Grassroots Grants Application Guidelines
To be eligible to apply for any MMT grant or funding program, organizations must:
- Be tax-exempt as determined by the Internal Revenue Service,
- Request support for work in Oregon and/or in Clark County, Washington,
- Provide equal opportunity in leadership, staffing, and service regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, political affiliation, or religious belief, and
- Be current on all reports owed to the Trust on previous grants.
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Grassroots Grants are designed for organizations with operating budgets under $2 million. Historically, 70% of Grassroots Grants have gone to organizations with operating budgets of $250,000 or less.
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Projects must be of significance to the organization and its community. Total project costs may not exceed $150,000, including in-kind donations, but excluding volunteer labor. All remaining funds and in-kind support for the project must be in hand or pledged
when the application is submitted.
Projects must be able to be initiated promptly after the MMT grant is made and generally completed within a year. Grant funds may not be used for activities that take place prior to the Trust's action on the request (three months after the submission deadline).
Examples of projects funded under MMT’s Grassroots Grants program are described
here. To view complete lists of MMT Grassroots Grants, click on the year on the left side of this page.
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Applications to the Grassroots Grants Program are accepted at any time. Grant decisions are made by trustees at the program meetings in February, June and October. Deadlines for consideration of proposals are:
March 15 (for decisions made at June meeting)
July 15 (for decisions made at October meeting)
October 15 (for decisions made at February meeting)
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Grassroots Grants range from $1,000 to $25,000.
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Proposals declined by the Trust may not be resubmitted for at least 12 months after the date of declination, unless substantial changes in the project occur. It is best to email or call the Trust before resubmitting a proposal.
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There is no waiting period after a declination to submit an entirely different proposal, but the Trust will consider only ONE application of any kind at any given time. An organization that has an active grant under another Trust program may submit a Grassroots Grants proposal, but only for an activity unrelated to the active grant.
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- Direct grants, scholarships, or loans to individuals
- Endowments
- General fund drives, annual appeals, special events, or sponsorships
- Elimination of operating deficits
- Projects of sectarian or religious organizations that principally benefit their own members or adherents
- Direct replacement funding for activities previously supported by federal, state, or local public sources
- Acquisition of land for conservation purposes (except through Program Related Investments)
- Hospital capital construction projects
- Animal welfare organizations (both domestic and wild animals)
- Projects that primarily benefit students of a single K-12 school, unless the school is an independent alternative school primarily serving low-income and/or special needs populations.
- MMT funds cannot be earmarked for purposes of influencing legislation, and the grantee cannot expend any part of the grant in a way that violates its tax-exempt status.
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Please note that applications for MMT Grassroots Grants are submitted online. We no longer accept printed applications. If this creates a hardship for you, please contact our office.
Step I
Register your organization with MMT.
- Verify that your organization meets MMT’s eligibility requirements.
- If you have not already registered your organization with MMT, go to the registration form, where you will supply your organization name, contact email address, requested password, and EIN. (The EIN or Employer Identification Number, also known as the Federal Tax Identification Number, is assigned to your organization by the Internal Revenue Service. It is the nine-digit number found on your tax-exemption letter from the IRS.)
MMT will confirm your registration and issue you a username, usually within
two business days.
SAVE your username and password. You will use your username and password to access the Grant Application Zone for all future applications.
Step 2
After you receive your registration information, log in to the
Grant Application Zone. Go to the Organization Profile section and complete (or update) your
organization profile, including contact information and your board list. Then click on the link to return to the Grant Application Zone.
Step 3
Complete and submit the online
Grassroots Grants application under the "Submit an Application" section of the Grant Application Zone. The five Grassroots Grants questions are shown below. Word limits for each question are shown in parentheses.
- Project Contact Person. (Person responsible for reporting on project progress to the Meyer Memorial Trust)
- Brief history of the organization, its programs and services. (200 words)
- Project description and outcomes. What is the need for this project? Who and how many will it serve? What are its goals and objectives? How will it be implemented? What outcomes will the project achieve for the organization and the people it serves? (600 words)
- Organization Qualifications. What are the organization’s qualifications to undertake this project? (200 words)
- Project Budget. Indicate all sources of funding for the project. Explain specifically how Meyer Trust funds will be used. (50 words)
- Explain how the project will be sustained after the period for which support is requested, if applicable. (150 words)
- Certify that the governing board of your organization has approved this grant application to Meyer Memorial Trust.
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