Planning Grant Guidelines

The deadline for submitting a Letter of Intent to Plan for 2010-11 was Thursday, June 24, at 12:00 p.m.

Through a competitive process the Capacity Building Fund (CBF), will award $2,500 - $5,000 to approximately 15 networks for a 4 - 6 month planning phase. Six to 10 of those networks will be eligible to receive additional funding in the range of $20,000 to $25,000 to implement their respective projects. Networks can be comprised of nonprofits, civic groups, schools, faith-based organizations, municipalities, unions, etc. that wish to build their capacity together.

Philosophy of the Capacity Building Fund

The overall goal of the CBF is to strengthen a network of community-based, social change oriented organizations. We seek applications from Massachusetts and Rhode Island based groups that want to learn how to work together to achieve community impact beyond what one organization can achieve alone.

For the purpose of this funding stream, “building capacity” refers to institutionalizing new individual organization and group learning and/or new skills development. The assumption is that by learning and skill building together, organizations will simultaneously learn how to work more effectively together to achieve impact that leads to social change.

Eligibility

Only Massachusetts and Rhode Island networks, not individual organizations, are eligible to apply for CBF Planning Grants. Networks must be comprised of 5 or more organizations that come together to design a joint learning experience (peer or expert led) that will ultimately result in a positive community impact. An ad hoc, informal network can be convened for the purpose of this grant, or a network can be pre-existing in the form of a collaboration or a coalition.

Each network needs a lead organization that will accept the fiscal responsibility of the grant and an identified person who will coordinate the planning process and convene the learning group.  

Letter of Intent to Plan

All Letters of Intent to Plan are screened by the selection committee comprised of CBF staff and selected advisory members. Applicants may be contacted by telephone during the review process if additional information is required.  Following is the information you will provide in the electronic application: 

  • The name of the lead organization and the point person’s contact information
  • The types of organizations that will participate in the learning network (names of at least five initial groups should be attached along with a contact person and contact information for each group).
  • Why does your group want to learn together?
  • What does your group want to learn, or what capacity do you want to build?
  • What are the common community or issue-based outcomes your network wants to move toward? And how were these outcomes defined?
  • How does your group know this outcome matters to your constituents? (If unknown, it is appropriate to include a strategy to accurately gauge the importance of this outcome to your constituents in your plan.)
  • How will your group's collaboration allow your organizations to more effectively achieve your desired outcomes than by working individually?
  • The design for moving forward with planning your co-learning/capacity-building project
    • For instance, will the planning process use consultant guidance?
    • Who will convene the groups for planning, etc.?
    • What are the costs for the planning phase?
  • How your network shares the TSNE values of nondiscrimination and diversity

TSNE Values of Nondiscrimination and Inclusion

TSNE values inclusion of all people in the creation of healthy, vibrant and democratic communities. Groups funded through the Capacity Building Fund cannot discriminate in regards to employment or membership in their organization on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation/identity, disability, age, country of origin, citizen status, veteran status or ethnic identity.