February 28 deadline for Phoenix Foundation grants

By Michelle Croissant

The application deadline for organizations to apply for grant funding from the Phoenix Foundation is fast approaching, with letters of intent (LOIs) due February 28. The foundation’s Community Grants Program annually distributes income from an unrestricted Community Fund to projects throughout the Boundary region. On January 24, 2015, the Selkirk campus in Grand Forks hosted a four-hour workshop for anyone interested in getting grants through the Phoenix Foundation.  Over 20 people representing various nonprofit organizations came out, including one person who drove from Salmo because there weren’t any grant writing workshops offered in her area.

Brenda LaCroix of the Christina Lake Stewardship Society presented, with additional input from the Phoenix Foundation Grants Committee Chair George Longden. For those who missed out on this opportunity, here is a summary of the information.

The Phoenix Foundation is looking to expand grant applications this year, according to Longden, and is focusing on increasing community capacity through working with nonprofits and individuals. A two-page LOI is required for preliminary review by the Grants Committee to assess eligibility and viability. If there is potential for funding, an invitation will be given to submit a formal application.

Longden says that the eleven key issues identified in the 2014 Community Vital Signs Report will drive the granting process this year and identify funding priorities. "Look through here," he instructed, "and find ways of getting all the hot buttons that are listed in here if you want to be successful in the grant writing process."

The foundation will also prioritize available funding for proposals that seek to address root causes of issues and/or proposals that demonstrate upstream thinking.  They are looking for cross-sector collaboration, partnerships, holistic thinking and leveraging of other dollars.

LaCroix stresses the importance of doing your research at the beginning, “so when you're writing your grant you're not missing out on anything and some pertinent information could be missed in the details—what they're asking you to do," says LaCroix.  It is important to read the guidelines every year to see if anything has changed regarding mandate and grant eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

The Phoenix Foundation operates under the Canada Revenue Agency and an LOI requires a CRA number. "They're always looking at nonprofits and community foundations," says Longden, "so we all are under the intense scrutiny of the CRA . . . If you don't think your organization qualifies, contact the Phoenix Foundation to discuss other options."

If your organization is not a federally registered nonprofit, Longden advises that you look to partner with an organization that is. "A couple of suggestions," he said. "There are agencies that you wouldn't think of as necessarily being registered through Revenue Canada." For example, the Rotary Spray Park project is using a CRA number through the City of Grand Forks, which means the Rotary Club has partnered with the city.

The RDKB is another example. Says Longden, "Usually large organizations and even provincial organizations . . . the provincial government is also a registered donee under Canada Revenue Agency rules . . . so regional districts, cities, it's all good."

Funding criteria

The Phoenix Foundation looks for creative projects that provide a direct service to the community or take an innovative approach to community concerns, Proposed projects should benefit as many people in the Boundary Region as possible.

Funding can be provided capital projects, including construction and equipment purchases, and program-related projects, including specific, short-term activities designed to meet certain goals.

The Foundation does not fund endowments, core operating expenses, individuals, fundraising events, retroactive expenses, debt retirement, conventions or student exchanges; nor will they fund activities of organizations that serve primarily their membership and/or their direct purposes, or activities supported through government funding.

The Foundation will typically fund up to 30% of a proposed project. Organizations should have at least 50% of their funding in place before they apply; however, up to 100% of a project's cost may be considered. Says Longden, “As the ask goes down, the percentage of funding goes up.” Requests for under $8-$9K have a better chance of being funded entirely.

After reading through the funding criteria and Vital Signs report, you should know if your organization is eligible and which category best fits your organization's mandate and what priority issues—as identified in the 2014 Vital Signs report—are being addressed through your idea. How will your project benefit the community? How many people will it benefit? "This is really all important," said LaCroix, "because the bigger audience you can reach with your program the better."

LeCroix emphasizes the importance of calling if you have any questions. "It will save you a lot of work in the long run." You can contact Longden at (250) 442-5653.

Preparing the LOI

According to LaCroix, an LOI starts with an idea that matches your organization’s mandate and vision, and the grant writing process helps shape that idea. “So you just start building your idea and how can you make it flourish and grow, and what can you bring into it to help build your project, build your partnerships—it works really well," she says. "By the time I write my letter of intent, my whole proposal is done." 

