General Operating support funds an organization’s mission rather than a specific project or purpose. You could also call it ‘unrestricted.’ This kind of financial support provides flexibility for your organization to approach your work as you see fit. In other words, general operating support means you don’t have to spend it on lightbulbs when what you really need is to pay the rent.
One general operating grant per year – either the annual Simple Gifts Fund or the multi-year, renewable Basic Needs/Healthcare Fund, based on where we see your organization is most tightly aligned. You may also apply for a program grant under the Workforce Development Fund if you fit the criteria.
You can read a detailed description for each fund under the ‘Apply for Funding’ tab. You can also reach out to the Foundation staff anytime. Seriously – we would love to hear from you! Check the ‘Contact Us’ tab for the phone # and email info.
African or European swallow? According to the latest issue of Ornithology Trivia for Time Travelers, it’s roughly 20 mph. Thanks for asking, and now the ‘Gorge of Eternal Peril’ is not in your future, my dear Monty Python fan. Good luck on your quest.
Actually, we’re teeny-tiny! The Foundation has just three staff: an Executive Director, Michaelle Smith, and two Resource & Relationship Partners, Stephanie Self and Julie Hinkson. You can pretty much talk to any of us about anything – our general email and phone number is on the Contact tab.
Our thinking is that no one should be grinding away on a grant proposal at five o’clock on a Friday. (11:00 pm? Horrors!) Plan accordingly, and go have some ice cream to celebrate on Friday afternoon!
We love doing these Zoom calls! We think the pre-app call is a great way for us to get to know each other better, and to give you a chance to ask any questions. If you are a new applicant and a good fit for the cycle, we’ll also ask you for some additional information and set up a profile for your organization in our grant system. Finally, you’ll get an email with the portal link so you can access the grant application.
Yep. In the submission portal, mouse over the little earth symbol on the right-hand side of the gray bar near the top of the page. Click on it, then you may choose from five languages: Chinese (simplified), French, Korean, Spanish, or Welsh. The application will be translated to the selected language. If another language is preferred, please let us know.
No, you may complete the application in the language of your choice.
Rest easy! We do not evaluate your request based on your ability to spell ‘onomatopoeia’ correctly, nor do we grade proposals or reports based on grammar, or sentence structure, or inappropriate use of semicolons. Our job is to understand how your organization is fulfilling its mission for the people you serve. If that isn’t completely clear to us, we’ll reach out for clarification.
You are welcome to use any tool that you find helpful in editing your proposal — just make sure that the final content reflects your organization’s authentic voice, and that you review all content for accuracy before submitting.
Here are some safe and smart ways to use AI:
At the end of the day, AI can be a useful assistant and time-saver, but it is no substitute for good grant writing. Just ask HAL…
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
You can use any device, and it works with all browsers.
The system auto-saves your application every few minutes. Be sure to click the ‘Save Changes’’ button every time you actually exit your draft.
We don’t require conformity to a set age range. Our categories are ‘vague on purpose’ so that you may sort your data in a way that makes sense to you.
Glad you asked! We have a specific set of criteria for each grant cycle. Click to select the evaluation criteria for a particular fund:
Reviewers are staff and members of the grant committee — about a dozen people total. The grant committee is comprised of a subset of our Board of Directors and come from across the Western Slope, with a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise.
We’ll call you shortly after the Board confirms the grant committee funding recommendations, whether you were funded or not. If funded, we’ll let you know what the next steps are, and get the grant dollars out to you ASAP. If your request was declined, we’ll tell you the reasons why. Either way, we’ll follow up with written confirmation of the decision.
Our grants are paid out in full at the beginning of the funding cycle. If you are awarded, you’ll get instructions on how to see and accept your award within our grant portal, and how to securely provide the banking information we will need to process your ACH payment.
First of all, we agree: UGH! No site visits! Too formal and time-consuming when you’d really rather be focusing on your mission. So we have chin-wags instead. “What the heck is that??” A chin wag is British English slang for ‘a friendly conversation or chat.’ We set aside time (usually during the summer) to get better acquainted with our funded partners, visiting with a few each year. These are totally informal visits – we have no agenda, and don’t expect you to plan anything special. We’d just like to hang with you for 30-60 minutes and chat. If it’s appropriate, maybe take a tour of your place or meet your staff. Just get to know you better, increase our understanding of what you provide for your community, and give you a chance to ask questions. If one of our routes takes us to your neck of the woods, we’ll be in touch to confirm your availability and set up a good time for us to drop by. We hope we get to see you soon!
Staff Care grants are additional, unsolicited awards we make in the Focus Area and Simple Gifts cycles. These dollars are restricted to directly supporting the emotional and physical well-being of staff, including the ED/CEO. The Foundation believes that employees in health and human service fields are often stretched to the limit and sometimes sacrifice their own health in caring for clients. These funds are intended to mitigate that in whatever way makes sense for your organization. Here are some examples of cool things organizations have done with the funds: massages, yoga classes, hot springs visits, gift cards for dinner/movie/local attractions, hip-hop dance classes, axe throwing (yes, really!) trail rides, picnics, ‘chill’ room, extra time off. In some cases, our dollars have sparked matching dollars, or provided the nudge to create an ongoing wellness program.
According to Deep Thought, the enormous supercomputer in Douglas Adams’ novel The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the answer is: 42.
You’re welcome, and remember: Don’t panic. Time is an illusion.
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