DRAFT - Seed Grant Application - Community Heart and Soul

DRAFT-Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Application

"*" indicates required fields

1Applicant Info

2Community Info

3Additional Materials

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Applicant City/Town

Please enter the following information for the City/Town applying for the Seed Grant.

For application requirements please reference our Seed Grant Guidelines.

Town/City, State*

Town/City State

Describe the geographic scope of your proposed Community Heart & Soul project.*

Note: Geographic scope can be defined as 1) the borders of a specific town or city; or 2) an area encompassing a collection of school districts, municipalities, zip codes, or other identifiers. It might also include unincorporated areas that participate in the economic and social life of an incorporated area.

Population*

Enter a number for the estimated population included in the geographic scope intended for your Heart & Soul project. Grants are available to any eligible community (or group of communities) with a population under 30,000.

Applicant information

Please provide information for the lead organization applying for the Seed Grant. Lead organizations may be local governments, 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations considered a public charity by the IRS, or informal resident-led groups.

Lead Organization Name*

Contact Name*

Please enter the name of the lead contact within the organization.

First Last

Mailing Address*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Email*

Enter Email Confirm Email

Phone*

Description of lead organization*

What is the lead organization’s history in the community and what role does the organization play? Why is your organization best positioned to champion the Community Heart & Soul process in your town along with other partners?

Will the lead applicant also serve as the fiscal sponsor?*

Yes

A fiscal sponsor must be designated in order to receive the grant funds.

Fiscal Sponsor

Please provide information for the fiscal sponsor if it is an organization other than the lead applicant.

Organization

Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Contact Name

First Last

Mailing Address

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Phone

Community Narrative and Reflections on Getting Started exercises

The next set of questions is based on the Getting Started activities your community completed with the guidance of a Heart & Soul Coach. Refer to Getting Started With Community Heart & Soul: A Community Workbook to prepare your responses.

Describe your community*

Tell us about your community’s demographics, local assets, culture, etc. Who lives there? What contributes to your community’s unique history and culture?

Goals, Fit, and Timing for your community*

Describe what came out of your “Hopes for the Future” conversation. (See page 10 Getting Started Community Workbook.) What do you hope the Heart & Soul process will accomplish for your community? Why is now the right time to embark on this process together?

Do you intend to include more than one municipality in Community Heart & Soul?*

Yes

Describe the municipalities involved*

Tell us about the communities that will be involved, how the municipalities intend to collaborate, and the reasons you believe a multi-town effort makes sense for your community.

Please Note:All municipalities are expected to submit a letter of support.

Readiness to do Community Heart & Soul*

Reflect on your Readiness Inventory discussion and what you learned from it. (See pages 13-18 Getting Started Community Workbook) What 3 community conditions rose to the top as strengths that will help propel your Heart & Soul effort forward or opportunities that Heart & Soul can help address?

Who Lives, Works, and Plays in Your Community?*

Identifying who lives, works, and plays in your community during Getting Started prepares you to “Involve Everyone,” a key principle throughout all phases of the Heart & Soul process. Click here to access the Community Network Analysis fillable Excel worksheet. List all the formal and informal groups in your community (and connectors) that you’ve identified up to this point. (See pages 19-22 Getting Started Community Workbook.) Convert your Community Network Analysis Worksheet to pdf format in order to upload here.

Drop files here or

Accepted file types: doc, docx, pdf, Max. file size: 1 MB.

Reflection on your Community Network Analysis*

Your Community Network will grow over time as you discover and meet additional groups and people throughout the process. What did you learn from doing the Who Lives, Works, and Plays activity and putting together your initial Community Network Analysis? Describe how you will engage others to participate in this activity to further build out your network and reach hidden or missing voices.

Spreading the Word*

What is your preliminary plan for telling the community about the Heart & Soul project, why you are doing it, and inviting their participation? (See pages 23-27 Getting Started Community Workbook)

Project Coordination Part 1: Building the Core Team and Pool of volunteers*

The Heart & Soul process requires the formation of a Heart & Soul Core Team to steer the process throughout the 4 phases. This is a working group, not an advisory board. Tell us about the people and organizations involved in submitting this application and your plans to build a Heart & Soul team. What progress have you made in identifying Core Team members and a pool of volunteers with different skills, backgrounds, and community connections?

Project Coordination Part 2: Selecting a Project Coordinator*

The Project Coordinator plays a key role in the success of Heart & Soul. It is a part-time role (10-20 hours/week) that works hand-in-hand with the Core Team to facilitate the implementation of Heart & Soul in your community. This highly active role includes event and work planning; finding, managing, and supporting volunteers; and maintaining frequent communication with the Core Team. The project coordinator can be a passionate volunteer, a contracted position, or a current staff person of the municipality, lead organization, or another local organization. What options have you discussed for the project coordinator? How will you approach the selection process for a project coordinator? (See page 31 Getting Started Community Workbook.)

Financial Investment*

Selected communities must secure a documented cash match of at least $10,000 to support the early phases of project implementation. Describe all commitments you have secured towards this expectation so far and how you plan to raise funds to sustain the project throughout the process. For committed funds, list the organization or person(s) and amounts pledged. (See page 32 Getting Started Community Workbook.)

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about your application?*

You may use this space to describe key factors or circumstances that could have an impact on Community Heart & Soul in your community.