United Way of Greater Chattanooga’s Community Investments Grant (Georgia, Tennessee)

The United Way of Greater Chattanooga (UWGC) is seeking applications for its Community Investments Grant 2023-2024.

Donor Name: United Way of Greater Chattanooga

Grant Duration: 1 year

Details:

United Way of Greater Chattanooga’s (UWGC) mission is to unite people and resources in building a stronger, healthier community. They envision a community where all people achieve their full human potential through education, stability, and health & well-being. From the unique position at the center of the nonprofit, government, philanthropic, and business communities, UWGC drives focused collaboration among our partners to address community-specific avenues for everyone to engage in creating social change.

The purpose of UWGC’s Community Investments is to drive transformational change in their community by directing their limited resources towards data-driven efforts that deliver the highest return on investment as measured by education, stability, and health & well-being outcomes within the Steps to Success framework.

Two Funding Opportunities

• Impact Fund: Investing in local nonprofits through competitive grants for collaborative and transformational work to find solutions to systemic issues in their community.
• Catalyst Fund: Accelerating impact by investing in innovation and nonprofit capacity.

The Impact Fund supports programs and initiatives addressing solutions to systemic issues in their community measured by education, stability, and health & well-being outcomes within the Steps to Success framework. Applicants are required to have at least one cross-sector collaborative partnership with public, non-profit, and/or private stakeholders. Types of applications for Impact would include data-backed programs or initiatives with proven results; provide comprehensive and coordinated services; and high quality, data-centered and effective services that can be grown and accelerated.

The Catalyst Fund supports programs and initiatives looking to accelerate impact through Innovation or Capacity-Building. Catalyst Fund applications look to find innovative growth, emerging ideas, or creative solutions measured by education, stability, and health & well-being outcomes within the Steps to Success framework.

Types of Applications for Innovation:

• A new program or new aspects of an existing program
• Test a potential solution to a root cause issue or barrier to effectiveness in your work

Types of Applications for Capacity-Building:

• Investing in a nonprofit to bring it to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission and future sustainability of the organization.

Funding Information

• The Catalyst Fund provides the choice to select either applying for an Innovation or Capacity-Building grant (you may not apply for both), which are capped at $25,000.
• An organization may not split the requested amount between the Innovation and Capacity grants to total $25,000 – organizations may only select to apply to either grant for up to $25,000.

Project Period

Grants are awarded from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024, with no option for multiyear funding.

Geographical Area

Organizations are only allowed to apply once to each fund (Impact and Catalyst) for each respective geographical area. The three geographical areas are the following:

• Hamilton County
• Marion and/or Sequatchie County
• North Georgia Counties: Catoosa, Dade, and/or Walker

The Eligibility Quiz will include the following 

• The organization must meet the IRS standards for nonprofit status 501(c)(3), faith-based organization, or governmental entity. Please submit your 501(c)(3) letter.
• The applicant must supply the organization’s most recent IRS Form 990 or 990 EZ. Can the organization submit 990 or 990EZ upon request in the future (churches are exempt).
• The organization must be chartered prior to January 1, 2020 and have staff in the UWGC service region.
• The organization must provide services in one or more of the six-county service region: Hamilton, Marion, Sequatchie Counties in Tennessee or Walker, Dade, Catoosa Counties in Georgia.
• The organization must be able to supply the organization’s EIN/Tax ID#.
• UWGC conducts business through the internet and its website. Applicants must be able to send and receive email.
• UWGC makes its investment payments through EFT and will request appropriate banking information from organizations receiving funds. Grant recipients must be able to provide banking information.
• The organization must be committed and able to make measurable improvements for clients in one of the Steps to Success for which United Way will invest funds. Measurable improvements must align with published outcomes and indicators.
• The organization must be willing and able to enter into a provider Agreement with United Way of Greater Chattanooga regarding participation in the United Way campaign and the provision of services in compliance with United Way requirements – including submission of beneficiary reports of client demographics, program reports detailing outcomes achieved, and any supporting information, as requested by UWGC.

Organizations are not equipped to support the following proposals for funding:

• Capital Campaigns
• Endowments
• Individuals
• Membership dues
• Organizations that have a written policy of discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity or organizations that foster or encourage racial, religious, class, or other prejudices.
• Private schools, unless the majority of students represent low to moderate-income households or otherwise vulnerable children.
• Sponsorships or fundraising events

For more information, visit Community Investments.