NONPROFIT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
APPLICATION
We’re excited that your nonprofit organization is interested in applying for a grant from Impact 100 Jersey Coast! To begin, we invite all prospective applicants to RSVP to attend an information session and encourage you to review our eligibility requirements. We recognize the time and resources that go into submitting a grant application and require organizations to submit an Eligibility Form (available online early February) to verify their eligibility before they can apply. Visit our How to Apply page for an overview of the application and review process.
Please email your questions to grants@impact100jc.org.
We begin to accept grant applications in February when our Eligibility Form goes live on our website. Applications are due in May. Please join our nonprofit alert email list at the top of this page to be notified.
No. However, in order to save your organization time and resources, we have developed an Eligibility Form (available April) to verify that your organization meets the minimum requirements. Please complete the online form, and, once confirmed, we will email you a link to the application.
If you are still unsure if your organization and project/program are eligible for funding, please contact us at grants@impact100jerseycoast.org.
No. Each nonprofit organization may submit only one application each grant cycle.
No. Please do not include any additional materials other than those specified in our application. If we require further information, we will follow up with you after your proposal has been reviewed.
No. Nonprofit organizations who apply must demonstrate the ability to fully expend the grant funds or complete the project/program within the 24-month timeframe.
A collaboration exists when two or more qualifying nonprofit organizations have the responsibility of managing and contributing to the proposed project in a significant manner, AND the Impact grant funds will be shared between them (please note, if funding is not being shared, we consider this a ‘partnership’ not a ‘collaboration’. It would be a regular, single applicant submission and the partnership details should be included under the ‘Project Narrative’ section). For a Collaboration, one organization would need to be identified as the lead-serving Fiscal Agent, responsible for completing the grant application and primarily responsible for financially managing the grant funds. The other collaborating organization will provide their organizational and financial information, but are not required to complete the additional sections of the grant application. Both organizations should have 501 (c)(3) status.
No. Each grant application will be evaluated based on its own merit. Impact 100 Jersey Coast encourages collaborative efforts when the project or program warrants such an approach.
No. Each nonprofit organization can apply for only one grant per year, either as part of a collaborative or as an individual organization.
Unfortunately, due to our thorough review and evaluation process, we are unable to accept any modifications to applications. A rejection for each grant cycle is final. We encourage you to apply again the following year.
To be eligible, the total project/program budget must be equal to (or greater than) the amount of the Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant funds available. If your project/program exceeds the grant amount, you would need to specify exactly how the grant would be spent, including clearly defined deliverables and outcomes that are tied to the grant within your specific timeline of a maximum of 24 months (on your Application and accompanying Project Budget Form) and outline how the additional funds would be accounted for (on your Project Budget Form).
An Impact 100 Jersey Coast grant is designed to be truly transformative for both the recipient organization and those it serves. By providing significant funding for a transformative project, we strive to empower the organization to ‘dream big’ and think creatively about ways to enhance, transform, or improve its current work. In turn, that transformative project successfully meets an unmet need, in a truly impactful way, with goals that clearly demonstrate high impact within an agreed-upon time period.
Projects can either be short term (i.e. strictly for a one- or two-year timeframe supported by the grant funds) or ongoing, as long as plans for sustainability are included.
REVIEW
We accept applications in five focus areas. Applications are randomly assigned to a Grant Review Committee (GRC) comprised of Impact 100 Jersey Coast members. These GRCs carefully evaluate the applications. After this review process, they choose semifinalists and may elect to request site visits to learn more about the organization or answer any last questions. GRCs will then nominate up to 2 finalists.
All finalists are invited to attend our Annual Membership Meeting to present their submitted proposal to our members. There, each member casts her vote, and that vote determines the grant recipient. Grant awards are announced at the conclusion of this meeting, and grant funds are distributed shortly thereafter upon the execution of a Grant Service Agreement.
- The goal, objectives, and impact of the grant are not clearly defined.
- The grant project/program may not demonstrate the ability to fully expend the grant funds or complete the project within the 24-month timeframe.
- The grant project/program, if designed to be ongoing, does not show how it will be sustained at the end of the grant.
- Another organization may exist to meet the need addressed by the proposed project/program.
- The project/program budget is not clear or well defined.
- The grant project/program does not demonstrate or explain the need in Monmouth County.
The Grant Review Committees make decisions between June and September. If you are a semifinalist, we will call you at the phone number provided on your application. All other applicants will be notified by email.
Not all applicants will receive a site visit. Site visits occur after each committee has selected semifinalists. The chair of the respective committee reviewing your grant application will then contact you. A site visit is not a guarantee of funding.
COMMUNICATION
Until semifinalists are selected for site visits, all communication between grant applicants and Impact 100 Jersey Coast must originate with Impact 100 Jersey Coast and will be conducted via email. The nonprofit coordinator co-chairs may provide phone numbers for matters that are easier to discuss verbally. After we select the semifinalists, contact will originate from the appropriate committee chair and/or our financial review team.
Before you submit an application, you may email us at grants@impact100jc.org with questions regarding the grant guidelines, process, or forms. After your submission, if Impact 100 Jersey Coast has questions about your grant application, we will contact you.
Impact 100 Jersey Coast is committed to a fair, unbiased process. As such, we are unable to accept unsolicited communication related to topics other than questions about the guidelines, process, or forms. We ask that you do not contact members of Impact 100 Jersey Coast to discuss or lobby for your application unless you are contacted for additional information.
While we know how helpful feedback can be, we are unable to give direct feedback on your application. If possible, we will try to highlight any major themes that our Grant Review Committees have identified in their review process. We strongly encourage you to attend and ask questions at the Grant Q&A sessions held in April. Valuable information from past Grantees is given including tips and best practices
FUNDING
Organizations not selected to receive a grant may apply again the following year. Mission Award recipients may also apply the following year.
An organization that receives a grant shall not be permitted to apply to Impact for additional funding for a minimum of three years from the date of the grant agreement.
Prior to the release of funds, a grant recipient must complete a Grant Service Agreement. Impact 100 Jersey Coast may distribute grants in installments, depending on the nature of the project or program. Grant recipients must submit periodic reports to Impact 100 Jersey Coast, as specified in the Grant Service Agreement.
A project/program should expend the funding within two years, following award of the grant. For example, the recipient of a grant awarded in November 2022 must expend the funds by November 2024.
MEMBERSHIP
Yes. If you are part of an applying nonprofit organization, you can be member of Impact 100 Jersey Coast. You can even sit on a Grant Review Committee, but not one that reviews your organization’s proposal.