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Grants are awarded by Fund Advisors, by the affiliate board’s decision, or through a competitive grant cycle, meaning you invite organizations to apply by a certain date and applications are scored by a Selection Committee.
- At the end of each calendar year CKCF sends “Spendable Balance” letters to all Fund Advisors with information about grant money available in the next calendar year from their funds, including scholarships. It’s best practice to engage Fund Advisors, thank them for their gifts and check in, as appropriate, about their plans for distribution from their funds.
- Affiliate Advisory Boards are Fund Advisors on some of the component funds such as your Impact and Operating Funds. The board may recommend grant awards from these funds. A Discretionary Grant application is available from our Program Officer for Grants. Click here for contact information.
- If your affiliate is hosting a Grant Cycle in collaboration with our Program Officer for grants you’ll begin planning approximately 10 weeks before your grant cycle opens. Please review the Grant Cycle Timeline to plan for the cycle. Find Grant Cycles dates and additional information here: https://centralkansascf.org/non-profit-organizations/grant-list/
- Scholarships are a type of grant award. These are coordinated by our Program Officer for Scholarships. Follow this link for additional information about scholarships: https://centralkansascf.org/non-profit-organizations/scholarships/
We encourage you to promote Grant and Scholarship cycles in your community:
- By writing news releases and posting information on social media.
- For Competitive Grant Cycles, by reaching out to nonprofit organizations in your community to inform them of grant opportunities. The CKCF Grants Officer will also circulate the information to charities, but this is a good opportunity for affiliate board members and staff to build relationships with the charities in your community. Find a list of your local charities here: Tax Exempt Organization Search | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
- For Scholarships, by connecting with the school counselors in your District to let them know of available scholarships. The CKCF Scholarships Officer will also be reaching out to the school counselor but re-enforcing the connection to the local foundation is always encouraged.
Where to source grant from your funds?
- Some CKCF affiliate foundations have only five funds while others have over 40! Several types of funds generate grants and it’s helpful to know about common types of funds and how they work. As a board member, familiarize yourself with each of the specific funds under your affiliate, and the donors and/or fund representatives for each fund. Your Community Impact fund is a good place to start. CKCF staff can help unpack this information, don’t hesitate to ask if you for clarification. For a deeper dive, Click here to find Fund Descriptions
- Each affiliate has at least two funds under the authority of the Affiliate Board, the endowed Community Impact Fund and the expendable Operating Fund. Your board has control of these assets, meaning that the board may either determine discretionary grants or oversee a Competitive Grant Cycle. Total grant awards should be over $3,000 for utilizing the
Competitive Grant Cycle through CKCF and our Grants Officer. Our Program Officers can help! Click here for contact information.
HELPFUL TIP
Each of your component funds has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Your board leadership or CKCF staff can provide these for your review. Reading an MOU will give you a good understanding of a fund’s purpose, its donor(s), grant making instructions and restrictions, as well as its date of inception.
