Grant Application Guidelines

Anyone interested in applying for a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is strongly encouraged to read these guidelines before attempting to submit an application.

INTRODUCTION
The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is a private, general purpose foundation with the mission of improving the quality of life of the people of North Carolina. The Foundation has established a vision it hopes will make North Carolina a better place to live, work and play. This vision is:

• To promote social, economic and environmental justice.
• To strengthen democracy, through an educated and informed populace.
• To encourage innovation and excellence in a dynamic non-profit sector.
• To support progressive public policy and social change.
• To foster cooperation and respect among all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.
• To build strong, vibrant, economically sound, and peaceful communities.

In order to accomplish its vision the Foundation engages in both proactive and reactive grantmaking. In addition, the Foundation initiates special projects, commissions applied research, and convenes experts and stakeholders to address specific concerns.

The Foundation is restricted to making grants to charitable, tax-exempt, section 501(c)(3) organizations and government entities for programs and projects that serve the people of North Carolina. No grants are made to individuals for any purpose. Out-of-state charitable organizations are eligible to apply for funds to support projects operating in North Carolina.

The Foundation does not pay indirect or overhead expenses for projects at colleges, universities, public schools, or government entities. In addition, there are specific types of programs and institutions or uses of funds that the Foundation does not support even though they may be directly related to the identified focus areas of the Foundation. For a complete listing of these items, please see our list of recipients, programs, and uses to which the Foundation does not make grants.

FOUNDATION STRATEGIES

The Foundation is interested in supporting two particular kinds of organizations or projects through its grantmaking. First, the Foundation desires to support organizations, programs and projects that accomplish progressive policy change and/or systemic reform, especially those that have multi-county or statewide impact. By strategically focusing on efforts to affect policies, the Foundation believes the investments it makes can have a broader and deeper impact on the lives of the largest number of North Carolinians. Second, the Foundation desires to support innovative, community-based projects within the Foundation’s focus areas, with an emphasis on reaching low-resource and/or rural regions in the state.

The Foundation’s grantmaking policies reflect the belief that organizational performance is greatly enhanced when people with different backgrounds and perspectives are engaged in an organization’s activities and decision-making process. Thus, the Foundation actively seeks to promote access, equity and inclusiveness, and to discourage discrimination based on race, creed, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other factors that deny the essential humanity of all people. This principle is a lens through which all of the work of the Foundation is viewed. The Foundation reserves the right to decline proposals from organizations the board and staff of which do not reflect the diversity of the community in which they work.

FOCUS AREAS

To accomplish its purpose and goals, the Foundation currently gives special attention to certain areas of focus:

• Community Economic Development
• Democracy and Civic Engagement
• Environment
• Pre-Collegiate Education
• Social Justice and Equity

While the listed areas of focus are of highest priority for its grantmaking, the Foundation also desires to serve as a catalyst for new practices and ideas and to respond to challenges or opportunities that are unique to North Carolina. In addition to funding projects that achieve the goals of each area of focus, the Foundation is interested in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations (and in promoting organizational development). Finally, the Foundation reserves the right to remain flexible in its grantsmaking policies.

TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES

To accomplish its goals, the Foundation supports the use of a variety of tools and methodologies that it believes increases success in obtaining positive change in North Carolina. These include:

• Advocacy
• Applied Research
• Communications
• Convening
• Data Networking
• Education
• Knowledge and Information Sharing
• Organizing
• Outreach
• Technology
• Legal Work

In seeking grant funds from the Foundation, organizations are encouraged to understand and explain how these tools and methodologies are used to achieve the results being sought.

SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS

There is only one method to submit a completed application. The Foundation only accepts proposals through its online application system. The Foundation will not accept proposals by mail, facsimile, or email. If you do not have access to the internet you should try and locate a place in your community where you can use a computer to access the internet. High-speed access is strongly recommended. For assistance in finding such a location please click here. Please contact the Foundation if your organization still cannot locate a computer equipped as indicated; staff will provide you with an alternative method of submitting your application. Please access our Frequently Asked Questions before contacting the Foundation with specific questions.

DEADLINES

The Foundation operates two grant cycles per year and its Board of Trustees meets in late May (deadline February 1) and late November (deadline August 1) to consider grant applications. When February 1 or August 1 falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be the deadline. The Foundation requires that all proposals for funding be submitted using its online application system. Please visit the Foundation’s Web page at www.zsr.org for access to the online application system.

