TPC Letter of Intent Application 2019-20

Thank you for considering a grant from The Philanthropy Connection (TPC) by submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) application, the first step in applying for a grant. Please adhere to the following steps in order that we may give your application full consideration.
   
Step 1. Determine eligibility
All applicants must:
1. Have either 501(c)(3) tax status OR a Fiscal Sponsor & a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement letter:

• In the case of local organizations/affiliates with a larger parent organization, the local organization/affiliate must have its own 501(c)(3) status.

2. Meet Revenue Eligibility Criteria:

• 501 (c) (3) organizations must have annual revenue between $200,000 and $2 million, as reported on the Total Revenue line 12 of its most recent IRS Form 990
• Organizations with fiscal sponsors must have annual revenue between $200,000 and $2 million certified in a letter from its Fiscal Sponsor, including only that which would be reported on the Total Revenue line 12 of IRS Form 990
• Organizations must be in solid financial standing and have filed requisite Massachusetts Form PC and IRS 990 filings. TPC typically does not fund organizations with significant year over year operating losses or less than 3 months of cash reserves to cover operations.

3. Meet Geographic Eligibility Criteria:
- An eligible applicant must be located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, or for national organizations, have a site within this area, defined largely as towns falling within the I-495 loop, plus:

• Amesbury, Haverhill, Methuen, Lawrence, Lowell
• Maynard, Hudson, Marlborough, Milford, Franklin
• Massachusetts towns north of the intersection of I-495 and Rt. 25

4. Meet Mission Eligibility Criteria:
- An applicant must address in its mission one or more of the following:

• Poverty
• Income inequality
• Employment opportunity and readiness
• Educational opportunity and readiness
• Health and wellness
• Social bias (e.g., gender, ethnic, and/or racial)

Step 2. Submit a funding request for one of these areas:
- Operations and general support
- Programming (existing, new, or expanded)
- Tangible goods to advance a program (e.g., a van, cameras, computers)
- Infrastructure-building resources including, but not limited to, those for:

• Evaluation: developing methods to collect, analyze, and use information to assess efficacy of projects, policies, or programs;
• Organizational development: creating or enhancing approaches to solicit and gather contributions, identify donors, and other organizational development needs;
• Planning: strategic, financial, or marketing planning;
• Communications: marketing and public relations, social and/or traditional media, and website design; and,
• Board of Directors: strengthening the Board’s ability to lead, manage, and/or monitor the organization.

Step 3. Review disqualifying criteria:
- Applications will not be accepted from the following types of organizations:

• Political, international, or 501(c)(4) advocacy organizations
• Organizations that provide any religious programming, instruction, or proselytizing on behalf of a particular religion
• Family foundations
• Local organizations or affiliates of a larger parent organization that lack their own independent 501(c)(3) status
• “Pass through” or conduit organizations
• Funding requests for capital campaigns will also not be accepted

In fairness to all applicants, no exceptions will be made.


Step 4. If you have determined eligibility according to the above three steps, please bear in mind these key dates:
December 9, 2019: Letter of Intent application is due by 5:00 pm EST.
January 27, 2020: Applicants are notified if they have advanced to the Full Proposal stage

Click here to preview the online application and our full 2019-20 Grant Guidelines. Any questions, please email connect@thephilanthropyconnection.org.