits to applicant agencies. Site visits include an agency presentation, discussion with the agency executive, board leaders, and pertinent staff, and a tour of the agency. Approximately 20 GSB members typically attend each site visit.
June: The GSB meets in early June to determine the two agencies to be invited to prepare final proposals and begin planning for their presentations at the Grant Hearing in September.
June – July: The two applicants work on final proposals and begin to plan their presentations, with assistance in July from designated GSB members.
End of July: Final proposals are due to the GSB.
August: The GSB prepares summaries of the projects for Foundation members based on the agencies’ final proposals and all other submitted materials, as well as the GSB’s site visit observations. The two final agencies work on their presentation to our members at the Grant Hearing scheduled for October
October: The Grant Hearing is held at which Everychild Foundation members meet the finalist agencies’ leaders, listen to each agency’s presentation on need for the proposed project, and ask any additional questions about the project.
October – November: Members cast their ballots and grant award is announced.
November – December: The GSB drafts the Grant Agreement preparatory to awarding the grant funds. Distribution of funds begins in the following calendar year in accordance with the Grant Agreement.