Community Foundation opens grant opportunity for projects or programs that align with the Heading Home plan

Interested organizations are encouraged to submit letters of intent by March 21

​The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County has opened its Community Impact Funding Initiative, CFBMC’s second competitive grant cycle for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. This funding round will focus on advancing housing security through projects and programs aligned with solutions outlined in the Heading Home Plan, A Regional Plan for Making Homelessness Rare, Brief, and Non-Repeating. CFBMC expects to award 8-10 grants with funding amounts ranging from $10,000-$50,000 per proposal.
 
In 2021, CFBMC and the United Way of Monroe County, with support from the South Central Housing Network, City of Bloomington, Monroe County Government, and the townships of Perry and Bloomington, convened a working group for the explicit purpose of addressing housing insecurity in Monroe County. Using the 2014 Heading Home document, the working group’s goal was to update the county’s plan for ending homelessness by creating a more comprehensive approach for driving community-wide solutions to the depth and breadth of underlying challenges that result in housing insecurity.
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The updated Heading Home Plan was developed collaboratively by local and regional partners, including service providers, government officials, community members, funders, and people with lived experience. Released in July 2021, this plan is serving as a community guide to support long-term initiatives with strategies to address the many contributing factors to housing insecurity, ranging from financial and legal challenges to emotional, physical, and mental health-related matters. The plan also speaks to system-level issues related to access to a variety of housing types.

Impact Grant Eligibility and Timeline
 
Local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and tax-exempt entities are eligible to apply. This includes nonprofits, units of government, school corporations and educational institutions, and religious organizations. Grants may be awarded to religious organizations for programs that are non-proselytizing and do not promote religious doctrine or instruction. In limited situations, CFMBC may be able to grant to other types of organizations that are serving a charitable purpose but do not have a 501(c)(3) status.
 
Direct costs for implementing the project or program are eligible grant expenses. In addition, no more than 30% of the requested grant funding may be used for indirect costs that contribute to the organization’s ability to implement the grant project or for building and/or sustaining operational capacity for the duration of the grant period. Examples of indirect operating expenses related to the project may include areas such as internal operations such as IT upgrades, financial management tools, administrative costs, essential staffing, and core program costs.
 
The Community Impact Funding Initiative uses a two-part grant proposal process. Interested agencies should submit a two-page (maximum) letter of intent to the Community Foundation by March 21, 2022. View specific instructions for letters of intent.
 
Following a review of the letters of intent, selected organizations will be invited to submit full grant applications online, which will be due April 22. The 2022 Community Impact Grants will be announced May 27.
 
Guidelines, instructions, and frequently asked questions for the grant initiative are available online at https://www.cfbmc.org/lasting-impact/apply-for-a-grant/community-impact-grants/. For more information on eligibility and application procedures, contact CFBMC Program Director Marcus Whited at (812) 333-9016 or marcus@cfbmc.org.
 
For more information on other efforts to reduce homelessness in our region, visit: https://www.monroeunitedway.org/housing
 
Other CFBMC Grant Programs
 
CFBMC’s Impact Funding Initiative is the second of two competitive funding rounds planned for its 2021-2022 fiscal year. In December, the Foundation awarded $154,000 to nine organizations as part of its Creating Community Grant initiative. Read more about this announcement.
 
CFBMC’s next competitive grant round will be announced this summer. It is anticipated that this round will be positioned to support a broad range of community needs and compelling opportunities rather than focus on any one specific area or initiative. This plan may change if circumstances make it prudent or necessary.  Stay tuned for updates.