Chenango United WayRFP Group Technical Assistance

Session

Chenango United Way

83 North Broad St

Norwich, NY 13815

(607) 334-8815

www.chenangouw.org

The Goals of Our Grant-Making Process

The mission of the Chenango United Way (CUW) is to build partnerships and maximize resources to improve the quality of life for local residents.

CUW seeks to achieve its mission in Chenango County by:

• Investing in strategies and programs that deliver cost effective, measurable results in the areas of income, education and health

• Supporting programs and agencies that have sound fiscal and management practices

• Fostering efforts that build collaboration and partnerships

• Addressing the root causes of problems that challenge our community

• Leveraging community resources beyond the annual campaign

The RFP Grant Process

• Open, competitive granting process

• Deadline for submission to Chenango United Way is 12:00 noon on Friday, October 9, 2015

• Minimum requests for program funding is $1,500

• Maximum request for program funding is $25,000

• Applicant program MUST be serving residents in Chenango County

The RFP Grant Process

• As proposals are received, they will now be separated into four categories:

• Safety Net/Basic Needs

• Income/Promoting Financial Stability and Independence

• Education

• Health

Who is Eligible?

• Not-for-profits in Chenango County

• For 2016, the CUW will fund programs that:

1. demonstrate (or present a plan to demonstrate) measurable impact in one of the identified community impact areas

2. align with a UWNYS goal and strategy(ies)

Who is NOT Eligible?

• Requests to support building or capital projects or fundraising ventures (such as galas, races, competitions) will not be accepted.

•  Individual programs may not submit requests for the funding of individual curriculums, components or sub-categories.

Technical Assistance

• All potential applicants must attend a group technical assistance session

• All new applicants (any program that is not being funded in the current year) must schedule a one-on-one session before submitting their fall proposal.

• We will be asking programs to email their technical assistance questions to the United Way office. Applicants should put “RFP technical assistance question” in the email subject line when submitting the question. There will be only two deadlines for question submissions: August 25 and September 15. Answers to the questions will then be posted on the United Way website for all applicants to view.

• Individual assistance will not be conducted in-person this year unless United Way staff determine that a unique situation exists with an applicant that requires an appointment to be made.

2016 The RFP Grant Process Guidelines and Applications

Go to:www.chenangouw.org

Click on “RFP Process” in the menu bar down the left side of the page.

Download the following:• 2016 Request for Proposal (RFP) Instructions• 2016 Request for Proposal (RFP)• UWNYS Goals and Strategies• 2016 RFP Budget Worksheet• 2016 RFP Program Outcomes Chart• 2016 RFP Scoring Rubric

Proposal Format

• 8 ½ x 11 plain white paper

• No staples, folders, binders, photos, brochures or tabs will be accepted. Please use a clip to hold the packet together.

• 12 point font

• 1 inch margins

• 1.5 line spacing

• Header or footer contain page numbers AND name of program

• No more than 10 pages of narrative (excluding required charts and attachments) *Multi-Year Funding applications may now use up to 11 pages of narrative

• All sections must be clearly labeled.

• All attachments must be included.

Attachments

• Most recent annual report and audit

• Roster of current Board members and meeting dates

• Certification checklist

• Counterterrorism compliance form

• Current Fiscal Year Organizational Budget or Balance Sheet (in your own format)

• Letters of Collaboration specifically from Participating Partners- one letter per collaboration (MOU may be substituted)

• 2016 Program Outcomes Chart (using CUW template)

• 2016 Budget Worksheet (using CUW template)

The Submission

• Submit one full original hard copy of your proposal to the Chenango United Way by 12:00 noon on Friday, October 9, 2015

 

• Emailed and faxed proposals will not be accepted this year.

• Proposals received after the deadline will be disqualified from review.

Major Changes to Guidelines

• Technical assistance delivery methods

• Community Impact Priority Areas- Separation of basic needs from self sufficiency

• Addition of requirement to identify the UWNYS goal and strategy with which your program aligns

• Due to the newly designed rubric, there will be no pre-set cut-off score for the 2016 Allocations Process.

