Grant Size:One grant of up to $5,000. Multi-year funding of up to $10,000 may be awarded, contingent on Equity Fund Advisory Committee review.
Application Deadline: September 15, 2008

Background

In 2007, the Equity Fund hosted the LGBTQ Symposium: “Strengthening Community and Building Alliances” (Resource Guide and a conference summary and notes are available). More than 150 people from across the state attended the symposium to network, share resources and discuss issues and challenges important to LGBTQ life in Maine. The response to the symposium was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees expressed the need for more opportunities to build connections and share resources. The Connecting the Community grant program is a critical first step in addressing this need.

Request for Proposals

The Equity Fund invites proposals for website projects that provide opportunities to build connections and share resources in Maine's LGBTQ community. To be considered for funding, the proposed website must feature the following:

• A focus that is primarily informational or educational
  
• A statewide scope
  
• A format (including all links) that is family friendly.
  

In addition, proposed websites must be designed to address the broad range of interests, issues and groups found among LGBTQ individuals and their allies throughout Maine. Websites dedicated to a special interest or agenda, or targeted to a single segment of the LGBTQ community, are not eligible for this grant program. Nonprofit organizations and individuals that currently publish such special-interest or regional websites are invited to submit proposals for a new separate website, or include in their proposals a list of modifications that they will make to their existing sites in order to conform to the Connecting the Community grant criteria.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be nonprofit, 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organizations, public schools, public agencies working for the State of Maine, or Indian tribal governments (and their political subdivisions) recognized by the Department of the Interior or have a fiscal sponsor that is a 501(c)(3) organization, public school or public agency (click here for more information on applying with a fiscal sponsor).

Grants cannot be made for lobbying or religious activities.

Grants cannot pay for program expenses that have already been incurred.

Project Evaluation

All grant recipients will be required to submit a Project Evaluation Report approximately 10 months after receiving payment of the grant. For guidance on how to create an evaluation plan for your project, we have provided a resource guide, Developing a Project Evaluation Plan, that you may find helpful in preparing your proposal.

How to Apply

Please use the MaineCF Common Application form below. In place of the narrative questions found on page 4 of the application, please substitute the following required materials:

1. Two images of your proposed design for the site: the home page and an inside content page
   
2. A plan for organizing the website for intuitive navigation and scalability (including a site architecture outline) (limit 3 pages)
   
3. A brief statement of your plan for insuring that the website is regularly maintained and contains accurate, up-to-date information (limit 1 page)
4. A three-year projected budget that includes a plans for securing future financial support for the project
5. A list of links and organizational resources that will be included
6. A timeline outlining your production and publication goals (limit 2 pages)
7. A brief explanation of how the site may be used to facilitate communication among LGBTQ community members (limit 1/2 page)
8. A statement (limit 1 page) explaining a) How your project use will collaborative relationships to plan, advance, and evaluate the project; and b) how your project will include the people who will benefit from the project in its planning, implementation, and evaluation.

When to Apply

Proposals must be postmarked by September 15 and mailed to:

The Equity Fund
Maine Community Foundation
245 Main Street
Ellsworth, ME 04605

We will not accept applications via fax or e-mail. Applicants will be notified in late November of the final decisions.

Equity Fund Grant Application

PDF format | RTF (word processor) format

Contact

If you have any further questions regarding the Equity Fund, please contact Lelia De Andrade by e-mail or by phone at (207) 512-4902.

Click here to see a list of recent grants from the Equity Fund

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