To be considered for a grant an organization must submit an application through the Foundation’s online grant submission system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the deadline date. Late proposals will be considered in the next funding cycle.

Applications and the online submission system are accessible through the Foundation web site’s IGAM grant application module.

APPLICATION

To apply for a general operating or project grant, the applicant must complete the online application form appropriate to the type of grant request. There are two applications from which to choose:

1. General Operating Grant Request. 
2. Project Grant Request.

The applications are tailored for each situation and an applicant will be required to select the appropriate application before beginning the online submission process.

Each question will state the number of available lines after the question in parenthesis. Hopefully, this will help you plan your responses. The text box for each question, however, will not cut your response off when you have reached your limit. Please count your lines to be sure they meet the Foundation’s length restrictions. If you need more room, please attempt to condense or re-state your answer. The online application system will not alert users when you have exceeded the number of lines allotted to answer each question.  But, the text boxes where you type your answers on the online application are sized to fit the number of lines allotted for each question. If you cannot see all of the text that you have entered into the text box at one time and have to scroll down, then you have entered too many lines. Any text longer than the number of lines requested will not be seen by the Foundation’s staff and Trustees. The final question on the application, however, is designed to allow you to tell us whatever you did not have the opportunity to state previously.

Please consider the following question before proceeding on to the application form; this question will help you to determine which version of the application is most appropriate for your request.

• Is your request for funds from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for General Operations (unrestricted funds used for your organization’s overall budget) or for Project Support (funds earmarked for a particular activity or project within your organization)?

All questions must be answered in the space provided. Beside of each question the number of lines allowed for the answer to that question appears in parenthesis.

To use the online application submission system effectively you should have a computer with high-speed access to the Internet, Internet Explorer version 5.5 SP2 or higher, Netscape version 6.2.2 or higher, Netscape Communicator version 4.76 or higher, Internet Explorer version 5.1.4 or higher for Mac OSX, and cookies. If you do not have access to a computer equipped in this way you should try and locate a place in your community where you can use a computer equipped as indicated. High-speed access is strongly recommended. For assistance in finding such a location please click here. Please contact the Foundation if your organization still cannot locate a computer equipped as indicated; staff will provide you with an alternative method of submitting your application.

APPLICATION ATTACHMENTS

In addition to completing the online application, each applicant must attach the following documents to the online application for submission at the same time as the application:

Budget Documents

In addition to answering all appropriate questions regarding project and organizational financial information, please submit the following:

a. Prior fiscal year’s financial statements (whether audited or management-prepared), including a statement of income and expenses and a balance sheet;*
b. Most recent audited financial statement if one has been prepared and include a copy of any management letters that the auditor prepared (this item may be submitted by mail within 5 days after the application deadline);
c. Prior fiscal year’s budget showing a comparison of actual income to expenses;*
d. Approved budget for current fiscal year including year-to-date actuals for revenue and expenses; and
e. Next fiscal year’s projected budget. For multi-year requests, please include projected budgets for the entire period for which funds are requested.

* Note: Information requested in the first and third items may be combined into one document.

If you are a college/university or governmental unit, please provide information relevant to your department, program, or governmental unit in whatever form it now exists.

Tax-exempt Status
A copy of the petitioning organization's federal tax-exempt certification under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, including a determination as to the organization's status as a publicly-supported organization. Governmental units need not submit these documents. The Foundation will not make pass-through grants from one organization to another.

If you are unable to attach any required documents to your on-line submission, they must be mailed to the Foundation and postmarked by the application deadline.


REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Foundation requires certain written reports in connection with each grant it makes. If the organization applying for a grant has received a grant or grants from the Foundation in the past, all reporting requirements must be met in order for the current application to be considered.

Please examine our List of recipients, programs, and uses to which the Foundation does not make grants before applying.

HELPFUL HINTS FOR MICROSOFT USERS

The online application system will not alert users when you have exceeded the number of lines allotted to answer each question. But, the text boxes where you type your answers on the online application are sized to fit the number of lines allotted for each question. If you cannot see all of the text that you have entered into the text box at one time and have to scroll down, then you have entered too many lines. Any extra lines will not be considered as part of the application.

In some cases, the Foundation's e-mail addresses might be rejected as spam. If your settings do not allow the Foundation's e-mails to be received, please add both barbaram@zsr.org and info@zsr.org to your list of allowed contacts.