Guidelines and General Information

The Foundation makes grants to federally tax-qualified, public charities serving sick and poor residents of the Greater Boston community and the cities of Brockton and Lawrence.  Preference is given to organizations devoted to helping:

• the homeless and under-housed,
• people in need,
• children,
• elders,
• people with disabilities,
• new immigrant populations, and
• low-income communities and neighborhoods. 

Consideration is also given to emergency disaster situations, worldwide.

Grants are awarded to organizations in each of the Foundation’s priority areas.  In addition to providing the roster of priority areas, we have also included examples of some of the interest areas supported by the Foundation in each priority area last year:

Children and Young People

• Out of school time tutoring and mentoring
• College prep
• Violence prevention education
• Charter schools
• Sports and fitness education
• Environmental education
• Arts education

Community Affairs

• Literacy / English as a Second Language
• Adult education
• Health
• Arts & culture
• Safety
• Athletics, physical fitness/health activities
• Programs serving the formerly or currently incarcerated

Food and Shelter

• Food pantries
• Community farms
• Homelessness prevention
• Affordable housing services
• Day shelters
• Emergency access to food and shelter

Aid to Persons with Disabilities

• Adult day centers
• Physical education access
• Elder services
• Workforce preparedness training
• Integrated youth programs
• Health literacy programs

Emergency and Disaster Relief

• Pakistan Flood Emergency
• Haitian Earthquake Relief

The majority of the Foundation’s grants are awarded to applicant organizations with annual operating budgets of less than $3,000,000.

To review the complete list of grants provided by the Foundation in 2010, please click here.

How are Applications Evaluated?

Grants applicants must meet our funding priority and geographic requirements and are also evaluated based upon a number of criteria, including:

• Impact of services
• Population and scale of clients served
• Program design
• Financial need
• Leadership
• Demonstrated track record of success

Grant awards to returning grantees are also contingent on the timely submission of the reporting required by the Foundation on prior grants.

What Size/Type of Grants are Awarded?

The Foundation typically awards individual grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, with most grants being between $5,000 to $10,000.  Most grants are targeted to support program or general operating expenses.  The Foundation also supports requests for capital where funding is used for specified capital improvements, vehicle purchase, etc.

How Often Can I Apply?

Applicants may request funding once in any 12-month period.  Grants are generally awarded as single-year grants, but recipients may re-apply in subsequent years to receive up to three-continuous years of funding.  After three continuous years of funding, organizations are required to take a year off from funding and are eligible to re-apply for grant support after the off year has elapsed.

Applications may be submitted at any time and the receipt of all funding requests will be acknowledged.  All applicants will be notified of a final grant decision, regardless of the decision.

Can Programs Operating under a Fiscal Agent Apply for a Grant?

Programs operating under a fiscal agent may, by pre-approval only, apply for grant support.  Grant requests coming through fiscal agents which have received grants within twelve months must be able to clearly distinguish their application as truly independent from prior applications.  Programs applying through a fiscal agent are encouraged to contact us by phone to discuss these opportunities.  These applicants must include in their applications complete financial information for:

• The fiscal agent
• The proposed project and applicant organization, and
• The financial cost of fiscal sponsorship, if any, and the specific services provided by the fiscal agent for this fee

As with all prior grantees, fiscal agents sponsoring multiple grants with the Foundation must satisfy the Foundation’s reporting requirements for all prior grants prior to being considered for further grant support.

What Types of Grant Applications Will Not Be Considered?

In general, grants will not be made for the support of:

• School-hours youth programs conducted during school-year
• Individual summer programs independent of Summer Fund collaborative

 *With the exception of summer programs serving Brockton youth

• Individual CDC-sponsored low income housing development initiatives (the Foundation typically provides CDC support through grants to LISC)
• Legal Services,
• Programs whose central focus is advocacy,
• Religion,
• Hospitals,
• Higher Education,
• Research,
• Scholarships,
• Fellowships,
• Student loans or travel;
• Writing or publishing of books or articles;
• Campaigns for endowment funds;
• Production of mass media; or
• Expenses related to conferences or conventions.

How to Apply

Please Note: All applications must be submitted on-line.

Submitting an Application

Please review instructions thoroughly before starting your application.  In particular please review carefully the Foundation’s Application Requirements, as incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Click the link below, but don’t forget the access code “clipper” after you register. 
  Submit a proposal by going to the online grant application page:  www.grantinterface.com/gma/Common/LogOn.aspx
  
• Register.  Prior to submitting a proposal through the foundation’s online grants system, applicants must complete a one-time registration.  Previously registered applicants may simply log-in.
  

You will need to supply your contact information and create a password to log in to the system. The Foundation prefers that the Executive Director register as the main contact. Be sure to save your password where you can find it again because you will need it to work on proposal drafts and check the status of your proposal.

