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Dickinson Area Community Foundation
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Foundation Mission
Our mission is to enhance the quality of life in our communities by meeting the changing needs with endowments for good and for ever.
To that end, we make grants in broad program areas of education, health and human services, arts and culture, environment, community and economic development. In addition to our unrestricted funds, our granting, through field of interest funds, addresses specific needs and issues of our community.
Foundation Priorities
The Foundation and its component affiliate funds are most likely to make grants to programs or projects which:
· Assist those whose needs are not being met adequately by existing community resources.
· Address new and emerging needs or approach existing needs more effectively.
· Focus on the root of a problem.
· Leverage additional private and public resources, both financial and volunteer.
· Build non-profits capacity to meet community needs more effectively.
· Grants to educational institutions and neighborhood organizations will be made only for those projects which further the Mission of the Foundation and address emerging community needs and focus on preventing, rather than curing problems.
· Grants that reach as many people in the community as possible.
The Foundation and its component affiliate funds will not make grants for the following purposes:
· Grants will not be made for endowments, for fundraising, individuals (except for scholarships), political causes or candidates, religious or sectarian purpose, or for fraternal organizations serving a limited constituency.
· Grants will not be made to cover travel expenses, deficits in operating budgets or capital expenditures such as construction of buildings or maintenance.
· Grants are not made to individuals (in scholarships it is school and individual), for memberships, for fund-raising events, nor for memorials.
Eligibility
Any non-profit, tax-exempt organization in the Dickinson area, including the adjacent Michigan and Wisconsin communities, (appropriate service areas for our component affiliate funds), as defined by 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and subdivisions of government are eligible to apply for discretionary grants.
Application Process
Applications are screened by staff for completeness and compliance with Foundation requirements. Additional information may be requested or a site visit may be done at this time. Grant requests are then reviewed by the appropriate grant committee. Upon approval of request, the recommendations go before the Dickinson Area Community Foundation Board of Trustees for final approval. Applicants will be notified in writing on the board’s decision as soon as possible following the meeting.
Additional Attachments
Funding
On a separate page present the total cost of the project, the amount sought from the Foundation, other sources of support and the status of these requests. Explain how you will fund this project after the grant fund expires.
Budget
On a separate page present a line item budget reflecting all expense and income for the project. Clearly identify how the Foundation’s grant funds would be used.
Required Attachments (Application will not be processed without these)
· A list of governing board and its officers, if there are youth members - please identify them
· A copy of the IRS Determination Letter of 501(c)(3) status or fiscal agent’s letter.
· Evidence of registration as a charitable organization.
· A copy of the organization’s current fiscal year budget.
· Most recent 990 or audit
Grant Awards
All grant recommendations must be approved by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Grant recipients will furnish a mid-year and final report on their project. Upon completion of mid-year report, the second payment of the initial grant will be made (unless it was determined that the grant would be paid in one payment for the current year, in which case full payment would have been made in November. Mid-Year and Final Reports are due regardless.). Grantee will be provided with an evaluation form to follow.
Grant checks are mailed upon approval, unless special reporting procedures or restrictions apply. Checks are mailed in two payments The first of November and then in April after receipt of the mid-year report (unless it was determined that the grant would be paid in one payment for the current year, in which case full payment would have been made in November. Mid-Year and Final Reports are due regardless).
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