Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Grants

Giving Sum Grant Applications

Annually, Giving Sum awards a $50,000 grant to a not-for-profit organization serving central Indiana. Applications are due by 5:00PM, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Please review the 2013 Grant Guidelines and submission instructions carefully. Grant application guidelines are available below.

2013 Grant Process Timeline

  • Applications Available – Wednesday, March 6, 2013
  • Grants Information Sessions - March 19 & 27, 2013
  • Applications Due – Thursday, May 30, 2013, 5PM
  • Grant Application Eligibility Screening – Saturday, June 1, 2013
  • First Round Member Voting – June 28-July 12, 2013
  • Site Visit Notification – August 13-15, 2013
  • Site Visits – August 19-30, 2013
  • Vote on Semi Finalists – September 3-13, 2013
  • Top 3 Finalists Announced – September 17, 2013
  • Top 3 Finalist Presentation & Announcement Celebration – November 2013 (Date TBA)

Information Sessions

All grant applicants – whether a first-time applicant, or a previous Giving Sum applicant – are strongly encouraged to attend one of the two grant information sessions. While attendance at an information session is not mandatory, Giving Sum is committed to helping each organization submit the best possible application. Grant information sessions are:

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 6-7pm Central Indiana Community Foundation, 1405 E Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220

Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 3-4pm Central Indiana Community Foundation, 615 N Alabama St, Indianapolis, IN 46204

Request for Support Overview

Giving Sum grants 100% of each year's membership contributions to a not-for-profit organization in Indianapolis working towards change, innovation, and community good. Members commit to combining personal resources with other members' resources in order to create greater social impact. The three components of the Giving Sum equation that members offer to the community are:

  • Time: Members can serve as high-impact volunteers.
  • Voice: Members can use their collective voice to advocate for a cause or mission.
  • Money: Each member contributes $500 toward a pooled grant fund that is distributed annually.

Eligible not-for-profit organizations may submit one application to request a grant of $50,000 (Money), volunteer hours (Time), and advocacy efforts (Voice) from Giving Sum to support general operations or special projects in one of Giving Sum's Focus Areas. Preference will be given to applications that meaningfully and creatively engage Giving Sum members in innovative, high-impact initiatives.

Giving Sum will also award the second-place organization a grant up to $12,500 for general operating support. This amount is contingent upon the number of Giving Sum members at the time of the award. All applicants are required to follow the same application process, and Giving Sum members determine the first and second place recipients. The second place recipient will not have guaranteed access to Giving Sum volunteers.

Focus Areas

In 2013, Giving Sum chose three new focus areas that are relevant to central Indiana and to our members. Giving Sum will focus on THREE critical focus areas selected by our members.  Any nonprofit that meets our eligibility requirements and whose mission, program or services addresses one of the three focus areas listed below is eligible to apply. Giving Sum encourages creative approaches to addressing these issues and welcomes applications from diverse disciplines.

For 2013, Giving Sum members voted to focus on the following issues:

  1. Community Development
  2. Children/Youth
  3. Arts & Culture

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for support from Giving Sum, applicants must meet and adhere to the following criteria:
  • Organizations must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity under sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(l), (2), or (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and provide a copy of their determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Organizations or the proposed project must serve audiences within the greater Indianapolis area, including the counties of: Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan and Shelby.
  • Applicants must request one $50,000 grant (money), Giving Sum members' volunteer efforts (time) and advocacy (voice). Requests for any amount other than $50,000 will not be considered; requests that do not include Giving Sum members' time and voice will not be considered.
  • Giving Sum will accept only one application per organization per year.
  • All deadlines described herein are absolute. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed.
  • Formatting guidelines must be strictly followed. Applications that deviate from the formatting requirements will not be reviewed.

Administrative Requirements

The grant may be used only for the purposes described in the organization's request for support to Giving Sum. Furthermore, the awardee organization may not use any Giving Sum grant funds to lobby or otherwise attempt to influence legislation, to influence the outcome of any public election, or to carry on any voter registration drive. The organization selected to receive a grant will be required to provide to Giving Sum an Annual Report at the end of the grant term summarizing project progress and how Giving Sum resources were utilized.

Questions?

All questions regarding Giving Sum and the application process may be sent to Giving Sum at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Giving Sum members are not able to discuss your project prior to submission. Please visit the "Grants" section of the web site for a list of FAQs and information about our past grant recipients. Please do not wait until the final week of submission for questions. Giving Sum is an all-volunteer organization and may not be able to answer your questions due to the high volume of applicants.

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