Community Grants Eligibility Criteria
Applicants for Community Grants must meet the following eligibility criteria.
- Legally operate as one of the following
- Tax-exempt under IRS section 501(c)(3) and registered with the Registry of Charitable Trusts, State of California Department of Justice
- Under the formal fiscal sponsorship of another organization’s 501(c)(3) status
- A program of a local government entity or an unendowed foundation that was developed to support a public entity. (For example, a public-school foundation)
- In operation for at least 36 months before applying for a Community Grant and be in sound financial condition
- Non-discriminatory based on race, gender, sexual identification or orientation, spiritual beliefs, national origin, or immigration status
- Operate within one of the following focus areas:
Arts and Culture
Organizations whose mission includes one or more of the following aims:
- Cultivate, enrich, and preserve the arts and arts participation, encompassing all creative disciplines and sites, such as dance, music, media arts, theater, visual arts, literary opportunities, and museums
- Explore and educate others in and about the arts, cultural heritage, and diversity
- Promote civic engagement in cultural endeavors.
Environment/Parks/Sustainability/Recreation
Organizations whose mission includes one or more of the following aims:
- Protect, preserve, improve, restore and/or conserve our natural surroundings, resources, or public spaces
- Improve the welfare of animals
- Encourage research, public awareness, and education relating to the environment and conservation of our natural resources
Education
Organizations whose mission includes one or more of the following aims:
- Advance and/or improve educational processes and opportunities
- Improve educational access from preschool through adult
- Prepare children and adults for 21st-century careers through job training and real-world learning opportunities
Health/Community Betterment (organizations with annual revenue of $500,000 or less)
Organizations whose mission includes one or more of the following aims:
- Positively impact the physical, social, mental health, and/or well-being of adults, children, families
- Strengthen and enhance the lives of children, teens, adults, seniors
The following organizations are ineligible for Community Grants
- Organizations operating exclusively in Sonoma Valley and serving Sonoma Valley residents
- Organizations that promote religious purposes and require religious adherence or activity as a condition of receiving services
- Private foundations
- Politically partisan organizations
Community Grant funds may be used for core mission support, which includes but is not limited to
- Continuing or expanding programs
- Launching new programs
- Staff and volunteer recruitment, retention, and development
- Acquisition of technology, both software, and hardware
- Capital expenditures
- Building and diversifying revenue streams
- Developing and implementing long-term strategic plans
- Refining communications, marketing, and outreach
- Acquiring or improving program measurement tools and evaluation capacity
- Collaborating with other organizations to improve services or eliminate duplication
- General operating expenses and overhead costs
Community Grant funds may not be used for
- Debt reduction or operational deficits
- Grants or scholarships to individuals
- Endowment funding
- International projects
- Partisan, legislative, or political activity
- Nonprofits under the Health/Community Betterment focus area with an operating budget greater than $500,000
Community Grant Guidelines
- An organization may submit only one application each year.
- Incomplete applications or missed deadlines will disqualify the application.
- Applications must include measurable goals.
- Community Grants funds must be used within a 12-month period following receipt of the grant.
- Grantees are asked to communicate with the Liaison Committee and to submit a report at the end of their grant periods.
- Community Grantees may not apply for another Community Grant for three years but may apply thereafter.
- Impact 100 Redwood Circle reserves the right to change eligibility criteria at any time without prior notice.