Program Related Investment Guidelines

Program Related Investments fund a wide variety of projects in many fields of activity, including but not limited to affordable housing, community development, cultural organizations, economic development including entrepreneurship and micro-business, social services, open spaces and wildlife habitat protection. Recipients have used PRIs as bridge loans and loan guarantees to acquire property, construct facilities, reach scale, create jobs, develop products or services or approach self-sufficiency through earned income strategies.

There is no defined minimum or maximum amount that a PRI seeker may request. Historically, amounts have ranged in size from $75,000 to $4,000,000. The bulk of MMT's PRIs have ranged from $100,000 to $500,000. Proposals should be strategic, reflect the organization's mission and capabilities and include clear outcomes and a credible plan for repayment. Applicants are advised to visit our Help Desk and to read Frequently Asked Questions and see What We Look For in PRIs. In addition, it might be useful to see a list of PRIs we've funded in the past in our Awards Database.

In reviewing PRI applications, we use many of the criteria of our Responsive Grants program. In addition, we spend considerable time reviewing:

• The PRI's alignment with the organization's overall strategic or business plan
• The organization's financial strength
• If the board and staff have proven skills in managing debt and cash
• The suitability of a PRI as a financing tool for the project
• The PRI's ability to leverage other sources of capital
• Multi-year income and expense projections indicating that the PRI can be repaid
• Sources of collateral and secondary sources of repayment

MMT Program Related Investments are not used for:

• 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

It is important for PRI applicants to understand that because the PRI is a loan, the award agreement you would need to sign differs substantially from a grant agreement. There are covenants typical of what you would see in a promissory note, as well as requirements for your organization to maintain administrative, program and fiscal stability, among others. Should MMT request a full proposal from your organization, we would discuss these requirements in detail as part of our due diligence.

MMT uses GrantIS, an online application and grants management system it developed, for applications to this program.

The step-by-step instructions for using GrantIS to apply for a Program Related Investment are listed below.

Step 1

• 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 GrantIS for all future applications.

Step 2

After you receive your registration information, log into GrantIS. Go to the Organization Profile section and complete (or update) your organization profile, including contact information and your board list.

Step 3

Complete and submit the online Program Related Investment Initial Inquiry in the "Submit an Application" section of GrantIS. The 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.

Organization Information

• 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. Provide the amount of your organization's annual operating 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."

Project Information

• 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?

Budget

• 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. (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).

Future Costs

• 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 by email 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 more 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 you anticipate after the grant period has ended. Please give specific numbers and projections where appropriate. If a category does not apply, write NA.
  
  • 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. If requesting multi-year funding, the project budget should include projected revenue and expenses covering all MMT grant years, plus one additional year without MMT funding.
  • GrantIS includes instructions for selectively submitting supplementary pertinent information that helps us understand your proposal.

  Go to GrantIS now.