Collaboration Grants
Collaboration Grant FAQ
What kinds of projects are eligible for a grant?
Grant support can only be used to cover the necessary one-time, out-of-pocket costs incurred in exploring or implementing a sustained collaboration. Although these costs may be modest compared with the potential benefits of the collaboration, they often become stumbling blocks, in part because most funding is tied to programs and is therefore unavailable for process/organizational costs.
The Fund will provide grants to support nonprofits to identify and engage experienced outside technical assistance (TA) providers. While the Fund will not select a given TA provider, it does retain the right to turn down a proposal if the consultant is not deemed to be appropriate for the given request.
Who is eligible to apply?
Any nonprofit organization serving the Greater Philadelphia Five County Region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and/or Philadelphia) that is considering or implementing a formal long-term collaboration, regardless of size or issue area.
Will organizations be expected to move through all stages of funding support?
No. While each type of funding request will be considered independently (as opposed to being part of a formal continuum from Seed to Exploratory to Implementation), it is anticipated that some organizations may receive an Implementation grant following an Exploratory grant and/or Seed grant. It is also anticipated that after conducting thorough exploratory work, some collaborative projects will not proceed to implementation based upon the due diligence findings of the exploration.
Will applying for a grant raise a red flag to participating funders?
No. The participating funders believe that nonprofit boards, leaders and funders should routinize sustained collaboration as an important strategic option for nonprofit leaders, boards, and funders. Organizations that make the decision to undertake the hard work of exploring such repositioning activities should be acknowledged, encouraged and supported by funders.
Do you assist with partner identification?
NRF cannot directly assist with partner organization identification or “matchmaking.” However, an organization can apply for Seed funding to engage a consultant who may assist with a landscape or network analysis exercise with the end goal of identifying potential partners for the formal collaboration.
Grant Deadlines
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To begin the application process, please contact Lindsay Kijewski, NRF Director, at lkijewski@seachangecap.org.