As part of their annual review of policies, the Homer Foundation Board of Trustees has made some changes to the Community Grants Policy. The Quick Response Grants program operates under some specific guidance approved by the Board of Trustees. This guidance is set forth both in policy and through the grant application process. The guidelines set out in policy are:

Excerpted from Community Grants Policy #04-02, 6.22.22

 “Introduction:  A principal goal of the Homer Foundation is to provide charitable benefit to the residents and communities within the Foundation’s service area through its various community grants, and to assure that the process is fair and equitable.  This is accomplished in line with the Mission and core values of the Foundation.

General Policy

The Foundation follows all applicable tax laws and National Standards for Community Foundations when administering its community grants including ensuring transparency and due diligence in its review of recommendations and applications and providing appropriate oversight for approved community grants.

 Funding is limited to the types of organizations listed below serving the Foundation’s service area of the southern Kenai Peninsula, from Ninilchik south including the communities surrounding Kachemak Bay. The following types of organizations may receive funding:

 Non-Profit Organizations based within our service area or non-profit organizations providing services or a project within our service area, recognized by the IRS under section 501(c)(3), and other qualified not-for-profit entities.

Faith-based social service, youth, or community programs are eligible if the following conditions are met:  501(c)(3) organization; program/project has a board-approved mission statement and program/project budget separate from the organization’s sacramental or theological budget; secular programs or services are available to eligible participants without regard to religious belief or willingness to participate in religious activities, and the organization ensures that Foundation contributions are not used to support religious activities such as worship or proselytizing.

Societies and Groups not recognized by the IRS under section 501(c)(3), but are functioning to enhance the quality of life within our service area are eligible for consideration for projects that benefit the communities we serve. These organizations will need to provide satisfactory expenditure responsibility for the individual projects.

Individuals are funded primarily through the various scholarship programs the Foundation administers. Other requests from individuals will be considered on the merit of the project and how it will benefit the community; there must be no personal benefit to the individual proposing the project. Contact the Foundation to discuss your project before applying.

The Foundation shall not grant funds for politically directed programs or projects.

The Foundation has delegated authority to the Community Grants Committee (CGC) to approve grants through the non-competitive year-round grants program up to a designated cap. A letter of inquiry is required for requests above the cap.

The CGC Chair assures appropriate committees are constituted for each of the different types of community grants. Individuals serving on any review committee abide by the Foundation’s conflict of interest and disclosure policies. (See HF Conflict of Interest Policy #05-03 and HF Scholarship Committee Conflict of Interest Statement.)

The Foundation Board of Trustees receives community grants reports at least quarterly, including detail on any community grants approved through the waiver process. Acceptance of this report is recorded in the meeting minutes. Fund holders receive reports at least quarterly with detail on any community grants from their funds. All community grants are reported annually in the Foundation’s Annual Report.

For all community grants, the Foundation assures donor intent is followed and that it meets Foundation policies and applicable tax regulations.

The Foundation proactively matches grant requests to fund advisors’ interests and seeks out needs in the community that align with specific funds when earnings are available.

For grant eligibility, each type of grant (Quick Response, City Grant, Donor Advised Fund recommendations, Community Impact Grants, or other special grants, unless so designated by the Board of Trustees, etc.) is considered separately.

The Homer Foundation Board of Trustees (BOT) will appoint committee members for all grant committees. BOT members may remain Community Grants Committee (CGC) members for as long as they are appointed to the committee. For non BOT members of standing committees, there will be 2-year terms for each member, with a term limit of 3 full consecutive terms. The Board will approve members to these standing committees through running appointments as needed. These appointments come from the recommendation of the Executive Director and CGC chair based on interviews with potential candidates. Committee members may be removed by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.

Policy and Procedure Review: The Foundation BOT shall annually review and approve committee make-up, grant application and guidelines, due diligence for grants, and these policies and procedures to assure they meet current legal requirements and industry best practices.”

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Along with the above policy section, the Board of Trustees has approved the following general guidelines for grants. These can be found on the grant application and are communicated to each applicant when they start an application.

Per the instructions to the applicant, the foundation wishes to fund grants that:

Applications are not expected to fulfill all of these points. No application could. We are asking that applications represent some of these criteria. The more attributes displayed, the stronger the application.

There are some areas the Board of Trustees is less interested in funding. While funding for these areas is possible, it is discouraged except under the most unusual circumstances. Those areas are:

Lastly, the expense being ask for in the grant must be prospective. The Quick Response Grant program does not provide funding for expenditures already incurred. 

If you have questions regarding these guidelines, please call Executive Director Mike Miller @ 907.235.0551 before you begin an application.