Policies & Guidelines

Grant Information

POLICIES

  1. Grants will be made on a semi-annual basis, generally in a lump sum. However, the directors reserve to themselves the option of paying large grants over a multi-year period.
  2. Grants shall be limited to tax-exempt [501(c)(3)], not-for-profit, equal opportunity organizations recognized as such by the Internal Revenue Service or the municipality of Westbrook.
  3. The grantee must demonstrate financial responsibility.
  4. No single grantee shall receive all of the available funding in any one calendar year.
  5. Partial grants may be awarded at the discretion of the Directors.
  6. Special consideration may be given to grantees whose programs offer the possibility of matching grants.
  7. Prioritize your requests should more than one item be requested.
  8. Grants are not made to individuals, for endowments, for deficit financing, or for reimbursement for items purchased prior to grant request.
  9. Applications made for a project or program in cooperation with another agency(ies) must include letters of commitment to the project or program from the supporting agency(ies).
  10. Grant requests for vehicles require the establishment of a depreciation account by the organization requesting the vehicle, which eliminates the need for second requests.
  11. We adhere to our deadlines April 1 and October 1 Complete original applications including all required supporting data for grants must be submitted by April 1 or October 1 of each year. If these dates fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is not extended. Applications postmarked on the day of the deadline are accepted.
  12. Announcements of the grants are made June 1 and December 1 each calendar year. A letter will be sent to all applicants whether the application was approved or denied.
  13. A report of the expenditure of your grant is required within ten (10) business days after the grant period. If for any reason you are unable to use the full amount of the grant during the period of time in which the grant was approved, or for the purpose intended, etc.; you must immediately report your circumstances to the Foundation President. Any unused funds from a grant are to be returned to the Foundation with the final report. Acknowledgements are not considered a report.

GUIDELINES

The Foundation’s Grants Committee is primarily interested in how the proposed project will help the organization achieve its established goals, solve a critical problem or prepare for the next steps in its development to meet the stated needs. These issues should be addressed in a concise proposal of five (5) to seven (7) pages covering the requirements listed under items #1-10 on the How to Submit Your Proposal Section. Remember that frugal and wise use of words is just as important as frugal and wise use of funding. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to identify best practices, to explore solutions emerging from nonprofit and business management theory and to collaborate with others in their field and community.

The Foundation is committed to creating networks, coalitions, shared services or other structures designed to provide a wide range of easily understandable and accessible services and achieve greater integration of services to clients.

The Foundation’s financial support may be used only for the direct costs of implementing proposed projects.

How To Submit Your Proposal

    1. A mission statement and current goals for the organization or organizations if this is a collaborative effort. A brief description of the organization or each collaborating organization including history, current services and how this project supports those missions.(OR, attach a brochure or other material that contains this information and write “see attachment” under this heading but be sure to address the issue of “how this project supports your mission or those missions” of the collaborating organizations.)
    2. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE: A description of problems or conditions the project is intended to address:
      • Need for the project; its uniqueness and non-duplication
      • What outcome do you seek? (Outcomes are long-range and broad in scope)
      • What methods will you use to achieve the end result or outcome(s)? (Methods are short-term, concrete and measurable)
      • What activities will you carry out to achieve the project objectives?
      • The people, who will be served by the project, including the number you estimate will benefit from it.
      • The geographic area the project will directly affect.
      • Methods for measuring your success. How will you know that you have met your objectives? If the project is to serve as a model, how will information be disseminated? (If you receive a grant, you will be asked to submit an evaluation report and pictures, if appropriate, on a semi-annual basis until the project is completed and then a final report.)
      • Anything else that might help us to understand what you are trying to accomplish and why.
    3. PERSONNEL: List the personnel who will work on the project and their qualifications.
    4. BOARD INVOLVEMENT: Will any of the board be involved and if so, how?

      If this is a collaborative effort, please describe how each organization is integrated into the project; either a flowchart or a brief narrative is acceptable.

