Eligibility & Guidelines

ELIGIBILITY QUIZ

1. Will your request align with one of our funding priorities? Our current priorities are

• Basic Needs (food, housing, transportation, safety)
• Access to & Affordability of Physical, Oral, Visual Health
• Access to and Affordability of Social, Emotional, Behavioral Health
• COVID-19 Response (equipment, testing, telehealth, PPE)

2. Are you a 501(c)(3), a 509(a) or a governmental, tribal, school, or public entity? Or do you have a fiscal sponsor?  A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management and other grant administrative services. From the perspective of the IRS, a fiscal sponsor is held legally responsible for management of grant funds and the attendant requirements and obligations of the grant.  Acceptable fiscal sponsor relationships:
   1. An operating organization has not yet secured its own 501(c)(3) status but has a formal relationship with a 501(c)(3) entity which acts as a fiscal sponsor to manage grant oversight functions, including financial operations and grant fund management. 
   2. An operating organization is too small to support full administrative functions and has a formal relationship with a 501(c)(3) entity which acts as a fiscal sponsor to manage grant oversight functions, including financial operations and grant fund management. 
   3. A cluster of eligible 501(c)(3) organizations work cooperatively on a project and select one of the members to manage grant oversight functions, including financial operations and grant fund management.

3. Does your organization have BOTH programmatic services delivered and personnel residing primarily on the Western Slope? 

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you are most-likely NOT eligible to apply.  Please call Julie Hinkson, Program Officer at (970)644-8188 to further discuss your fit.

ELIGIBILITY SCHEDULE FOR PREVIOUS APPLICANTS

RMHF added extra cycles and removed many of the eligibility requirements for our 2020 Grant Cycles in response to the pandemic. In order to manage the volume of grant requests in 2021, the following eligibility schedules will apply.

*If you were awarded and/or declined multiple times in 2020, use the date of your most recent award/decline letter in the chart to determine when you are next eligible. If your most recent application was submitted in any cycle prior to 2020, you are eligible in Cycle 1 2021.

WHAT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLE OR PROJECTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR GRANTS FROM RMHF?

• Capital construction or endowment campaigns
• Debt reduction or loans
• Educational institutions, except for programs that align with our mission
• Environmental stewardship programs
• Grants to individuals
• Marketing plans and materials
• Multi-year commitments
• Organizations outside of the 22 Western Slope counties
• Organizations that discriminate based on age, sex, religion/creed, race, color, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, marital status, military or veteran status, pregnancy, or genetic information.
• Policy, advocacy, or research
• Political causes, candidates, organizations, or campaigns
• Religious organizations for religious purposes
• Special events
• Sponsorships for events, conferences, speakers
• Travel, conferences, group meetings, or seminars