Grant Guidelines

PREAMBLE:

As founders, Benson and Barbara Frost created Frost Memorial Fund, Inc., for the long-term support of charitable organizations in Rhinebeck. The Board of Directors has set policies designed to meet the founder’s goals. The Board intends to support both well-established and new charities, so long as the purposes, operations and projects of those charities are in accordance with what it believes the founders would approve. The Board gives special weight to the Frosts’ action in creating the Fund as a permanent endowment, rather than simply making bequests in their wills to a group of named charities in Rhinebeck. So it is not only the present, but future, needs of Rhinebeck’s charitable organizations, and the community they serve, that the Board must keep in mind in setting out grant guidelines.

GRANTS FOR ANNUAL SUPPORT AND FOR NEW PROJECTS:

  • A. Annual support grants: FMF supports charities in the Village and Town of Rhinebeck, through limited annual cash support grants. In making an annual grant to a Rhinebeck charity, the Fund’s directors do not intend to create a precedent on which a charity can expect to rely in future years.
  • B. New project grants: Proposals for grants for new projects (for example, sponsorship of lectures, concerts, plays, and other cultural programs or contribution to building of new facilities, etc.) will need to meet the following guidelines.

General Policy Concerning Project Proposals: Please make written proposals for support of new projects. Your letter or memorandum should concisely describe the project, its purpose, its likely impact, and the amount being requested. You should also briefly describe the project, the overall budget and other prospective sources of support, if any. The Fund’s directors will attempt to review your proposal at one of their semiannual meetings. With this in mind, they expect that proposals to be considered at the Spring meeting in May will be received no later than March 31, and proposals to be considered at our Fall meeting in November will be received no later than September 30.

In connection with sources of support for a project, FMF may wish to work with Rhinebeck charitable institutions on a matching grant basis, to encourage civic participation. The directors, therefore, will be interested in whether your organization can raise funds to support the proposed project.

Format for Proposals:

Your proposal should include the following information and supporting documents.

  • 1. A brief summary of the project.
  • 2. The project’s goals and a strategy or action plan for achieving those goals. Detailed and pragmatic notes on strategy and implementation are preferred rather than those that focus primarily on the need for support.
  • 3. A project timeline. (See NOTE below.)
  • 4. The expected results and impact of the project.
  • 5. A description of how the project’s success will be determined.
  • 6. A history of your organization, including its mission and goals.
  • 7. Project and organization line item budget(s).
  • 8. A list of other sources of actual and potential financial support for the project and a brief description of plans to secure additional funding, including support for ongoing overhead.
  • 9. Most recent organizational financial statement.
  • 10. IRS letter certifying tax exempt status.
  • 11. Current Annual Report.
  • 12. List of Board of Directors and Officers, as well as compensation of directors, officers and key employees.

Note:

Grant proposals should only be made for projects that can be completed within one (1) year of the award, or they must be reapplied for the following year. The applicant organization will need to address and answer the lettered questions below on the Grant Application page and agree to the conditions set forth in paragraph E, below.

Grant proposals should include an expected time of completion. Be aware that the Fund’s directors will not provide grants to grantee organization until the Fund receives adequate notice that the project or portion thereof for which the grant is applied has been completed.

  • A. Will the project for which you are applying be completed within one (1) year from the time the grant is awarded?
  • B. What is the expected date of completion for the project?
  • C. The charitable organization is aware that it will be required to provide invoices before grant payments are made?
  • D. If a project is large and will be done in stages or encompass more than one (1) year from the award of the grant, organization understands that we may disburse funds in portions that will be set up according to the timeline for the stages to be completed.
  • E. We understand that grant money may be withheld and the current grant may be cancelled if the above criteria are not met.

Proposal Deadlines:

Deadlines for full proposals will be March 31 for May meeting and September 30 for November meeting. FMF makes funding decisions twice a year only

Submit Proposals

Email, preferred: info@FrostMemorialFund.org
Mail: Frost Memorial Fund, Inc., PO Box 808, Rhinebeck, NY 12572

Limitations on Grants:

FMF contributes to charitable tax exempt organizations in Rhinebeck, NY. It does not support individuals, for-profit organizations, or candidates for political office.