Please share your current grantmaking strategies - competitive and discretionary!

MissyBelles

Hi! We would like to hear more about what other folks are doing currently with their discretionary grantmaking funds (FOI & unrestricted) this coming year:

1.     Grant area priority areas, e.g. disaster response, human services, childcare, arts & culture, environment, education, affordable housing, etc.

2.     Purpose of grants, e.g. operations, staffing, program, reserves, other?

3.     Method of grantmaking – e.g.  discretionary, competitive application, combo?

4.     Your grant funding pool amount for 2022-23?

5.     Average grant size

6.     Multi-year?

7.     Reporting requirements & timing?

8.     Would you mind sharing a sample of your current competitive grant application? Do you use the CS Grants Catalog and if so, can you share your experience with using it and its value to your process?

Thank you so very much for sharing!! I hope this will be helpful to everyone. :)

Missy Belles

Gifts & Grants Administrator

Whatcom Community Foundation

KatieBerkedal

Hello @MissyBelles!

1. Grant priority areas include: Health & Wellness, Environment, Community Improvement, Arts & Humanities, Education & Scholarship, Culture & Diversity, Recreation & Wellness, and Faith
2. We do programmatic and unrestricted grants
3. Competitive
4. $1.2 M
5. $15,000
6. Yes, up to 3 years
7. One follow-up per year, due 11 months after award date
8. I think I attached our three request forms? We also just started using the grant catalog. We use it as a way to crowdsource support for nonprofits from the community and have worked it into our PR plan.

KatieBerkedal

2022 unrestricted grant.pdf

2022 standard grant.pdf

2022 mini grant.pdf

MissyBelles

Thank you so much @KatieBerkedal !! Sorry for my late response - just back from a little time off. I will share your information with our grantmaking team!

Missy