Guidelines
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to apply for an 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 Clark County, Washington,
- Provide equal opportunity in leadership, staffing, and service, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation, and religious belief, and
- Be current on all reports owed to the Trust on previous projects.
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Kinds of Projects Funded
Program Related Investments fund a wide variety of projects in many fields of activity. Amounts awarded are typically substantial; therefore, proposals should be strategic and reflect an organization’s top priority at the time. Proposals should reflect the organization’s mission and capabilities, and have clear outcomes and a credible plan for sustainability.
The types of projects NOT generally funded are listed below. Applicants are advised to read through the
Frequently Asked Questions, and
Less Frequently Asked Questions sections of this website and to review the list of recent grants given.
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Calendar
Initial Inquiries for the PRI program are accepted at any time. Inquiries received by the 15th of each month are batched together and presented to trustees for first review at the program meeting two months later. (For example, an Initial Inquiry received by Oct. 15 would be reviewed by staff during November and presented to trustees for an initial decision at the December meeting.)
Applicants invited to submit full proposals are notified immediately and have three weeks to submit a full proposal. Review and analysis of a full proposal usually takes two to three more months.
Decisions on full proposals for PRIs are made by trustees at the program meetings in February, May, August and November. Therefore, applicants should submit Initial Inquiries at least five to six months before the month they want a final decision. It might be useful to consult
this chart summarizing MMT's application review calendar.
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Amounts and Terms
The Meyer Trust adapts its PRI program terms to suit each transaction funded. The following are typical terms for Meyer Trust PRI investments, which to date have taken the form of loans:
- Size of investment: $200,000-$1,000,000
- Loan duration: 2-7 years
- Repayment increments: Interest is repaid in quarterly installments, sometimes together with principal. Some loans feature a balloon repayment of some principal at the end of the term.
- Interest rate: 2-5% annual interest
- Securitization status: PRIs are secured whenever feasible.
- Recourse status: Full recourse to the borrower.
- Origination fees: The Meyer Trust currently charges no origination fee; however, we continue to evaluate this approach.
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Representative Program Related Investments
Below is a list of some representative PRIs the Meyer Trust has made in recent years. The Trust continues to seek innovative uses for capital so this list does not depict the complete range of projects that we would fund. It does, however, show the broad range of work found to merit investment.
- Pacific Forest Trust: $500,000 secured investment for 58 months to support acquisition of land within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument for conservation purposes.
- Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare: $300,000 secured over five years to support development of a mental health clinic.
- Liberty Restoration, Inc.: $400,000 secured over two years to support renovation of a historic theater.
- Shorebank Enterprise Group, Pacific: $1 million unsecured for seven years to support loans to disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
- REACH Community Development, Inc.: $467,000 secured over two years to support construction of homes for sale.
- Network for Oregon Affordable Housing: $1 million unsecured over two years to capitalize predevelopment loan fund.
- Deschutes River Conservancy: $230,000 unsecured over three years to support acquisition of water rights for resale to restoration buyers.
- Ecotrust: $235,000 unsecured over two years to support creation of forestland acquisition fund.
- Ecotrust: $1 million secured over two years to retire conventional mortgage debt.
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PRI Proposal Assessment Considerations
The Meyer Trust considers these criteria when deciding whether to make a PRI to support a project:
- The value of the project to the community
- The PRI seeker’s readiness to undertake project
- Alignment of the project with the Meyer Trust’s values and funding priorities
- The suitability of a PRI as a financing tool for the project
- Likelihood that the PRI seeker can repay the PRI
- Suitability of the PRI terms to address investment risk
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Declined Proposals
Proposals declined by the Trust may not be resubmitted for at least 12 months after the date of declination, unless substantial changes to the project occur. It is best to email or call a program officer for guidance before resubmitting a proposal.
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Multiple Proposals
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.
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Projects That Are Not Eligible for MMT Program Related Investments
- 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
- Animal welfare organizations
- Projects that primarily benefit students of a single K-12 school, other than an independent alternative school 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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Apply for Program Related Investments
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 orgnization name, conact 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 into 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
Program Related Investment Initial Inquiry in the "Submit an Application" section of the Grant Application Zone. The four Initial Inquiry questions are shown below. Initial Inquiries are limited to a total of 1,500 words; applicants determine how to allocate the 1,500 words among the four questions.
- 1a. Summarize your organization, its purpose, history, and major programs and activities. Provide the number, ethnicity, age, income levels, and geographic area of the people you serve.
- 1b. State your organization's annual budget.
- 1c. Has your organization experienced an operating deficit in any of the last three years? If yes, please explain. If not, please type "not applicable."
- 2a. Summarize the project for which funds are requested. Briefly explain the need for the project in the local context, why your organization decided to address it as you propose, and your expected outcomes.
- 2b. What counties will your project serve and/or take place in?
- 3a. Provide a summary overview of the project budget. Briefly describe the project expenditures and the sources and amounts of committed and projected revenue. Indicate the amount requested from MMT and how funds would be expended over time. (Your response should primarily consist of a verbal description. If your organization is invited to submit a full proposal, you will have an opportunity to submit detailed budget information. Please do not include tables and charts here, as formatted data will not display properly.)
- 3b. If you are requesting a Program Related Investment (PRI), please provide the following information: the loan duration, the proposed interest rate, securitization opportunities, and repayment strategies (preferably primary and secondary strategies).
- 4. Briefly explain how the project will be sustained after the grant period ends.
There are no deadlines for Initial Inquiries. Initial Inquiries are received continuously and reviewed monthly. Applicants who submit Initial Inquiries by the 15th of the month will generally be notified within 60 days whether or not they are invited to submit a full proposal. Notification of approval or decline of a full proposal generally takes three to four months.
Step 4
Applicants invited to submit a
Full Proposal will have three weeks from the date of invitation to complete the online Full Proposal application, which asks the questions listed below. While there is no word limit for a Full Proposal, applicants are encouraged to be concise, and to use quantitative, as well as qualitative, information to help us understand your organization and proposal.
- Explain the need for the project, and why it is important. If appropriate, comment on past or present attempts by the applicant and others to address this need.
- Describe the project, including its goals and specific objectives. Explain how the project will be implemented over time. Explain why your organization decided to address it as you propose.
- Describe the people, groups and/or places expected to benefit from the project, and the ways they would benefit. Include demographic information (e.g., number, ethnicity, age, income levels, geographic area, etc.) for beneficiaries.
- Outline the effects of the proposed project by providing a series of "before" and "after" snapshots in the spaces provided. In each box on the left, briefly summarize existing conditions for that category. On the right, briefly describe the changed circumstances after the grant period has ended. Please give specific numbers and projections where appropriate. If a category does not apply, write NA.
Categories
- Effect on organization size, FTE, structure
- Effect on organization's programs
- Effect on organization's operating expenses
- Effect on organization's ability to generate income
- Effect on the issue or need the project addresses
- Describe how the project's effectiveness will be determined.
- Describe the qualifications of up to three people with primary responsibility for implementing the project.
Applicants are also asked to include a fiscal year budget and a detailed project budget.
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