Available Grants

Capacity Building 2024 Program

Community Foundation Capacity Building 2024 Program Overview

Community Foundations are instrumental in increasing philanthropic activity and community engagement in rural communities, and they often function with limited staff and depend heavily on volunteer boards for daily operations. The Community Foundation Capacity Building Program is a grant to hire and sustain one full-time staff member at community foundations within the Patterson Family Foundation’s philanthropic catchment for up to three years.

The executives hired through the Capacity Building program can support the daily operational workload, develop strategic plans for their organizations, and expand the number of local donors while helping preserve community funding resources.

Key Points

  • Applications open on September 25, 2024, and close at 12 Noon, CT, on October 31, 2024. 
  • Organizations will first register for the Grants Portal. Registration closes at 12 Noon, CT, on October 28, 2024. 
  • Both new applicants and previous Capacity Building Program grant recipients will complete the application. Please see below for additional details. 
  • Parent community foundations can apply for their affiliates that do not have a full-time staff member. 
  • Funds can be used for operational expenses associated with one full-time position, such as salary, benefits, travel, and technology needs.  
  • Community foundations within the Dane G. Hansen Foundation catchment are not eligible to apply. Please visit the Dane G. Hansen Foundation website for information on staffing assistance grants. 

Program Details

Eligibility: New Applicants


Applicant organizations:

  • Must be a 501(c)(3) community foundation or an affiliate of a 501(c)(3) community foundation (of any asset size), and operational as an organization for at least 3 years.
  • Must be located in and serving a county or community within the Patterson Family Foundation's catchment in Kansas or western Missouri. 
  • Must be approved for a 2024 Patterson Family Foundation Rural Community Foundation Match grant.  
  • Community foundation applicants must not have a full-time employee. If the organization has a current part-time staff member, funds can be used to expand that staff person’s capacity to full-time.  
  • Community foundations must be willing to reapply and submit annual reports of community foundation assets, growth, and overall progress report at the end of each year. 
  • To be eligible for an additional two years of funding, awarded community foundations should meet or exceed the following criteria:  

Year 1 (2025)

  • Attend the annual Kansas Association of Community Foundations (KACF) conference. 
  • Attend leadership training, with training resource provided by the Patterson Family Foundation. 
  • Hire a full-time staff member approved in the application. The funded staff member must work a minimum of 35 hours a week. 
  • Develop a multi-year plan for ongoing sustainability of the position beyond Patterson Family Foundation grant funding. The plan should have specific metrics to achieve in 2026 and 2027.  

Year 2 (2026) 

  • Attend the annual KACF conference. 
  • Attend leadership training, with training resource provided by Patterson Family Foundation. 
  • Establish three or more new endowment funds. 
  • Establish operating endowment and unrestricted fund, if applicable.  
  • Create a fee policy and spending policy, if not already done.   
  • Minimum of 12 meetings with donors for planned gifts, new funds, etc. 
  • Achieve the first year of metrics laid out in sustainability plan. 

Year 3 (2027)  

  • Attend the annual KACF conference. 
  • Establish five or more new endowment funds. 
  • Minimum of 24 meetings with donors for planned gifts, new funds, etc. 
  • Three planned giving commitments. 
  • Implement fee policy and spending policy. 
  • Achieve the second year of metrics laid out in sustainability plan.

Eligibility: 2023 Capacity Building Grantees


Applicant organizations:

  • Recipients of the 2023 Capacity Building Program should complete the application to secure year two of funding for the staff member.
  • May request funding for salary, benefits, travel, and technology.    
  • Should be prepared to provide information on the amount of funding utilized year-to-date and the projected spending one year after the hiring date. Any unused funding will be carried over to cover the same line-item expenses in year two.  
  • Previous applicants will submit a plan for the ongoing sustainability of the position beyond Patterson Family Foundation grant funding in the application. The plan should have specific metrics to achieve in 2025 and 2026.  
  • To be eligible for an additional year of funding, awarded community foundations should meet or exceed the following criteria:  

Year 2 (2025)  

  • Attend the annual Kansas Association of Community Foundations (KACF) conference. 
  • Attend leadership training, with training resource provided by the Patterson Family Foundation. 
  • Establish three or more new endowment funds. 
  • Establish operating endowment and unrestricted fund, if applicable.  
  • Create a fee policy and spending policy, if not already done.   
  • Minimum of 12 meetings with donors for planned gifts, new funds, etc. 
  • Achieve the first year of metrics demonstrated in sustainability plan. 

Year 3 (2026)  

  • Achieve the second year of metrics laid out in sustainability plan.
  • Attend the annual KACF conference. 
  • Attend leadership training, with training resource provided by the Patterson Family Foundation. 
  • Establish five or more new endowment funds. 
  • Minimum of 24 meetings with donors for planned gifts, new funds, etc. 
  • Three planned giving commitments. 
  • Implement fee policy and spending policy. 

Parent or Affiliate Community Foundations

Parent Community Foundations:
Parent Community foundations can apply for their affiliates that do not have a full-time staff member. Staff can be hired through the parent community foundation, utilizing their benefits, office, technology, and support systems. Priority will be given to those parent organizations that can recruit this staff member from the affiliate community. The parent community foundation can apply for one or multiple staff members based on the communities affiliates will serve. Priority will be given to those community foundations with detailed use of staff members’ time. 

Affiliate/Associate Community Foundations:
Affiliates can apply on their own for a full-time staff member if they do not have one. Applications will not be accepted for positions from both parent and affiliate community foundations.