    5. TIMETABLE: Show the timetable you have set to achieve your objectives.
    6. PROJECT FUNDING: Give details of any funding you have already received or requested for your project (how much, from whom, and for what). Explain how the funds requested from The Foundation will be used. What are your continuing funding plans?
    7. EXPENSE BUDGET: Provide a full budget breakdown. Detail projected overall expenses for your project and itemize the portion requested from The Foundation. If a consultant is utilized, a specific and brief description of how that person will be used, the consultant’s special qualifications for the assignment and a resume. Please indicate consultant’s daily rate.
    8. EVALUATION: Include an evaluation plan that shows how the organization(s) will know to what extent the project has succeeded. The plan should state how the evaluation would be carried out, when the results will be known, and should include quantified measures wherever possible. Successful applicants will be asked to submit a final project report that includes results of the evaluation.
    9. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Attach a financial statement or audited report for your organization and, if a collaborative effort, for each participating organization’s past fiscal year and a copy of its current operating budget showing anticipated revenues by source and expenditures. (If no audit has been done, a year-end financial statement, complete with a balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenses, must be included.)
    10. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS: Attach a copy of your 501(c)(3) and each participating organization’s 501© (3) tax exemption letter from the Internal Revenue Service (not a letter from the State of Connecticut). If you are a public agency, so signify.
    11. BOARD LIST: List each participating organization’s current Board of Directors with their names, addresses and affiliations.
    12. LETTERS OF COMMITMENT: If a collaborative effort, letters of commitment signed by the president or chairman of the respective governing boards must be attached. The letters should indicate that the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the respective governing board and specify the agreed upon FISCAL AGENT for the project.
    13. FISCAL AGENT RESPONSIBILITIES: It is the Fiscal Agent’s responsibility to see that the funds are properly expended and/or spread among the collaborating entities, if a collaborative effort, and that reports are filed with the Westbrook Foundation, Inc. in a timely manner.
    14. GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING: We want to know how you’re doing—what worked and what didn’t work. A status report from the Fiscal Agent summarizing the results of your project and how the money was spent must be submitted on a semi-annual basis with a final report at the conclusion of the project.
      • Provide a brief narrative addressing:
        • Program achievements
          • Identify the program objective
          • Note the specific achievements
          • Problems encountered, if any
        • Number served and benefits to those served
          • Indicate the number serviced
          • Length of participation, where appropriate
          • Benefits gained
        • Community support
          • Linkages with other organizations
          • In-kind contributions
          • Media coverage
          • Volunteers
          • Matching funds
        • Efforts made to obtain funds for program continuation
      • Detail of grant expenditures
        • Line item report
        • Specify expenditures directly related to grant
        • Provide receipts
        • If grant used with funding from other sources, do not combine report—identify other sources under community support.
    • RECOGNITION: We look at this grant process as a partnership relationship between the Westbrook Foundation, Inc. and the participating agencies. This process provides a wonderful opportunity for RECOGNITION for the Westbrook Foundation, Inc. and the agency or collaborating agencies not only in initial announcement media releases but ongoing as well.
    • File the original application with attachments with the Westbrook Foundation, Inc. at P. O. Box 528, Westbrook, CT 06498-0528.

REQUIREMENTS

    1. An audited financial statement for the most recent year from existing organizations. Where an audited statement is unavailable, a Treasurer’s Report will be acceptable. For an organization in the formative state, a projected budget is required.
      1. Churches:
        • A Treasurer’s Report for the most recent year as well as a current operating budget showing income and expenses to date.
        • Provide data sheet-stating number of members and average weekly church attendance.
      2. Municipality:
        • Grant request must be signed by the First Selectman or the Chairman of the Board of Education for the Town of Westbrook.
    2. A Federal Income Tax exemption letter dated after 1969. Exemption letters dated prior to 1969 and State of Connecticut Exemption Certificates are not acceptable. Only the municipality is exempt from this requirement. Churches are required to submit an individual exemption letter through their regional Church Council or affiliation. A new or updated Federal Tax Exemption Letter may be obtained through Internal Revenue Service Customer Service Unit P. O. Box 168 Brooklyn, NY 11202-1680
    1. A proposed operating budget for the period of time in which the desired grant will be used.
  1. Specific budget for requested funds.