Grant Application Process
Applying for a grant
Step 1: Submit your Grant Eligibility Form online. Note: Eligibility screening for the 2023 application cycle is now closed. For the 2024 grant cycle the Eligibility Form will reopen after the Annual Celebration in November 2023.
Step 2: Create your account and, using the Instruction Booklet as your guide, complete your application by 12 Noon EST, June 14, 2023.
Step 3: If our Focus Area and Community Investment Review Committees conclude that your Initiative meets preliminary review, you will be asked to host a Site Visit.
Step 4: If upon further review, your Initiative is selected by the review committees to be presented to the membership, you will be invited to attend Meet the Finalists on October 17, 2023 and to submit a Wish List.
Step 5: As a Finalist, you will present your Initiative to the membership at our Annual Celebration on November 5, 2023. You are encouraged to participate in our mock presentation process to prepare for your final presentation.
For information on the application process, please email grants@impact100srq.org.
Grant Eligibility
As we continue to grow and evolve, Impact100 SRQ reserves the right to change its eligibility criteria without notice at any time.
Organizations eligible to apply for Impact100 SRQ grants must submit only one grant application per EIN number and confirm the organization is:
- Defined as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- Registered with the Florida Division of Corporations as a nonprofit corporation
- Registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, unless the Organization is exempt
- Have been in operation for 24 months and be able to provide Financial Statements and Tax returns for that period
- Willing to disclose any and all legal actions declared; including current and pending conflict unless legal actions are a component of the organization's operating model
Initiatives eligible for Impact100 SRQ grants must:
- Primarily serve and benefit the communities and residents of Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties
- Be a new program, a clearly defined expansion of an existing program, or a capital initiative
- Have a total initiative budget equal to or greater than the full Impact100 SRQ grant amount. Grant initiatives submitted with budgets over the Impact100 SRQ grant amount must show the ability to fund the entire initiative.
- Expend funds within 24 months of the award date
- Capital initiatives must include current bids/estimates received from vendors
- Provide a detailed plan for the sustainability of the initiative
- Be designated by the applying nonprofit organization for one of the following Focus Areas:
Arts, Culture & History: High impact initiatives that cultivate, develop, enhance, or preserve the artistic, cultural, and historical character of Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties.
Education: High impact initiatives that further the educational process or improve access to education for children and/or adults in Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties.
Environment & Recreation: High impact initiatives that restore, revitalize, or enhance the environment and/or create or improve recreational opportunities in Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties.
Family: High impact initiatives that strengthen and enhance the lives of children and families living in Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties.
Health & Wellness: High impact initiatives that improve the physical and/or mental health and wellness of people living in Sarasota and/or Manatee Counties.
Impact100 SRQ will not provide grants for:
- Debt reduction, operational deficits, interim funding, bridge funding or endowment funding
- General operating expenses, overhead expenses, and ongoing salaries for existing staff that support the organization's current operations and programs. Only direct operating expenses that support the new or expanded initiative will be funded by Impact100 SRQ. Detailed allocation of funds required
- Grants to individuals
- Any type of arrangement whereby funds are held temporarily or in perpetuity and not expended within the 24-month period required by Impact100 SRQ
- Partisan, legislative, or political activity or any activity that could be controversial, divisive or polarizing in nature
- Initiatives of individual religious institutions will not be funded unless a separate tax-exempt entity that is not under the umbrella of the religious institution exists for receiving Impact100 SRQ funds
- Initiatives not available to any person, regardless of religious beliefs or practices or any person being required to participate in any religious activity, ceremony, or service
- Capital improvements or renovations to property for the grant initiative if the organization does not own or have a written lease or other valid written agreement of at least five years with the property owner/landlord
- Grant recipients of an Impact100 SRQ grant awarded in the last two grant cycles
Grant Application Required Documentation
Application Required Documents:
- Initiative Budget (using the Initiative Budget Form provided)
- IRS Form 990‘s for the last two years filed (if required)
- Financial Statements for the past two complete fiscal years, including Statements of Activities and Statements of Financial Position (audited, if available)
- Financial statements (Income Statement/Balance Sheet) from last completed fiscal year to March 31, 2023
- Organization‘s budget for the current fiscal year
- Year-to-date actual vs budgeted financials for the current fiscal year
Important Dates For Nonprofits
January 2023 Eligibility Form Opens
March 21, 2023 The BIG REVEAL at Nathan Benderson Park
March 22, 2023 Grant Application Opens
June 9, 2023 Eligibility Form Closes at 5pm EST for 2023 Grant Cycle
June 14, 2023 Grant Application Closes at 12:00 pm (Noon) EST
October 17, 2023 Meet the Finalists
November 8, 2023 Annual Celebration
For more information about the grant application process,
contact grants@impact100srq.org.
For more information about training opportunities and/or to join our email list
contact nonprofit@impact100srq.org