If you’re tasked with writing grant proposals, you’ve probably spent some time wondering what goes on behind the scenes at the foundations to which you apply so assiduously. Wouldn’t it be nice to get an insider’s look at the decision-makers and their seemingly mysterious ways?
Sean Campbell thought so. Sustainability coordinator at Sustainable Waterloo Region, a nonprofit dedicated to helping organizations reduce their environment impact, Campbell wrote to CharityVillage®, inquiring about grant-making bodies and how they work. Though we couldn’t respond to all his queries, we recently spoke with three foundations — representative of many others — to get the inside scoop.
Foundational ABCs
First things first: the basics. According to Imagine Canada, there are approximately 3,000 grant-making foundations in Canada that cumulatively provide over $1.5 billion each year in support of charities and nonprofit organizations. Canada Revenue Agency‘s Charities Directorate of December 2010 stipulates there are 5,050 public foundations and 4,937 private foundations in Canada. In 2010, public foundations were deemed to have $16.8 billion in assets, with private foundations sitting at $19.4 billion.
The majority of foundations are found in central Canada (61%), with Western Canada boasting 33% and Eastern Canada just 6%. They’re either categorized as public or private depending on their funding sources and governance structures. Examples of public foundations are ones run by hospitals or universities, as well as community foundations. Private foundations comprise corporate foundations, donor advised funds, and family foundations.
By law every foundation must disburse 3.5% of its investment assets (averaged over two years) each year. So who funds the foundation? For most foundations, it primarily comes down to endowment funds. The majority of grant-making foundations set up an endowment and invest the funds to generate an annual income from which they make grants. Moreover, some individual donors give the foundation money on an annual basis to grant on their behalf.
If you’re searching for more information, Imagine Canada lists Canadian grant-making foundations in their Canadian Directory to Foundations & Corporations. Grant seekers can find information on each foundation, including funding interests, granting region, recent granting history, and application procedures.
Inside the public foundation
Launched in 2000, the Niagara Community Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Niagara region through six diverse granting programs. Primarily consisting of discretionary grants destined for special projects, the foundation rarely, if ever, offers grantees operational support, while capital and endowment campaigns are not even on its radar.
Aside from following the basic application process, first-timers can also apply for mini-grants whose applications are shorter and simpler (and which offer responses within 45 days of submission versus the two months usually allotted). Comprehensive information for each of the six programs are spelled out clearly on the foundation’s website, including respective deadlines, guidelines and application criteria.
As for who’s tasked with making all those tough decisions, Niagara Community Foundation relies on committees made up mostly of volunteers, explains Executive Director Liz Palmieri. But even before you get to that stage, the foundation has implemented a very strict vetting procedure. Every applicant must confer with JoAnne Krick, manager of community initiatives, before the submission even gets reviewed. The quality control initiative helps weed out incomplete applications or those that are completely off the mark. Still feeling unsure? Applicants can also send in their drafts and receive feedback to make sure they’re on the right page.
Once it passes that test, the volunteers get to work. For the majority of grant categories, committees are made up of 12 to 15 members, while smaller grants are overseen by two or four people. Volunteers chosen represent a diverse group with strong expertise and knowledge of topics and geography that the grants in question are meant to support.
Limited supply
Committees strictly adhere to grant criteria in their assessment process to ensure they fund projects that most effectively fulfill the objectives. That said, with many of the granting streams being oversubscribed, it helps that volunteers are asked to rate applications as high, medium and low priority to best determine the focus of funding.
It’s a familiar story. At the Vancouver Foundation, one of a few community foundations with a broad-based provincial mandate, the demand from grantees often outstrips funding capacity. It’s a reality that’s become starker still over the past few years thanks to government cutbacks and the economic implosion. Case in point: with just about $8.6 million to give out this year, the Foundation received a total of $24 million in requests over two funding cycles and nine fields of interest. “Part of our role is managing those expectations,” explains Andria Teather, vice-president of grants and community initiatives.
Starting point
The foundation’s two-step application process helps weed out an overabundant supply of applications. It begins with letters of intent that are stringently reviewed by staff members working in respective areas of interest. Their goal is to determine which projects and grantees seem most capable of having impact. Questions asked include: do programs involve community members? Do they have partners? Are they addressing the issues the foundation has outlined as priorities? And do they fit well within the guidelines set for each of field of interest? Final decisions are made with the director in each program.
