How to Apply to the
Rome Community Foundation

Please address all requests for grants to:

   Rome Community Foundation
   301 North Washington Street
   P.O. Box 609 Rome, NY 13442-0609

or inquire about eligibility by phone: (315) 723-7285 or email: .


GRANT APPLICATION INFORMATION

Applications to the Foundation may be made by downloading and completing the Grant Application Form (pdf) or by letter, addressed to The Rome Community Foundation, P.O. Box 609, Rome, NY 13442-0609.

Some Points to Keep in Mind

The following information is needed with an initial application from an organization, along with a separate description of the project for which the grant is requested and any estimates of cost of completion. As a general rule, the Foundation only funds capital project activities; however, it would consider start-up charitable initiatives that incur one-time costs. Grants can only be given for charitable projects and generally only to organizations certified as tax exempt under Internal Revenue regulations and have a tax-exempt certificate, or governmental organizations.

Unless there is an emergency, grants from the Foundation are considered on a quarterly basis with the deadline for grant requests for each calendar quarter being on or about February 1st, May 1st, August 1st, and November 1st for each respective quarter. This permits the Foundation Grant committee to review and analyze all requests. Roberta Cavano is the current Chair of the Grants Committee and either she or a member of her committee may contact you concerning the request and any questions the committee might have. Emergency requests may be considered in advance of the deadline, but because of the limited funds available, the Foundation Directors prefer to review all requests at the same time each quarter. Note that it is the policy of the Foundation to refrain from grants for operating expenses.

A special fund, the Stevens - Kingsley Fund, generally only approves grants from its fund allocation in December of each year. Larger grant requests are generally referred to its advisory board for consideration in the fall of each year and applications of this type should be submitted to the Foundation not later than November 1st of each year.

The following is a list of the minimum information to be included with the grant request. If an organization has previously been considered for a grant, it need only provide updated information as to any changes.

  1. Name, address, telephone number of the organization. If this is a first request please provide a short history of the organization and its relation to Rome.
  2. Tax status of organization together with tax ID number and a copy of tax exempt letter from the IRS, if we don(t already have a copy on file.
  3. Copy of Certificate of Incorporation, By-Laws, and names and addresses of officers and directors/trustees. If the organization has received funding in the past from the Foundation, only changes need to be submitted.
  4. Amount of request, and time frame for the need of funds. If the request if for the purchase of real estate or equipment, a detailed list of anticipated expenditures should be submitted.
  5. General statement of the need for the grant and how it is to be used. This narrative should detail what benefit the project will have for the Rome Area. Generally, projects which don(t benefit the Rome area or its citizens are not funded. In addition, in most cases, expenditures for traditional operating expenses are not eligible.
  6. A list of all requests made to other sources for funding for the project, together with the dollar amount requested from each. By submitting your request you are authorizing the Foundation to contact those other sources concerning funding for the project.
  7. Name, address, telephone numbers, etc., of a contract person, including e-mail if available