Start a Project

“Supporting successful community projects that benefit North Kohala.”

Once the project is approved by our Board of Directors we start the work of providing fiscal sponsorship. This sponsorship allows the project to receive grants and enables donors to make tax-deductible donations. We’ll then offer our support to project organizers in project planning, finding funders, building budgets and writing successful proposals.

1. Section D is the framework of your application. Answer only the questions that appear relevant and necessary to clearly explaining your project. Your application should be clear, concise and address the relevant questions in each section. You will have time to elaborate if needed in your meeting with us as described in item B.5. Be sure to include a page number and your organization’s name on all the pages of your application.

2. Submit one copy of your completed application to info@northkohala.org, or drop it by the office.

3. If we have not discussed your application prior to your submission, we’ll contact you after we review it. At that time we’ll answer any questions you may have, and learn more from you about your project. If necessary, we will ask you to re-address some sections in the application. After this discussion, and once your application is complete, the application will be presented to our Board of Directors at their monthly meeting for their consideration.

4. Should our Board accept your project for fiscal sponsorship, we will ask you to sign a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement with our organization.

1. The project must be aligned with our mission as stated in Section A.

2. The project organizers must be willing to work in collaboration and harmony with NKCRC staff.

3. As a fiscal sponsor, we are ultimately responsible to the grantor for the grant funds and to the IRS for our activities. As a result, we will look carefully at the project with the following questions in mind:

a. Alignment—does the project contribute to and support our mission as described above?

b. Context—will this project address real needs in the community?

c. Content—how valuable is the project likely to be for the community?

d. Clarity—is the project clear and understandable?

e. Feasibility—will the project work? Are the time-lines realistic? Are the financials realistic?

f. Commitment—are the project organizers fully committed to the project?

g. Capacity—do the project organizers and volunteers have a demonstrated capacity to succeed in this project?

h. Compensation—if the project includes compensation for the organizers, does the community service benefit outweigh any concerns about the dollar value of the compensation budget?

1. Organization: What is the name of your organization (or project)? How and when did it start? What is your mission? Who is involved in your organization? List groups, individuals, paid staff, if any, and volunteers. Show the role of the individuals involved, and a very brief summary of their backgrounds, experience, and affiliations in the community. How is your organization connected to the community? If there are more than several people involved, what is your organization structure? Describe significant accomplishments of the organization, and any success with related projects that the individuals involved in this project may have. How do the capacities of the individuals involved in the project support the successful completion of your mission or project?

2. Problem Statement or Needs Assessment: What community problem or need in North Kohala does this project address? Who in North Kohala will benefit from this project? How will this project benefit the community? How will it help bring the community more closely together?

3. Objectives (Outcomes): What is (or are) the objective(s) of the project for which money is needed? What will your project accomplish? Make sure this objective is linked to your problem statement above.

4. Methods: How will you accomplish your project? What activities or action steps will be needed?

What are the time-lines of these activities? (Provide a schedule of major action steps with approximate start and completion dates for each.) How do the time-lines fit with the grant(s) being requested?

5. Evaluation: How will you evaluate your project? How will you determine if you are successful?

6. Funding: How much money do you need to accomplish your project? Beyond the grant(s) you are requesting, how are you planning to fund your project? Show your proposed sources of funding (grants, fundraising in the community, earned income [selling goods or services], and in-kind donations). Identify any funds already secured or pending. Is there a need for long-term funding? How will you sustain your project if grant funding fails to meet your financial needs now or in the future?

7. Budget: What are the costs and expenses for the project? Show your estimates by category of expense.

8. Administrative:

a. You will need an EIN to open your project’s bank account. Before we can give you money you will need to verify that the project has a bank account in its name. We will ask that you provide a copy of your bank statement or a voided check showing the name of project in the header.

b. If you have been working with one or more funders (foundation, government source, nonprofit organization, business, or major donor) to fund your project, please describe the status of your funding arrangements.

c. Are you planning to apply for an IRS tax exemption as a 501(c) 3? If so, what is your schedule?

9. Applicants: On the last page of the application, list the names, addresses, email, and telephone numbers of each applicant for this project, date the application, and at least one applicant must sign the application. We cannot accept unsigned applications.

The fees we collect compensate us for the many services we provide for our projects. Our fee percentages below are applied to the total grant or contribution amount.

1.) Funding research, proposal work, advice, general assistance and administration:

This includes teaching, project planning, budgeting, use of our software, networking with funders, meetings with potential donors, edits, polish, rewrites, critiques and packaging of proposals as well as collecting and managing information for and preparing final reports.

Administration includes thank you and tax deduction letters, interim and final reports, banking, check issuing, fee collections and data base management. For grants which require one annual report, the fee is 8%. For grants with additional reporting, a higher fee percentage may be required and will be determined at the time of grant submission.

2.) Use of non-profit mailing services:

We charge a flat fee of $25 to use our bulk mailing permit plus the actual cost which is approximately $250-$350 for a saturation mailing in North Kohala.

Grants
The fees for services provided on grants are agreed upon prior to submittal, and then applied to the grant amount request. Occasionally some funders have their own fiscal percentage fee cap which we always honor.

Contributions/Donations
All contributions generate an 8% fee.

Please note:

This is the current Board-approved fee schedule. We reserve the right to adjust fees based on any special or unusual circumstances for grants and contributions during the year, which may cause fees to increase or decrease for that specific grant or contribution. Adjustments will be discussed prior to applying for funds that require a fee adjustment. Consulting fees for 501(c)3 Non-profit organizations will be determined on a case by case basis.

Donation Disbursement and Fee Collection Process
Checks are issued once each month.

View a sample of a successful Application for Fiscal Sponsorship created by the Kohala Coqui Coalition…

Would you like to get started? Contact us for more information.