Apply for Funds

 

Each year, Girls Giving Grants will solicit proposals in October and select a grant recipient in April through a two-part process that includes the submission of a written application using our required forms and the scheduling of site visits of the finalists.  We do not accept grant requests outside of this annual process.

Downloadable versions of all grant documents are available throughout this text as they are referenced.

This page includes most of the information contained in Girls Giving Grants' Grant Guidelines.  You can download a complete copy of the Grant Guidelines in the following versions:

Girls Giving Grants 2009 Grant Guidelines and Process (MS Word Version)

Girls Giving Grants' members combine $100 annual donations to fund grants, which are awarded in April of each year to local charitable organizations.  Proposals are solicited for programs or projects that benefit youth in the greater Austin area.

Girls Giving Grants' funding cycle runs from October 1st of one year to September 30th of the next year.  In each funding year, proposals are solicited and evaluated from October through April and grants are awarded in April.  The exact amount of funds available for award in any given funding year will be announced after October 1st. 

Members of Girls Giving Grants serve on committees and evaluate the grant proposals.  The committees select finalists and conduct site visits of each finalist in April.  After the site visits are conducted, all members will have the opportunity to vote for the grant recipient.  The grant recipient will be awarded in April at an award ceremony.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a Girls Giving Grants grant, an organization must be classified as a "public charity" with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

• Outline a project or program that targets a specific youth population for a specific duration and with specific measurable goals to be achieved;

• Provide services in Travis, Hays, Bastrop and/or Williamson counties, Texas

• Use the full amount of Girls Giving Grants' available grant; and

• Plan to expend the grant funds within 12 months of receipt of the grant.

Types of Programs We Will Not Consider:  Girls Giving Grants will not award its grant for the following:

• General operating expenses

• Debt reduction

• Endowments or memorials

• Bridge funding or interim financing

• Operational deficits

• Partisan, political lobbying or legislative activities

• General fund drives or annual appeals

• Fraternal, sectarian, and religious organizations where the grant is intended for the principal benefit of the organization's own members or adherents, or where the grant is intended for inherently religious activities

• Private foundations

• Legal expenses incurred in any action by or against the organization

• General construction or renovation (unrelated to a specific proposed project or program)

• General capital campaigns (unrelated to a specific proposed project or program)

• Fundraising activities or events

• Advertising

• Sports teams or any sports-related activity or competition

Other restrictions

• An organization may submit only one application each year.
• An organization that has received a grant from Girls Giving Grants may not reapply in the following year.

GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 2008-2009

Review Process: Girls Giving Grants has a two-part Grant Application process:

1.     Grant Application:  Due by 5:00 p.m. on October 31, 2008.  Each organization must submit its application no later than 5:00 p.m. on  October 31, 2008.  The application should be mailed or delivered to Girls Giving Grants, ATTN: Director of Girls Giving Grants, 2208 Energy Drive, Austin, TX 78758.  Girls Giving Grants will not accept faxed or e-mailed applications and the application must be     received - not simply postmarked - by the deadline.  You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of your application within one week.  By February 2008, Girls Giving Grants will select finalists for site visits and you will be notified in writing and by phone if your organization has been selected for a site visit.

Download Grant Application Form  (MS Word Version)

2.    Site visit conducted by membership.  A site visit of each finalist is extremely important because it allows our members to gain a full-color picture of your organization and its proposal, beyond the printed page of your application.  The site visit allows us to gather crucial information, observe your organization's operations, and gain a deeper understanding of the project proposal.  The site visit allows each members to be educated first-hand on a nonprofit and its proposed program and each of our members is required to attend a site visit.  The site visit allows each member to be educated comparison among each finalist during the final determination.  Site visits will be conducted in March/April and must be conducted on a weekend date so as not to interfere with the academic schedules of our members.  A site visit shall last no longer than two 2) hours in duration.  In order for your organization to be considered as a grant recipient, it must be willing to accommodate a site visit on a Saturday and we request that you reserve Saturday, March 28th and April 4th as potential dates for site visits.  Again, Girls Giving Grants will select finalists for site visits by February 2009 and you will be notified in writing and phone if your organization has been selected for a site visit.

Information about each finalist will be distributed to all of Girls Giving Grants' members.  Girls Giving Grants' members will then vote on the finalists, with each member casting one vote and the majority deciding the grant recipient.  The grant award ceremony will be scheduled for some date in April of each year.

Girls Giving Grants reserves the right to reject a Grant Application for any reason, including if it is late or incomplete in any way.  See the Application document for more detailed instructions.

Terms of Grant

Prior to receiving the grant money, the grant recipient must execute a Terms of Grant document substantially similar to the sample Terms of Grant, which can be downloaded in the following version:

Terms of Grant (MS Word version)

Evaluations

Girls Giving Grants requires that the grant recipient submit periodic progress reports.  Girls Giving Grants emphasizes the use of evaluation to measure program progress and outcomes, promote learning from experience, improve program performance and encourage our grantees to build effective self-evaluation plans into their projects.  Copies of the interim and final report forms can be downloaded here:

Interim Report Form (MS Word version)

Final Report Form (MS Word version)

Correspondence

Correspondence may be mailed or delivered to Girls Giving Grants, ATTN: Director of Girls Giving Grants, 2208 Energy Drive, Austin, TX 78758.  If you have any questions regarding the application process, please check the FAQ's on our website, contact our Director and grant administrator at 512-791-4424 or e-mail us at grants@girlsgivinggrants.org All forms are available on-line on our "Apply for Funds" page here.  The Grant Application should be mailed or delivered by Friday, October 31, 2008 to Girls Giving Grants, ATTN: Director of Girls Giving Grants, 2208 Energy Drive, Austin, TX 78758.

Frequently Asked Questions

A list of frequently asked questions can be downloaded here:

FAQ (MS Word version)