Grantees who make it past the first stage are invited to send in applications to be reviewed by voluntary advisory committees made up of community members from different parts of the province, all of whom have experience or expertise in the particular field. “We want to make sure we’re getting people living in communities who understand and know them well,” says Teather. Recommendations by committees then get final approval by Vancouver Foundation’s board of directors.
Working together
Strict adherents of the Income Tax Act, the Vancouver Foundation, like the Niagara Community Foundation and other grant-makers, can only give out money to qualified donnees, meaning charities are in, while nonprofits without charitable status are not. But there are ways around it, namely, partnerships, an approach growing in popularity for organizations facing limited funding options. “If they’re partnered with a registered charity and indeed are a true partner, we would just flow the grants through that charity,” explains Krick. In fact, she adds, the approach is in line with the Foundation’s support of collaboration.
Of course, as with Niagara’s focus on true partners, Teather admits the challenge is ensuring the sponsoring organization (i.e. charity) understands the project they’re signing off on and that it fits well within their mandate. “They can’t just be partnering to bypass the restrictions,” she explains. “The program has to be in line with their work.”
Common mistakes
According to Teather, applicants should avoid committing these common errors:
- The projects don’t comply with the guidelines or overarching goals at the foundation.
- Trying to fit the project into the funder’s world when it’s an obvious stretch. On their website, they clearly state what they fund – and what they don’t – to avoid those issues.
- Don’t clearly articulate what they hope to achieve, what issue they’re trying to address and how the grant will help them get there.
- Budgets are really unrealistic or just don’t add up.
- They don’t conduct an environmental scan and apply for projects done already by others. Teather advises them to collaborate and to engage partners. “If some organizations are not at the table, they will be severely limited to do what they want,” she says. In fact, the foundation often helps foster those partnerships.
- They don’t consult with communities who will be affected by programs.
- Forgetting to build in evaluation and knowledge transfer as key pieces of the project. “It’s a very key piece,” she says. “Don’t be vague.”
Private foundations demystified
One of Canada’s largest financial institutions, the Royal Bank of Canada and its charitable arm, the RBC Foundation, takes its dedication to the charitable sector very seriously, says Shari Austin, vice president, corporate citizenship. “We try to focus our support on the areas where we can have the greatest positive impact.” Those areas include education, environment, diversity, health and wellness, arts and culture, sport, and social service communities. At the same time, she adds, “we continue to provide a wide base of support across all charitable sectors.”
The funding for the Foundation’s activities comes from the bank itself, while an endowment is also used from time to time. Like other grant-making foundations, RBC funds only registered charities but does provide significant funding to nonprofit organizations by way of both gifts and sponsorships.
When it comes to applications, aside from basic criteria, including a proposal outlining the request, organization and project budgets, registered charity number, audited financial statements and a listing of the Board of Directors, the Foundation requests applications follow general parameters. “Donations must benefit people or the environment in a geography in which we do business and we do not fund endowments, university chairs or pure research,” explains Austin.
Based on the size and nature of the gift, supplemental criteria may need to be followed too. And anyone applying to the RBC Blue Water Project, the Children’s Mental Health Project or the After School Grants Project need to adhere to specific requirements and processes outlined on their site.
Decision-makers
RBC employees, who are professional grant-makers, are given the specific role of reviewing and assessing grant proposals, explains Austin. “In addition, for our RBC Blue Water Project and After School Grants programs, we have advisory panels in place that use external partners, experts in relevant fields, who make recommendations on our granting decisions.”
Information and criteria for grants and scholarships can be found on RBC’s website. “The more an applicant can align the proposal to these, the more likely they will be successful,” she says. As an additional word of wisdom, Austin adds, “We also look for organizations that are innovative and collaborative, both within their own sector and with corporate partners.”
Additional tips from the foundations:
- Do your homework. Make sure you know the funder inside out: their mission, goals etc.
- Ensure applications are written clearly and concisely.
- Don’t include extraneous information or forms not asked for.
- Follow instructions. If a question allocates a certain amount of space or words, for example, stick to it. Be respectful of the funder’s time.
- Pretend you’re an assessor when reviewing your own application to ensure you’ve addressed the criteria as would be expected.
- Demonstrate your organization capacity, that you’re able to do this project. To help solidify this point, identify your other successes.
- Show your willingness to learn from and engage with community partners and share that learning.
- Proofread the application before sending.
- Make sure to double and triple-check your math.
- Whatever you do, do not send in applications as part of a mass mailing.
Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.
Please note: While we ensure that all links and e-mail addresses are accurate at their publishing date, the quick-changing nature of the web means that some links to other web sites and e-mail addresses may no longer be accurate.
