ASHLAND – Ashland County Community Foundation announced the launch of a new grants process to better fit the needs of donors, nonprofit agencies and the community.
Nonprofits will now be applying for grants through a more streamlined, more flexible grants process called Grants 2.0, which will launch July 1, according to a community announcement.
In restructuring grantmaking programs, ACCF sought input from nonprofit leaders through a series of listening events.
Suggestions made include:
“We listened to what our nonprofits told us and made it a reality, with the revamping of the current program as a result,” said COO/CEO-Designate Kristin Aspin in a new release. “We don’t want them to jump through hoops to get funding.”
Grants 2.0 offers grants in two categories: Quick Action Community Grants and Quarterly Community Grants, depending on the needs of the nonprofit organization.
Quick Action Community Grants up to $10,000 will be offered year-round, with funding decisions made more quickly than quarterly grants. These grants can assist with needs such as projects, programs, or equipment.
These grants will be listed in ACCF’s new online grant catalog, where donors who have donor-advised funds held at ACCF can easily access grant requests that match their areas of interest. If a request is not fully funded by donor advisors, then ACCF staff will review it for possible support through other available funds. These grants give nonprofits multiple paths to funding through a single, streamlined application, with the catalog allowing donors to respond to needs as they arise.
Quarterly Community Grants include any request over $10,000 and will be offered four times per year. These will help meet the needs of larger initiatives such as new programs, capital needs, or collaborative projects requiring more than $10,000. This application is more detailed, but still simpler than previous applications.
For Quarterly Grants, an ACCF grant decision committee will initially review the request. Whatever is not funded through ACCF grant dollars will be put in the online grant catalog to be shared with donor advisors.
A single applicant may apply for up to two Quarterly Community Grants and two Quick Action Community Grants per year.
Both donor advisors and nonprofit organizations have been notified about Grants 2.0 and will continue to receive updates in the coming months.
“The ultimate benefit of this change will be greater community impact, which is truly the purpose of our grantmaking,” Aspin said.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland County Community Foundation launches Grants 2.0
Reporting by Staff Report / Ashland Times Gazette
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