• If you are a grant writer, please register using the name and email address of the primary contact at the organization which is applying. If you use your own information, the organization information will be linked to your email address, which will cause a problem if you then try to fill out an application for another client or if you move on and the organization wishes to re-apply or submit a report.
• Start New Application.  Once you are in the system, click Apply on the top left side of your screen.
• The link to begin the application will not appear until you enter the Access Code
• Enter Access Code.  Enter the code: clipper (all lowercase) in the Access Code box on the middle left side of your screen.
• Click Link to Open Form.  Click the link to the Clipper Ship Foundation to open the Proposal Form. Click on Print Question Legend above your name to get a list of the proposal questions.
• Draft Application.  Complete your on-line application. Save frequently. If you want to leave your application before it is complete, click on Save as Draft at the bottom of the screen. You can come back later and continue your application by signing in with your password and continuing to work on the application.
• Please Note: When you click Save as Draft, a page will come up confirming that your changes have saved and a Continue button appears. If this does not happen, there is likely an error message somewhere on your screen. If you do not correct the error before proceeding, your changes will be lost. Be sure to correct any errors and then click Save as Draft again.
• Click Submit Button When Complete.   Your application must be submitted when you are done in order to remove it from draft status. After clicking Submit, a new screen will appear confirming receipt of your application.

 Application Requirements

All online applications must submit the following as exhibits:

• Personal resumes of the principal administrator or administrators of the subject project or program. 
• An organization-wide budget as well as a project/program budget, if applying for project/program support. The Foundation requires the use of the AGM Budget Template. This template is available for download within the application. Budgets must include the following:

• time period covered by the budget; 
• revenue, categorized by anticipated sources: e.g., grants, contracts, fees for services, fundraising event, annual solicitations, interest, endowment income and in-kind support; 
• expenses: providing a line item expense budget, with narrative footnotes for those items which need further explanation.

• A list of the other sources of support. Please include committed and pending requests, and indicate source, amount and status.
• Current board membership with relevant background, affiliations and places of residence. 
• Audited financial statements for the two most recently completed fiscal years (if your organization is required to conduct such audits) or the Applicant's IRS Form 990 returns for the two most recently completed tax years.

If the last fiscal year ended four months or more before the application deadline, that fiscal year's audit or Form 990 MUST be included or no action will be taken on your application.  If you cannot meet this requirement, please wait to apply until the next quarterly round or such later time as you have that audit or Form 990.

In order to confirm that you are able to supply the required financials, please reference the table below.

Please note that we cannot accept DRAFT financials.

Tips for Using the System

• Can’t find the application form?  If you don’t see the application form, you probably did not enter the access code in the field on the left side of your screen after you registered and logged in.
• Make a PDF of your proposal.  You should print out a copy of the proposal using the Print Packet function.  Review your proposal draft before clicking Submit.
• Uploading?   Keep in mind that the upload fields only accept one document.  If you upload the wrong document, simply browse and upload the right one to overwrite the incorrect upload.  You will know that the upload worked when you see the document link in the field when you save your draft.  You will also see it when you print a PDF of the proposal.
• Cutting and pasting is fast.  Cutting and pasting directly from your word processor is easy if you keep in mind that 3,200 characters (including spaces) equal approximately one page with four paragraphs in 12 point type.  To facilitate cutting and pasting, text limits are typically generous, but do not feel compelled to write more than necessary just to use all of the characters allowed. After you cut and paste from a document, hit the spacebar to see the character counts at the bottom of the field.
• Forget formatting.  The system removes all formatting from your pasted text.  It will turn bullets into gibberish.   Saving your documents in RTF before you paste will require less clean-up in your proposal. 

Did we get it? 

Once you click Submit, your proposal is on its way – you can’t edit your draft any more.   Log in to check the status of your proposal submission.  You will also see the status of any other proposals you submitted online to all of the GMA Foundations clients using the system.
Need tech support?  Tech support is available between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Call the Grants Manager at GMA Foundations at 617.391.3085 or email online@gmafoundations.com. 
Got suggestions?  Write mnicosia@gmafoundations.com with comments, tips and ideas that can improve this system.  Your feedback helps us make improvements.
Additional Questions?   Please contact Katy Fyrberg at Kfyrberg@gmafoundations.com or 617.391.3094.

Consideration
Proposals are considered by the Grantmaking Committee and the Board four times a year, in January, April, June, and October. For the calendar year 2012, complete proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday February 10, May 4, August 10 and November 2, to be considered at the following Committee meeting. Applications that are received after these dates will be considered for the next deadline. These deadlines change from year to year, so please check back regularly.

Reports
A grantee must submit a final report within two months of the termination of the subject project or program, or of the period of operations in which the grant is to be expended, or if applying for a repeat grant, the report should be submitted with the new request for funds. The report should clearly delineate the objectives and goals of the project or program, the specific manner in which the proceeds were expended, and the progress achieved subsequent to the submission of the request for the Clipper Ship grant. Clipper Ship welcomes the use of the AGM Common Report Form. Reports should be uploaded into the same online system through which the original application was submitted.

Questions should be directed to:

Ms. Katy Fyrberg
Foundation Assistant
Clipper Ship Foundation
Phone: 617-391-3094
Fax: 617-426-7087
E-mail: kfyrberg@gmafoundations.com

Annual Reports

• 2009 Annual Report
• 2008 Annual Report
• 2007 Annual Report
• 2006 Annual Report

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