Non-Associated Community Foundations:
Community foundations within the PFF catchment can apply for a full-time staff member to support operational growth. Community foundations with part-time staff (less than 35 hours per week) or are volunteer-run would be eligible to apply for this program. If the organization has a current part-time staff member, funds can be used to make that staff person full-time.

Use of Funds

This grant aims to support community foundations’ capacity building by hiring and sustaining a full-time staff member (minimum of 35 hours a week). Funds are to be used for the purpose of covering the costs of the hiring process and operational expenses associated with this position. The Patterson Family Foundation reserves the right to suggest changes to funding used in the event there are concerns regarding distribution strategies. 

This grant should be used for operational expenses for providing a full-time staff member. This can include: 

  • Salary costs 
  • Benefit expenses 
  • Technology associated with the position 
  • Travel reimbursement budget 
  • Recruitment costs  

If the organization has a current part-time staff member, funds can be used to transition that staff member to a full-time position. The grant will only pay for the portion of funding needed to pay the full-time salary, benefits, technology associated with the position, and travel reimbursement budget. 

Funds may not be used for: 

  • Community foundations in Dane G. Hansen’s catchment. 
  • A staff position of a community foundation not in the Patterson Family Foundation’s philanthropic catchment. 
  • A parent community foundation staff member to support parent community work. 
  • Other operational costs, consultants, contractors, or services.  

How to Apply

  • Organizations will first register for a portal account, and we will review and verify that organizations meet the eligibility criteria before allowing access to the Grants Portal. Please note, registration in the Grants Portal closes at 12 Noon, CST, on October 28, 2024. 
  • Interested and eligible organizations can apply via the Patterson Family Foundation Grants Portal between September 25, 2024 and October 31, 2024.
Supporting Documentation

Previous Applicants:

1. Letter from Community Foundation President confirming participation in the application.

2. Letter of support from host/parent foundation, if applicable to your community foundation. 

3. 2023 Capacity Building Budget Report – Please download the template provided by the Patterson Family Foundation. 

4. 2024 operational budget. 

New Applicants: 

1. Letter from community foundation Board President confirming participation in the application. 

2. Letter of support from host/parent foundation, if applicable to your community foundation. 

3. 2024 operational budget.

Reporting Requirements

If awarded, the community foundation will need to submit a six-month update on the hiring process, as outlined by the Patterson Family Foundation and Kansas Association of Community Foundations. Grantees will also be required to submit an annual report on the community foundation’s assets, growth, and overall progress at the end of each year. 

Resources


If you have any questions about this program, please contact:


Emily Masters, Program Officer
Patterson Family Foundation
emily@pffkc.org

FAQS

The intent of the capacity-building grant is for individual community foundations to hire a full-time employee to support and expand the organization's day-to-day operations.
We encourage community foundations to prioritize local recruitment. While we understand this isn’t always possible, we encourage community foundations to look at their resource pool of those familiar with their local rural area. Job posting for the position should be maintained for at least 30 days before beginning recruitment outside of the local community.
PFF is not responsible for this employee. By accepting the grant award letter, the community foundation listed is responsible for following all requirements federally, and by their state of residence. Nonprofits must follow the labor laws on reporting employees, including unemployment security and workers’ compensation.
No; the Patterson Family Foundation trusts your community foundation board to execute the hiring process and select the best candidate for their needs. However, we would like an update once the selection is made with the contact information including name, title, organization, phone, email, and progress update six months after the grant is awarded.
We understand that attrition happens. You are able to retain the grant award for the rehiring process.
Yes, we ask that all awarded community foundations strive to accomplish the same metrics. However, we understand that smaller community foundations may face challenges in reaching these goals. In the event that a community foundation is unable to accomplish the requirements outlined in the metrics, we require clear documentation of the best efforts made and rationale as to why metrics were not achieved.
For year two, we are not requiring a certain amount of funding to be held in those funds. Our goal is to ensure that all community foundations at least have an operational and unrestricted fund created at their community foundation to begin building endowments. If a community foundation already has those funds created, then we encourage them to continue building on those in years two and three. The funds required for operating endowments will vary based on each community foundation’s unique needs. The amount of funds needed in operation endowments and unrestricted funds are subject to the
A sustainability plan outlines how your foundation will support the operational costs of having an FTE, including budgeting for the total salary costs, benefits, and other expenses following the initial grant funding. This document should include specific metrics, such as utilizing administrative fees, increasing your operational endowment, and/or setting donor engagement and donation goals for maintaining consistent funding. The timeline for sustaining your FTE can exceed two years, if necessary. Please be candid and realistic about when you will be able to fully sustain the position so the Foundation can determine the most effective way to assist your foundation beyond the grant period. The sustainability plan should help your foundation prepare a budget for the additional operation costs year over year.
Applications will be accepted until 12 Noon, CST, October 31, 2024. The Kansas Association of Community Foundations (KACF) will distribute grant notifications by the end of the year. At that time, KACF will provide additional information on grant funding disbursement.
The first step is to register in the Patterson Family Foundation Grants Portal. This will take approximately thirty minutes to answer the questions and upload attachments. Please note that the registration process is separate from the application process. Registration must be manually approved prior to receiving and submitting an official application, and it may take up to 48 hours for full access.
Information submitted either on or related to this program’s application is accessible by the Patterson Family Foundation staff only. The Foundation will not release any sensitive information gathered during this process unless approved by the applicant.
You are welcome to look at other eligible opportunities on our website at grants.pffkc.org
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