Proposals Should Include

• 2016 Cover Sheet: Project/Program Information, UWNYS Goal and Strategy and Executive Summary

• Part One: Program Description, Outcome Chart and Budget (Chart and Description)

• Part Two: Organizational, History, Capacity and Collaborations

• Chenango United Way Certification Checklist

• Counterterrorism Compliance Form

• Letters of Support or MOU’s

Proposals Should Include Cont.

• Cover Sheet and Project/Program Information

• Program Name

• Contact Information

• Community Impact Priority Area (please check only one): Please refer to the 2010-2018 Chenango United Way Community Impact Priority Areas For Advancing the Common Good Vision Chart before choosing a focus area for 2016 funding

• Required this year- UWNYS Goal and Strategy(ies)

• Executive Summary

• Please use the below space to insert a brief description of the program for which you are requesting Chenango United Way dollars and how your program is important in changing the lives of the population it serves.  Single spacing may be used with a 300 word maximum.  This summary is for reference only and will not be scored.

Proposals Should Include Cont.

• PART 1: Program Description• Clearly describe how your proposed program/project is linked to one of the identified

community need focus areas of income, education, or health and one of the UWNYS Goals and Strategies

• Discuss community needs and conditions

• Please also cite reference documents used to describe community conditions and target populations in the APA style as footnotes.

• Address the impact the work of your program (outcome) will have on the target population and the greater community. Consider the breadth and the depth of the outcome, not just numbers served, and whether there is a multiplier effect. Discuss the true impact of your program.

• Proposed Program and Community Outcomes. Also, summarize your program outcomes in your narrative.

• Include a statement that discusses how you will use the outcome data you will measure.

Proposals Should Include Cont.• PART 1: Budget

• Using the Budget Worksheet, please provide the anticipated 2016 program budget.

• Complete the line-item usage of United Way funds column for your program’s budget

• If you are using the Administrative Overhead (indirect costs) line in the Budget Worksheet, please describe the elements included. No more than 20% of your total request can go towards Administrative Overhead or its subcomponents (rent, telephone, etc.) unless a special exception has been sought from the Chenango United Way Executive Director at least one week before application is due. (Administrative Overhead is not the salaries of the staff directly running the program.) This is based on the Federal grants permission

• Budget narrative:

• Description of how United Way funds will specifically be used within your program budget

• Information about additional sources of revenue for the program/project

• Identify what your proposed program/project would do without CUW funding

• Description of any unusual activities/budgeting issues

Proposals Should Include Cont.

• PART 2: Organizational, History, Capacity

• Organization’s history

• A bulleted list of programs and services and their record of achievement

• A discussion of your fiscal accountability

• Current number of staff members and volunteers. Highlight the use and impact of volunteers, if any, as they relate specifically to this program. Include the monetary value of this work. (The Federal volunteer service rate is $23.07 per hour).

• Any relevant experience your organization has had in delivering programming to your identified target population and community impact focus area

• Provide information that demonstrates your organization’s current capacity to develop and operate the proposed program/project

Proposals Should Include Cont.

• PART 2: Collaborations

• Describe 2 or 3 specific current (within the last 2 years) collaborative efforts or partnerships between your organization and other organizations, noting your organization’s role in these efforts. Successful programs do not operate in isolation. Please describe your program’s participation or partnerships with other programs, organizations or networks which are working on the same issues. Describe the relationship as well as your role in the partnership. (Some of these may also be listed as a collaboration, below. Please describe them in both contexts.)

• Describe how the efforts of the collaboration have effected specific positive change. Clearly state the benefits derived by your organization as well as your collaborators

• Chenango United Way Certification Checklist & Counterterrorism Compliance Form

Final Thoughts• Write for the layperson; eliminate jargon and acronyms (use

definitions!)

• Read with “fresh eyes” before submitting; have someone not familiar with your program read it through; try to anticipate questions

• Have someone else score the proposal using the provided rubric

• Double-check your math (e.g. project budget/quotations)

• Does the project budget seem realistic?

• Does it add up?

The RFP Grant Process Stats

32%

32%

36%

2015 Allocations

Income/Basic Needs EducationHealth

Total Money Allocated for 2015

$334,495

GOOD LUCK!