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More than a decade ago, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and Philanthropy New York spearheaded a project to develop common application and report forms to help streamline the grant application process and ease the often time-consuming grant preparation process.
This application is a four-page form, which includes directions for use, a sample cover sheet, and the common grant proposal guidelines.
The separate Common Report Form follows closely the format of the New York/New Jersey Area Common Application Form.
Information for Grantmakers:
One of the core values at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project (with whom CNJG partnered on a trust-based grantmaking learning series in the summer of 2021 – read about Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) encourages funders to streamline their requirements for paperwork from nonprofits. Accepting the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Report Form is one way. Another is to accept reports from nonprofits that they submitted to a different funder.
Recent articles from Vu Le at NonprofitAF.com (We need to have a serious talk about character limits on grant applications and Trust-based grantmaking: What it is and why it’s critical to our sector), Joan Garry in the Chronicle of Philanthropy (A Plea from Community Nonprofits for Investment Equity and less Bureaucracy), and the research project by the Technology Association of Grantmakers (Grant Applications Share 39% Similarity According to New Research by TAG) in the summer of 2021 have re-focused attention on the concept of a common grant application.
CNJG encourages our members to review the application and report form, and consider accepting these forms (or using these questions on your online application / report form) from your current or potential grantees.
CNJG surveyed our members in August 2021 asking if they accepted the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Application and report form. CNJG members can download that report (link forthcoming).
Information for Grantseekers:
Before sending this (or any) application to any funder, be sure to check their specific funding guidelines and application requirements. Some funders require preliminary, additional, or supplementary information. Some funders only accept their own application form. CNJG members are under no obligation to accept either the common grant application or common grant report form.
Additional notes when using the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Application Form:
- Please check with each individual funder if they accept only their own form, the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Application form, or some other form.
- Funding area guidelines still apply. Research each organization’s funding areas to be sure your proposal fits within their guidelines before submitting your application.
- Any funder that has agreed to accept the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Application may request additional information at any stage in their application process.
- Every funder has different deadlines and timetables. Refer to each organization's funding and/or reporting guidelines.
- Do not submit the NY/NJ Area Common Grant Application or report form to the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. Submit your application directly to the organization from which you are requesting support.
- Questions should be directed to the organization from which you are requesting support.
Wells Fargo is making good on its promise to help underserved communities.
On Monday, the bank announced it is giving a grant of $1 million to the Trenton Regional Business Assistance Corp. and a grant of $500,000 to the Camden-based Cooperative Business Assistance Corp. The grants are part of the Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund, which was created last year.
The organizations will use the grants to provide low-interest loans to small businesses that — for a variety of reasons — lacked the access to such capital.
Tomas Porturas, vice president of social impact and sustainability, said Wells Fargo hopes the funding will help underserved small businesses in Trenton and South Jersey stay open and preserve jobs through short- and long-term COVID-19 resiliency efforts. It also will expand microlending activities and programming for diverse business owners.
“Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund is another avenue of support and enlists the expertise of our CDFI partners to urgently help diverse South Jersey entrepreneurs recover and preserve the jobs they provide in their communities,” he said. “The funding will provide much-needed access to capital with increased equity in resources and technical assistance for local businesses, which are the backbone of our local economies and neighborhoods.”
A corporate member queried the corporate listserve which technology tools they use for their corporate giving system/platform. CNJG compiled the responses and combined it with previous responses from other technology systems queries to create this list of “Who Uses What Technology Systems.” If your organization is not listed, please email the names of those systems to Craig Weinrich.
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) recently awarded $202,840 in Incubation and Action Grant funding to fifteen organizations. Incubation Grants help organizations plan, research, develop, and prototype public humanities projects and events. Action Grants help organizations implement a wide array of humanities-based projects, including public programs, exhibitions, installations, tours, and discussion groups.
Public humanities programming allows individuals to engage in lifelong learning and share in the exploration of history, values, cultures, and beliefs. NJCH supports and acts as a resource for cultural and service-oriented nonprofit partners as they bring the public humanities to the residents of New Jersey, harnessing the power of the humanities to strengthen communities.
A corporate member asked for what other corporations do regarding employee’s goal and objectives. Do they include volunteerism or volunteer activities as part of an employee’s review, or their annual goals?