2012-13 Grants Competition
Through this open, national competition, EMCF plans to make investments in three to five nonprofits that help economically disadvantaged youth improve academic achievement, attain employment and avoid risky behaviors.
The organizations we select will complement and round out the portfolio of grantees in the True North Fund.
Each investment may total up to $2-5 million over two to three years, with the largest amounts flowing to organizations with the strongest evidence and greatest growth potential.
Our grants will consist of funding from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) and EMCF, and be subject to federal regulations. Selected nonprofits will be responsible for meeting the required one-to-one match of these grants.
WHAT WE SEEK
Note: The application period is now closed and EMCF is no longer accepting applications for our 2012-13 Grants Competition.
We are interested in youth-serving organizations throughout the United States that have:
- Compelling evidence of their programs’ impact on economically disadvantaged youth, ages 9-24, and meet, or are on a path to meet within three years, EMCF's definition of demonstrated effectiveness.
- A track record of reaching the hardest-to-serve youth in communities of need, as outlined in our Eligibility Requirements.
- Strong leadership and a potential for growth, including the ability to secure funds to sustain operations on a larger scale after EMCF's investment concludes.
- The financial and operational capacity to expand to scale, and to meet federal compliance requirements regarding the use of grant and match funds.
We are particularly interested in programs that can benefit philanthropically underserved communities, including rural areas. As in our previous competition, we are placing a geographic priority on nonprofits seeking to expand in North Carolina and South Carolina, Oklahoma and California.
OUR OBJECTIVES
Our goal is to expand the pool of organizations with proven programs that help increasing numbers of low-income young people—especially those at greatest risk of failing or dropping out of school, of not finding work, and/or of becoming involved in the foster care or juvenile justice system—make the transition to productive adulthood.
Our investments will provide the upfront growth capital that an effective nonprofit needs to build its evidence base and organizational capacity as it pursues growth with quality and secures, over the long term, greater public and private funding that will propel it to scale and sustainability.
APPLICATION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The application period is now closed and EMCF is no longer accepting applications for our 2012-13 Grants Competition. (All applications were due by Tuesday, November 20 at 8 p.m. EST.)
For organizations that submitted an application by the deadline, a confirmation email will be sent to you on November 21, 2012. Please contact us at sifapp@emcf.org if you have not yet received this confirmation notice.
Background Information
COMPETITION STATUS:
EMCF is carrying out its final stages of review, and will announce investment decisions in July 2013.
- Our Process for Application Review and Assessment
- Eligibility Requirements and the Competitive Criteria we will use to assess applicants
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EMCF's Transparency & Disclosure Policy
In our review and assessment of applications, we will be aided by our strategic collaborators, MDRC, a prominent developer and evaluator of interventions to improve the lives of low-income Americans, and the Bridgespan Group, a leading provider of business planning and capacity-building services to nonprofits.