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: see the guidelines for suggested word counts.
Attachments Required:
1. Board List. Include members’ organizations/affiliation on the list of board members.
2. Organization Budget. Submit your current organization budget.
3. Project Budget. Submit a budget for the project you are requesting funding for in your proposal.
4. Most recent fiscal year audit or financial review. If you do not have an audit or review, please send your yearend financial statements.
5. 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:
Proposal Format
A. Organization background (250 words) Describe your organization including history, mission, goals and who you serve. Note: You do not need to describe programs here as that will be accomplished in the next section.
B. Program Description (600 words) Describe the program for which you seek funding – what you plan to do, your timeframe, how volunteers, staff, partners, and the community will contribute to the project, and who will be impacted. Provide a brief description outlining the recent accomplishments of your organization. Highlight activities/projects funded by the previous VLF grants.
1. If applying for general operating support, briefly describe what this grant will support and how it contributes to your organization’s overall mission.
2. If your request is for a specific project, please explain the project including: its primary purpose, population served, strategies to implement the project and anticipated length of the project. While VLF grants are for 1 year, requesting funds to continue a previously funded project is welcome.
C. Goals, Objectives, & Outcomes (250 words)
Provide goals (1-2), outcomes, activities, and impacts for your funding request.
Example:
Goal: Increase the number of tutors for our programs to 200, an increase of 10%
Outcome: More tutors will be available to support students so we can increase the number of students served.
Activities: We are increasing outreach to local colleges, retirement communities, retired teachers, and book clubs to reach individuals committed to education and literacy. Outreach includes in-person events, ads in organization newsletters, developing new brochures and increasing our social media presences as outlined in the Program section of this grant.
Impact: Students working with tutors will make progress on/achieve their goals increasing their self-esteem and commitment to continued improvement.
D. Use of Funds (500 words))
Please describe how grant funds will be used and the timeframe for spending the funds. This narrative should align with the budget you submit for this project.
Submission and Due Date
- Review the grant guidelines and make sure you have complied with all of the grants requirements and have included required attachments.
- Faxed or emailed grants will NOT be accepted.
- Grant proposals must be submitted by the due date listed.
If you have any questions about completing an application, please contact:
Rita Layne
Phone: (804) 237-8909
Email: vlilv@earthlink.net
