Stage 1: Submitting Your Brief Proposal Online

Deadline: June 30, 2010 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Please note: At this time there are no plans for subsequent Calls for Proposals under the LFP Annual Grantmaking program.

All proposals must be submitted through the Local Funding Partnerships secure user website which is now closed for this program. All of your required documents must be uploaded according to specific instructions. You will find details below. We urge you to familiarize yourself with them before you prepare your Stage 1 Brief Proposal documents.

Stage 1 includes online submission of the following items:

• letter of nomination;
• brief proposal answering the questions below; and
• preliminary budget; and
• list of objectives

Questions may be directed at any time to the LFP staff.

Letter of Nomination

A local grantmaker must prepare an original letter of nomination recommending the local applicant’s proposed project. The letter should affirm the grantmaker’s endorsement of the initiative and commitment to participate as one of the local funding partners. While the nominating funder is not obligated to provide the total match from their own funds, the grantmaker should express the intention to work with the applicant and all potential funding partners to obtain the funding necessary to match RWJF funds throughout the grant period.

We welcome information regarding the nominating funder’s involvement with the development of this initiative, with the applicant agency, with other local coalition partners and with other interested local funders.

The letter of nomination should be signed, on grantmaker's stationery, and must include the name and address of the local applicant and the name, telephone number and e-mail address of the contact person at the grantmaking (nominating) organization. It can be addressed to our Director, Pauline M. Seitz or our Deputy Director, Leticia Peguero. You may use our mailing address but you do not need to mail the letter to our office.

The letter of nomination must be uploaded at the Local Funding Partnerships secure user website. Refer to the instructions included in the letter of nomination instructions.

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Brief Proposal

The local applicant for grant funds, in consultation with the nominating funder, must prepare a brief proposal answering the questions below.

The brief proposal should:

• not exceed five pages—including the answers to all five questions;
• be double-spaced with at least one-inch margins on all four sides of each page; and
• be written in a question-and-answer format, answering the following questions in the following order.

1. How would this project improve health or health care for people in your community who have been made vulnerable by difficult life circumstances?

Clearly describe the intervention you propose in the context of the need in your community, the number of people to be served and the systems you hope to influence. Demonstrate your capacity to execute the program and how the intended community’s health will be improved if you succeed.

2. How have local funders been engaged in the development of this idea?

Discuss how local grantmakers became aware of this initiative and how they have been involved as your plans progressed.

3. How will collaboration with other organizations help to achieve the goals of your project?

Explain how different groups will work together to address the identified health or health care problem. Include any ways in which you are already working together, as well as any roles or responsibilities you expect specific groups to assume in order to implement your plan.

4. How is this project innovative?

Define how your intervention offers an original approach that addresses a complex, persistent problem in health or health care for people made vulnerable by social factors. Include any elements that would make the program a new national model with the potential to create meaningful improvement in other communities.

5. What, if any, additional information do you wish to share?

If the applicant has previously received funding from RWJF, the brief proposal must clearly describe the difference between this proposed project and the project funded earlier. If any other proposal has been submitted to RWJF to support this project, report the status of that application.

The brief proposal must be uploaded at the Local Funding Partnerships secure user website. The instructions are embedded in a template form that you must use. We strongly suggest you review the proposal narrative template and save it to your computer before you prepare to upload this letter.

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Preliminary Budget

The local applicant for grant funds, in consultation with the nominating funder, must prepare a one-page preliminary budget. The one-page preliminary budget should:

• cover the entire three- or four-year period of the grant;
• estimate the total consolidated budget of the project;
• include funds from RWJF, matching grants and any other revenues; and
• be in a columnar format.

For more information see a Sample Budget and a list of Eligible and Ineligible Budget Items.We recommend the budget be converted to a pdf format before uploading at the secure user website. Although a template is not provided for this document, we strongly suggest you review the brief guidelines.

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List of Objectives

The list of objectives summarizes the goals of your proposal. The online application includes a place for you to describe three-to-five specific, measurable objectives against which you can assess the progress of your project. These objectives should be the same as those expressed in your narrative, but puts them in a short, concise format.

The online application also requires contact information for the applicant and the nominating grantmaker. Please note that the individuals named as "contact" should be easily accessible by e-mail and able to respond promptly.

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LFP Secure User Website - CLOSED

To access the secure user website you must first create an User Name and Password and answer a basic eligibility-screening questionnaire. Eligible applicants must complete an online application form that will record basic data about your proposal such as contact information for project leadership and the nominating funder. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this form and begin completing it at your earliest opportunity. You may return as often as you like to edit, update and complete the form. Once you "submit" your application you may no longer access it..

As explained above, you will use the template forms provided to upload your letter of nomination and brief proposal. We strongly suggest you prepare your documents using these templates and review them for accuracy before uploading them to the user website.

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Questions

Questions may be directed at any time to the LFP staff: info@localfundingpartnerships.org or 609-275-4128.

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