Mission Statement
The Foundation exists to assist donors in planning for the best use of their resources for family and charity while providing funding for the future of the Jewish community — locally, nationally, overseas, and in Israel.
Grant Application Guidelines
A. WHO CAN APPLY?
Applications are accepted only from charitable organizations described in Section
501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The programs and projects for which grant funds are sought must be consistent with
the broad purposes of The Jewish Federation Foundation (the "Foundation") and
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Western CT, Inc. (the "Federation") and
charitable organizations primarily serving the Western Connecticut area in the fields
of education, inter-group relations, civic, culture, health service, and social service.
B. GENERAL INFORMATION
The Foundation will give preference to grant requests for funding startup programs
from organizations located in the greater Waterbury and Northwestern Connecticut
area and to projects that have Jewish content. Grants are not normally made for
general operating overhead, deficit reduction or capital expenses and purchases
(i.e. construction, renovations, equipment purchase, etc.)
The Foundation will consider grants to charitable organizations not serving
exclusively Jewish needs when appropriate to alleviate extraordinary community
problems or to address public issues of special concern to the Jewish community.
For further inquiries or clarifications as to the eligibility of a particular program or project for funding, please feel free to contact the Foundation office.
C. THE APPLICATION PROCESS
1. The Grants Committee generally meets three times a year. For consideration at
those meetings, applications must be received in the Foundation office no later
than 2PM on the Friday preceding March 15th, September 15th and December
15th. Applications received after that time will be considered in the following
cycle. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS. Call the Foundation office for
confirmation of receipt by the acceptable due date.
2. Applications must be signed by the applicant organization's Executive Director
and President or Chair of its governing board.
3. Applications will be reviewed in the following manner:
a. Foundation staff will review each application for eligibility, completeness and
compliance with procedural requirements and will assess programmatic
context. As part of its evaluation of grant applications, Foundation staff will
consult with the Chair of the Grants Committee and the Executive Director of
the Federation, if considered necessary. Staff, with the approval of the
Committee Chair, may deny a grant application where it is clearly outside of
the Foundation's areas of interest, provided however, that such action will be
previously reported to the Executive Director of the Federation, and should be
included on a report of the Grants Committee and the Trustees.
b. Applicants may be invited to make oral presentation to the Grants Committee
or the Board of Trustees.
c. The Grants Committee will consider applications and relevant materials and
make recommendations to the Board of Trustees for its consideration.
4. We are obligated to notify you of the grant award no later than the last day of the
three month grant cycle.
5. Applicants are strongly discouraged from contacting members of the
Grants Committee or Board of Trustees concerning pending grant
applications and can result in the non-approval of your request or may
affect future requests.
D. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
The following general criteria will be used in evaluating grant applications:
1. The degree to which there is a demonstrated need for the project.
2. The relevance of the project to current needs and interests of the Jewish
community.
3. The degree to which the project is well planned and feasible.
4. The applicant's capability and its staff's qualifications to carry out the project.
5. A justifiable and appropriate budget in relation to the proposed project.
6. A programmatic and financial projection that plans for independence from
Foundation funding in the future.
E. GRANT CONDITIONS
1. Unless otherwise specifically stated, grants are awarded on an annual basis.
Approval of a program grant in any one year does not automatically imply approval
of grants in future years.
2. Programs and projects funded must publicly acknowledge Foundation support in
all communications and copies must be supplied to the Foundation office
3. If, after a grant is awarded, the grant recipient nets a profit from the program by
admission fees, sales receipts, etc. or receives additional funding from another
source for the same program, the grant may be reduced by the amount of the
additional funding or overpayments must be returned.
4. Previous grant conditions must be met in order to be eligible for new
funds.
5. Grant monies must be used in the manner they were applied for. There
are no exceptions.
6. A report must be submitted within 30 days after the completion of the grant year
as to the following:
a. An actual "dollars spent" budget as well as receipts for each line item.
b. Number of people served
c. Summary describing the degree to which your project's objectives were met
F. REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS
Please send (1) signed copy of your letter of request which will be reviewed by the
Foundation staff (please note you may be required to provide up to 28 more copies of
your request after review) along with (1) copy each of the following:
1. A copy of the applicant's IRS determination letter, indicating its Section 501c3
federal income tax exemption and classification as not a private foundation (not
required for synagogues);
2. A copy of the applicant's most recent financial statement, preferably audited,
showing the most recent fiscal year's revenues and expenses and balance sheet;
3. A copy of the applicant's most recent field IRS Form 990 - Return of
Organization Exempt from Tax;
4. A detailed project revenue and expense budget (same number of copies as your
application.)
Please send completed application to:
THE Foundation, Jewish Communities of Western CT, Inc.
444 Main Street North, Southbury, CT 06488
Attn: Donna Albertario, Foundation Administrator,
Thank you in advance for complying with these guidelines.