2021 Grant Application

Instructions

Read though the Guidelines on the next tab and review the Shared Outcomes page. 

All submitters are required to have or create an account to complete and submit your report.  Keep your user name and password handy so that you can "save a draft" and return to complete your submission.  This user name and password will continue to be used for future grant cycles. 

  • LOGIN HERE (If you already have a user name and password)
  • CREATE AN ACCOUNT (New users only - we recommend using your email as your user name - then an email is sent to you to set your password an email will be sent to you)
  • RESET YOUR PASSWORD (if your email has been used previously, you can reset your password - note that your user name will appear as the greeting)
  • LOGOUT (Be sure to log out once you have saved your draft or submitted your report)

Due October 15, 2021

 

2021 Grant Guidelines   

Grant awards are for the 2021 Fiscal Year. Grant proposals describe programmatic costs for one year.
In 2021, funds may be used for past program expenses, with documentation showing programming costs.  
Sponsoring Agencies of programs awarded funding will need to comply with Partner Agency Agreement terms.

United Way's Community Investment Policy has historically been that United Way must not be the primary or only source of funds a program receives. United Way encourages applicants to be as self-sustaining as possible, consistent with sound principals of nonprofit fiscal management. This is done to align with United Way's mission to have the greatest impact and to be able to fund multiple programs in the areas of Health, Education and Income. United Way will not fund more than 50% of a program's budget costs. The overall organizational budget must not be considered when calculating the program percentages.  

2021 GRANT CYCLE:

    • Applications are due on October 15th
    • Applications are for programs with specified outcomes, not for the agency/organization/nonprofit 
    • The maximum any program may apply for is $10,000.
    • For 2021, one application per agency may be submitted
    • Awards in early November with payments in November 2021 and January 2022.

LOOKING AHEAD: 2022 GRANT CYCLE HIGHLIGHTS

    • Invitation to Apply: January 2022
    • Application due: February 28th 2022
    • Agency Presentations to Community Investment Committee: March
    • Award Letters & 2022 Partner Agency Gathering: March/April
    • Reporting Due: April, July, October 2022 and January 2023
      • Reports must be received before quarterly checks are issued.

eligibility

Based upon the charitable structure of the United Way of Freeborn County, grants are limited to 501c3 non-profit organizations, or other charitable organizations able to receive a tax-deductible contribution, such as schools, faith-based organizations, and other public entities. 

A NOTE ON THE APPLICATION 

The bulk of this application is in narrative form, to allow agencies to “tell the story”. Review the guidelines carefully, as these questions will help your organization. Questions relate directly to the Evaluation Rubric in four areas:  Highest Localized Impact, Equity/Ease of Access, Collaboration & Best Practices and Financial Stability & Shared Outcomes. 
You may review the chart here for additional information. This chart is not intended to be all inclusive, and utilizes a general ranking of High, Medium and Low. 

PROGRAM NARRATIVE GUIDELINES: 

Equity:  United Way values programs that promotes inclusion, diversity and equity and that advance equitable opportunities for all. Some questions to address during the investment process include but are not limited to: How do you include voices of your client population in decision making? How is your client population represented among organizational staff and board leadership? How is your organization addressing barriers that disproportionally impact a particular demographic? What types of equity and diversity training does organizational staff and leadership participate in? How do you communicate to the public your services and what types of barriers are there for consumers to access your services? How are those barriers addressed?

Highest Localized Impact: United Way values programs that serve all segments of the population. However, we must target dollars to those service recipients who are most in need. United Way defines most in need as children, youth, families and individuals living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and/or those who experience hardship due to the systemic barriers of racism. Additionally, high ranking grant proposals will be data driven using local metrics, describing the evidence base and need for the program within Freeborn County. Needs within Freeborn County will be clearly articulated and focused on this geographic region, and not statewide. Additionally, when appropriate,  programs with the highest localized impact will have strategies to break the cycle of poverty. IE. Strategies developed to help a client improve financial stability so food supports are not needed.

This component does overlap with Shared Outcomes. This grant narrative section should focus on articulating the target population and barriers faced, using data relevant to Freeborn County. Data may be compared to regional and state data points for reference. 

Shared Outcomes: Compelling grant proposals will describe programs consistently utilizing Shared Outcomes. Programs are invited to write their own Outcomes if there is not an appropriate indicator that reflect your program’s work. Shared Outcomes can be found by visiting UWFC’s  Shared Outcomes page.  Some questions to address during the process include but are not limited to: How does the agency plan to collect and report performance measures? What outcome measures will be collected? How do the proposed outcome measures relate to the evidence base for the intended target? When will data be used to improve programming?
This component does overlap with Highest Localized Impact. This grant narrative section should focus on articulating the Outcomes and Indicators.

Collaborative: Efficient programs utilize resources within and beyond our community. Some questions to address include but are not limited to: How is the agency learning from and sharing information with other organizations? How is the agency working within larger community collaborative efforts? How is the agency working with other organizations to reduce service gaps and prevent duplication of services? Are referrals a journey taken together with the client? What are best practices in your scope of work, and how does your organization meet those best practices? Who are the experts in your scope of work?

 

Click here for a printable version of this document. 

Definitions:

Agency/Organization/Nonprofit:

For the purposes of this United Way, these three terms are used interchangeably to define a collective group that is tax exempt and eligible for funding that has a defined community benefit in the areas of Health, Education and Financial Stability in Freeborn County.

Program:

Organized activities and actions that utilize resources to produced desired outcomes. Programs exist within an organization.

United Way funds programs, and not agencies as a whole.

Indicators:

The specific items of data that are tracked to measure how well a program is achieving an outcome. This does not have a specific measurement at the start of the program, it is defining what will be measured.

Targets: 

Objectives for a program’s level of achievement.

 

Outputs

are the direct products of program operation and usually are measured in terms of the volume of work accomplished—for example, the numbers of classes taught, counseling sessions conducted, educational materials

distributed and participants served. Outputs have little inherent value in themselves. They are important because they are intended to lead to a desired benefit for participants or target populations.

Outcomes: 

are benefits or changes for individuals or populations during or after participating in program activities. They are influenced by a program’s outputs. Outcomes may relate to knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, behavior, condition or other attributes. They are what participants know, think or can do; or how they behave; or what their condition is, that is different following the program.

 

For example, in a youth development program that creates internship opportunities for high school youth, an outcome might be that participants develop expanded views of their career options. An indicator of how well the program is succeeding on this outcome could be the number and percent of participants who list more careers of interest to them at the end of the program than they did at the beginning of the program. A target might be that 40 percent of participants list at least two more careers after completing the program than they did when they started it.

 

Click here for a printable version of this document