Proposal & Application Guide
Format:
- Use 1” margins, 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial font, and regular or loose kerning and single spaced. Fonts inside a table format may be one point smaller (11-point Times New Roman and 10-point Arial).
- Please place grant elements in the order as outlined below and add required attachments.
- Proposal length limit: $5,000 grant 2 pages, $7,500 grant 3 pages and $10,000 grant 4 pages.
Attachments Required:
- Staff and board list
- Completed Budget Form Attachment D.
- Income and expenses for FY2023. This does not need to be an official audit. For affiliated programs of a larger organization, only the income and expenses for your adult literacy program is required for the grant.
- Proof of non-profit status ONLY if this is the first time you are submitting a grant to the VLF or have not submitted a grant since 2020.
Note: You may attach additional materials to explain your project. However, all the members of the grants committee might not read the additional materials.
Content – Your proposal should follow the same order of content as shown below:
- 1st, Cover Page: Please complete the Cover Page form. Note: If you are an affiliate of another organization, you MUST include the budget of the parent organization AND the budget of your adult literacy program.
- 2nd, Introduction and Statement of Need: In 3-5 sentences, include a summary of your proposal at the top of the page that includes the topic of the project, your partnership(s), and the amount requested. Include client description, numbers, and area served.
- 3rd, Capacity and Commitment: Using the table below, please document last year’s program results. Briefly describe your organization’s capacity to serve students and make an impact in your community. Also include a brief discussion how COVID continues to impact your organization, challenges of online teaching and learning, and implications for the future.
Note: If you do not provide a program listed above, please leave it blank or enter “0”.
- Description: Include the purpose of your project or programs (general funding), number of individuals to be served, and how you will use volunteers, partners, and community support in your project or programs.
- Goal, Objectives, & Outcome:
- Goal: Describe ONE overarching goal for a single project or your organization’s programs that meets a need mentioned in the needs statement.
- Objectives: Provide 2-3 measurable objectives (no more than five). State the projected impact as a number and % of total students served. This is a requirement. For example, 50% of students participate in ESL programs or a total of 55 students.
- Activities: How will you achieve objectives? Who will be responsible? What will be achieved and by when?
- Outcomes: What is the anticipated outcome (measurable results) for the fiscal year?
- Evaluation Plan: How will you measure success and when? How will this project/program help you sustain your organization?
- Budget Narrative: The Narrative should explain how the grant funding will be spent to support the budget in Attachment D. If you are using the grant as a match, describe how you are soliciting new funding sources.
Submission and Due Date
- Review the grant guidelines and make sure you have complied with the page limit, the content is in order, and all the required attachments are with the grant application.
- Faxed or emailed grants will NOT be accepted.
Applicants must submit the original and five copies of the grant proposal and attachments by 5:00 p.m. on March 29 to:
Rita Layne
Virginia Literacy Foundation
413 Stuart Circle, Suite 303
Richmond, VA 23220
If you have any questions about completing an application, please contact:
Rita Layne
Phone: (804) 237-8909
Email: vlilv@earthlink.net
IMPORTANT MAILING TIP!:
Please DO NOT send the grant packets via the U.S. Postal Service. Use FedEx or UPS to guarantee delivery by 5 P.M.
