GRANT GUIDELINES

WHO CAN APPLY

Nonprofits, municipalities, community organizations or civic entities serving residents of northeast Dutchess County in Amenia, Clinton Corners, Dover Plains, Millbrook, Millerton, North East, Pine Plains, Stanford, Washington, Wassaic and Wingdale.

GRANT INFORMATION

NEDCorps, an initiative of the Northeast Dutchess Fund, seeks to reduce poverty by supporting educational attainment and increasing short- and long-term financial resiliency among individuals and families in northeast Dutchess County. This includes the region’s growing immigrant population for which there is a special emphasis on outreach and delivery.

NEDCorps offers a competitive grants program to nonprofits, municipalities, community organizations or civic entities serving residents in northeast Dutchess to develop new programs or expand services to the immigrant community living in these communities. The grants program will place emphasis on supporting collaborative projects and encouraging existing programs to expand into northeast Dutchess County. By incubating new programs and encouraging expansion of existing ones, we believe we can initiate a process of strengthening the nonprofit infrastructure serving immigrants. The grants may be used for any number of purposes that will serve the immigrant community in northeast Dutchess County.

ELIGIBILITY

Nonprofit organizations, public agencies or community organizations that currently provide services or intend to provide services to the immigrant residents of Amenia, Clinton Corners, Dover Plains, Millbrook, Millerton, North East, Pine Plains, Stanford, Washington, Wassaic and Wingdale are eligible to apply for grants. Requests will be considered for new program development and/or program expansion.

An organization may submit only one application per deadline. Projects that have received prior support from the Northeast Dutchess Fund may reapply. Applications for projects involving multiple organizations should be submitted by one lead organization and include letters of support from the partner organizations.

Letters of Support are strongly encouraged, yet not required, from community members or partners.

The Northeast Dutchess Fund does not support organizations which in their constitution, by-laws or practice, discriminate against a person or group on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief.

AWARDS

A total of $40,000 is available and individual grant awards will range up to $10,000. An assessment of the project’s outcomes will be required once the program or service funded is completed and before any applications are submitted to the Northeast Dutchess Fund for further funding.

REVIEW CRITERIA

Applications will be reviewed by the Northeast Dutchess Fund Committee. This committee is comprised of residents of northeast Dutchess who are active in community affairs. The selected recommendations will be reviewed by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Quality: How worthy is the program? Is it the right time for this project? Does it involve qualified individuals or organizations? Is it well conceived? Does it fit well with other related activities and priorities? Is it cost effective?

Extent of Impact: What is the potential impact of the program or service on the immigrant community? Does it engage the community? Does it address an unmet need in the community? Is it a critical program or initiative at this time?

Feasibility: Can the applicant complete the program? Does the organization or individual exhibit a demonstrated capacity to initiate and successfully execute similar programs? Are the appropriate staff members or volunteers involved? Is the staff/group capable and stable enough to perform the tasks necessary to complete the proposed program?