Grant Application Process

2012 Grant Application Process

Grant Application Timeline and Requirements

Letter of Intent Process

Dining for Women requests grant applicants to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) providing organization information and a brief summary of the program to be funded. The LOI process consists of  an online form to be completed and submission of supplemental documents:  program budget, statement of functional expenses and organizational structure (Excel template provided below), most recent 990 filing, and the IRS 501(c)(3) Determination Letter.  Supplemental documents are to be sent via email to grants@diningforwomen.org

PLEASE NOTE:

• All information must be in English and financial data in U.S. dollars.
• All online Letters of Intent and supplemental documents are to be submitted by October 31, 2011.
• Receipt of Letter of Intent will be sent within 4 weeks of submission.  If there are any questions or difficulties in completing the online form, please email us at grants@diningforwomen.org.
• All communication emails from Dining for Women will come from grants@diningforwomen.org.  To ensure these messages are delivered to the correct inbox, please update the address book or contact list with this Dining for Women email address.

Important Grant Approval and Evaluation Information

• A grant from Dining for Women does not indicate an agreement to fund again in the future. Dining for Women may repeat funding for 2-3 selected organizations per year; only programs that have already submitted follow up reports will be considered. Organizations requesting repeat funding must reapply each funding cycle.
• Any program scope changes prior to receiving grant funds must be approved by DFW.
• Due to the nature of giving circle fundraising, DFW anticipates program grants to average between $20,000 and $50,000.  Requested grant amount cannot be guaranteed.
• Applicants may request fund distribution over a two-year period. After all grant and reporting requirements have been fulfilled, the final grant funds will be distributed on the one-year anniversary date of the original disbursal.  
• Approved organizations are required to provide a 6-month program progress report, as well as a more detailed 12 month completion and evaluation report.
• DFW will assign grantees a specific month to feature their organization. Funds are typically available within 90 days after the start of that month. 

Example of funding schedule:

STEP 1 – Online Letter of Intent Form

 
Once the online form is begun,  the input cannot be saved to review or submit at a later time.   Use the browser print function to print  the form information prior to submitting.

STEP 2 – Completion and Submission of Supplemental Information (3 documents)

Supplemental information should be emailed to grants@diningforwomen.org.  Attachments should include the Financial and Organization Information,  501(c)(3) Determination Letter,  and most recent IRS Form 990.  For US fiscal sponsor information required, please see below.
Please note that hard copy documents cannot be accepted.
 
Financial and Organization Information– please complete the MS Excel file template provided.  This file has three worksheets that must be completed to be considered for a grant. 

Sheet 1: Program Budget

All program budgets must be submitted using the Excel form provided. 

Sheet 2:  SFE -  Statement of Functional Expense

Applicants must provide a 2009, 2010 and projected 2011 summary of statement of functional expense (SFE).  Please refer to the IRS Instruction Form http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i990.pdf, Part IX if more information is needed about producing an SFE statement.  
Note:  If program services expenses are less than 75% DFW cannot consider the application.  

Sheet 3: Organizational Structure

Information regarding Executive Staff, Board of Directors, employees and volunteers specific to the proposed program is required. 

501(c)(3) Determination Letter 
Please email a copy of the IRS Determination Letter (or a copy of the US fiscal sponsor’s) to grants@diningforwomen.org.  
 
U.S. Fiscal Sponsor Documentation (if applicable)
Organizations fiscally sponsored by a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization must email a letter of commitment, recommendation, and an agreement not to retain funds for sponsorship or overhead. 

Most Recent IRS Form 990 Filing
Please email a copy of the most recent IRS Form 990 filing (or a copy of the US fiscal sponsor’s most recent IRS Form 990 filing) to grants@diningforwomen.org. If IRS Form 990-N was filed, please forward the electronic verification from the IRS.

Document file names must be in the following format:

Organization name or initials_document description_year (if applicable).file type
Example:
ABC_990_2010.pdf

ALL documents are to be sent by email to grants@diningforwomen.org
and received by October 31, 2011