Discretionary Grants Program Policies & Procedures

• Download Grants Program Packet
  (Includes policies & procedures, application, and report form and guidelines. This is an interactive pdf -- save it to your hard drive before submitting)
• Download End of Year Grants Reporting Form
  (This is an interactive pdf -- save it to your hard drive before submitting)

The Athens Area Community Foundation discretionary grantmaking program is funded through AACF’s Community Impact Fund. Donors to the Community Impact Fund seek to address ever-changing community needs by allowing AACF to identify opportunities and target dollars where they will be most effective.

AACF will give higher priority to proposals that address poverty, promote community engagement, focus on prevention, promote personal achievement, attract volunteers, strengthen the capacity of the nonprofit sector, and encourage collaboration amongst organizations. AACF requires applicants to be tax-exempt according to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a 501c3 fiscal sponsor. The Foundation will not provide grants to individuals.

Grant Application Deadlines

Grant Cycle	Application Deadline	Board Decision
Spring	March 1, 2010 (Postmarked*)	End April
Fall	TBD	TBD

* Must be post marked or delivered to office by 5pm. delivery service, not by office meter. If the application deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, then the deadline will be the next business day.

Applications should be sent to:
Athens Area Community Foundation
Grants Committee
P.O. Box 1543
Athens, GA 30603

Past Grant Recipients

• Spring 2010
• Fall 2009
• Spring 2009

The Review Process:
When the Community Foundation receives a proposal, an acknowledgment of receipt is usually sent within seven days. Proposals are initially screened by staff for eligibility and completeness. If the request clearly falls outside these guidelines, it will be declined by program staff.

The Community Foundation's Grants Committee will then review proposals and forward their recommendations for funding to the full Board of Directors for a decision.

Applicants will be notified of the Board's decision by late April for the Spring Grant Cycle or late October for the Fall Grant Cycle.

Requirements for Grantees:
If a grant is awarded, the organization will be asked to sign a grant agreement which outlines the terms of the grant including the agreement to use the grant funds solely for the purposes described in the grant application. Any significant changes in the purposes for which grant funds are spent must be approved in writing by the Community Foundation before implementation. All publicity should appropriately recognize the Athens Area Community Foundation as the grantor. We encourage you to issue a press release and send a copy to the Foundation for our files.

In addition, to enable us to evaluate the effectiveness of this grant we require all grantees to file an end-of-the-grant report. Details are provided in AACF's Grant Report Guidelines. Please note that it includes a line-item financial accounting of the expenditure of grant funds.

Athens Area Community Foundation does have the authority to withhold and/or recover grant funds in cases where such funds are, or appear to be, misused.

Tips for Grant Writers

• The Foundation Center Offers Free Online Guides and Tutorials
• Proposal Writing Short Course
  (Available in English, French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish)
  Describes how to prepare of the various components of a funding proposal, and includes planning, research, and cultivation of potential foundation and corporate donors.
• Proposal Budgeting Basics
  (Available in English and Spanish)
  The basics of developing a project budget, including overhead costs, employee fringe benefits, and links to sample budget templates.