General Eligibility Requirements:
1. Applicant must be a not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a municipal entity.
2. Applicant must have minimum five-member board, representative of the community, of which a majority is neither employees nor relatives of employees.
3. Applicant must be located within and/or providing services to residents of the Foundation's 21-town service area: Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Goshen, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New Milford, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Southbury, Thomaston, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, or Woodbury.
In considering requests, the Foundation looks for:
• Programs that address demonstrated community need
• Greatest potential for achieving intended results
• Organizational track record in successful program implementation
• Evidence-based programs/models
• Potential for leveraging additional or sustaining support
• Clear project plan with qualified staff, detailed timeline and activities, and realistic budget
• Alignment with community plans and priorities, when applicable
• Local presence (even if an agency is based outside the CCF area, it may have local office/staff, partnerships, etc)
• Alliances and collaborative ventures between organizations/entities
Additional Eligibility Requirements for Capacity Building Requests:
• Non-profit organization has been in existence for at least one year and has at least one paid staff member. A non-profit that is all-volunteer is eligible provided it can demonstrate longevity and substantial assets as well as previous capacity building efforts through NAI workshops, Advisors, or other resources.
• Non-profit must show readiness including sufficient resources and commitment from both board and staff to implement capacity building. Readiness can be demonstrated by having completed planning processes such as self assessment or strategic plans or participation in workshops, etc.
• For non-profit organizations whose primary office is outside the 21-town service area: If the organization serves a significant number of residents within the service area, it may apply for assistance only for a satellite office or specific capacity building activities within the Foundation and/or United Way service area.
Ineligible Requests:
• General operating support
• Political or religious activities
• Previously incurred expenses
• Support for individuals
