How do I submit a Community Fund Grant application?
All organizations wishing to apply for a Community Fund Grant must submit a full application. Once the application process opens on June 5, 2023, the application form will be available at https://www.grantinterface.com/Process/Apply?urlkey=parkcitycf. All applicants should submit a full application by the deadline of July 7, 2023.
What are key elements of the grant application?
Please see the Review Criteria on the grant guidelines to learn what should be included.
How many organizations submit applications, and how many then receive grants?
In 2022, 75 organizations applied and of those, 57 received grants. The final number of grants awarded in 2023 is likely to be similar to last year.
How much should we request?
Grant requests may range from $2,500 to $15,000. When determining your request amount, consider the the overall size of the organization, and the likelihood of other complementary funding being available.
Do you use a scoring sheet or rubric to rate the proposals?
The Steering Committee scores applications based on the Review Criteria in the grant guidelines.
Are projects funded outside of Summit County?
The focus of the Community Fund is to support programs that serve the greater Park City and Summit County region. Grants may include activities that provide benefits outside of Summit County, but the committee will mostly be looking at the aspects of the proposal benefitting Summit County and its nearest neighboring areas.
What elements of prior proposals have resonated strongly and made them more appealing?
Beyond the Review Criteria listed in the grant guidelines, the committee looks for whether all the pieces of the proposal fit together and flow toward the proposed goals and outcomes. Section headings in your narrative that indicate what criteria are being covered can be helpful in making applications more understandable. If the grant proposal is a collaboration with another organization, it is often beneficial to get a letter of support from that organization to demonstrate the partnership.
What are capacity-building proposals?
Examples included areas such as board development, strategic planning, and communications, among others. The application should clearly demonstrate how the proposed support will directly affect the scale and/or depth of their impact in the community.
Are multiyear grants available?
Yes. These multiyear grants can cover two to three years. A handful of organizations that have received consistent grant support in recent years will be specifically invited to apply for multiyear grants. If a multiyear grant is awarded, continuation of funds beyond year one will be contingent upon an annual site visit, progress toward intended goals, and any other factors the steering committee considers relevant.
File types: What parts of the online application require file uploads?
Please upload your documents in a current Word or PDF pdf format. The narrative, organization budget, Utah Solicitation Permit, IRS Form 990, and optional additional files will be required as uploads. The remainder of the application fields will be text entries. Scanning budget documents to pdf files is not preferred, as that results in image files that do not allow easy copying-and-pasting of text; if direct conversion to pdf is not available, applicants may submit scanned versions.
Scanned pdfs are acceptable for copies of the IRS 990 and similar supporting documents that may not be available in their original text form. File size limits for uploaded documents will be noted on the application form once the form is available online.
What are the reporting requirements for Community Fund Grants?
Community Fund grantees may participate in a Site Visit during February, March or April of the following year and submit a short grantee report. This is a robust and engaging way to share your successes, lessons learned and vision with not only the Community Foundation, but also the current and potential donor community. Site Visits are traditionally in-person visits. Grantees may submit a short, written grantee report in lieu of a site visit, if preferred.
Over what period of time can grant funds be spent?
While there is no specific required spending period, Community Fund Grants are generally expected to be spent within twelve months of issuance. For the small number of multiyear grants issued, the spending period will extend to two or three years, with funding provided in annual amounts based on the original budget and/or other considerations.
Where does the money come from for Community Fund Grants?
Park City Community Foundation raises unrestricted donations through the Community Pass donation program and through unrestricted gifts from individuals, families, businesses, and donor-advised funds. In addition, there are sometimes other donor funds that provide funding through the Community Fund Grants process.
How do funds get allocated from donor-advised funds?
Donor-advised funds are directed by donors or others authorized to direct grants, and approved by the Park City Community Foundation Board of Directors. Foundation staff occasionally provide information to donor advisors on what nonprofits are active in particular areas of interest.
More questions? Please visit the Apply for a Grant page and the application platform.