You have two pages to do your LOI, including a budget. "That's why it's really good to write out your whole idea and do all your notes," says LaCroix. What are you going to need for this? What's it going to cost? What partnerships and collaborations can you bring in? "Then you condense it to the most concise and poignant couple of paragraphs that you possibly can to get somebody saying, "This sounds really interesting."“ 

LaCroix likes to keep things coordinated right from the start, "so you can have things to look back on when you're writing out your grant [application] and doing your budget." She keeps a journal for ideas in her office. "I have ideas all year round, so by the time it comes to grant writing time, I forget my ideas." She also has file folders of granting sources organized by date. "So at the beginning of the year, I know all of my grants and where I'm going."

The first main section of the LOI is entitled Establishing Community Priorities and Project Connection, where you tailor your project to the mandate and priorities of the Phoenix Foundation and meld them with your organization's mandate. "That's really important right off the go in the letter of intent," says LaCroix. "How are you connecting with the priorities right away, so it grabs them."

“What is your organization's mandate and how can it suit it. Tailor and be very adaptable," said LaCroix, "and don't excited if you don't think it's going to match something, because you can always tailor your funding idea to what Phoenix would like to see." An organization may have a primary mandate, but can have programs that spread across a number of other categories.

"We're environment," said LaCroix, speaking of the Christina Lake Stewardship Society, "but we do youth programs. We also do parent-teacher programs. Things like that; so you can across quite a few categories, and that's where you have to be innovative."

The second section of the LOI provides a concise description of your project and the specific activities that will be involved. What final outcomes/goals does your organization want to achieve?" These are really, really important," said LaCroix, "because they define a schedule and timelines, and how much you can get done and what you want to get done. A lot of times we have these really big ideas and when you start writing about it you go, "Maybe too much.""

If your organization doesn't have the capacity to do the project you have in mind, go to other groups that you know and "see if you can tailor something that will benefit the both of you," advises LaCroix.

Budget and leverage funding

LaCroix says the budget section is the most challenging part for most people, but "it helps you think through exactly what the needs are for the program or project you want to do, and you build in your partnerships and in-kind a this point too." In-kind refers to volunteer labour, supplies, equipment, services, etc.

LaCroix starts asking for her letters of support (LOS) at this point too, because other organizations are busy writing grants too. "So I even have templates that I can send people as examples and then they can say, what can I bring into this project and how much is that worth of my time?" LaCroix has been grant writing for long enough now that she knows the day rate of most people she can bring in as partners, what their day rate is, and what they can bring to a project." 

Leverage funding is an important tool. This can come in the way of your staff and their time. "That's cash, so that can be part of your contribution." It is also your in-kind values, which LaCroix says is "a powerful, powerful tool," when it comes to grant applications. "If you don't have a lot of money, your in-kind can actually get you a grant." It is a good idea to maintain a list of common services and resources, and what the fair market values are. "You cannot undervalue your volunteer stuff, so that adds up pretty fast for most projects."

"You will become the best mooch of everybody in town," says LaCroix, "because you're going to get the benefit of going out there and . . . selling yourself and selling your idea, and getting deals." LaCroix points out that a charitable receipt for tax purposes is helpful in encouraging people to give. It is important to get an invoice or receipt of the actual fair market price of each in-kind donation.

Another option is for you to pay for the product or service and have the business donate the amount back to the organization in exchange for a tax receipt. LaCroix says that donors love to see their logos on projects, so you can promise to use their logo in exchange for an in-kind donation.

Submission

Completed letters of intent can be mailed to: Phoenix Foundation of the Boundary Box 1012, Grand Forks, B.C. V0H 1H0. LOIs may also be submitted online to .

If your proposal is received by email, the Grants Committee will acknowledge your application by reply email. If you do not receive a reply, please call to ensure that your application was received.

The Phoenix Foundation would also like to remind readers that there are also community partnership funds in Midway and Greenwood where local applicants can find funding support. Contact the Midway Village office for information on its grant committee, and in Greenwood contact the Greenwood Improvement Society.