In 2023, the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne (CFGFW) announced a significant restructuring of its competitive grantmaking process. This decision was driven by three primary motivations:
1. Aligning Grantmaking with Our Strategic Vision: Our Let’s Rise! Vision Plan guides our strategic focus and priorities.
2. Ensuring Core Values in Grantmaking: We aim to reflect CFGFW’s core values in all our grant initiatives.
3. Strengthening Relationships with Local Nonprofits: We aim to identify and eliminate barriers for grantees by deepening our relationships with Allen County nonprofits.
Throughout 2023, we introduced the Community Foundation’s Rising Together grants, aligning them with our Let’s Rise! Vision Plan, alongside Agile and Engage grant opportunities. We also focused on educating the nonprofit community about these changes during this period.
In 2024, we rolled out a revised application process to further streamline and enhance our grantmaking efforts. Key changes include:
· Eligibility Quiz: A preliminary step to ensure applicants meet basic criteria before proceeding.
· Revised Application: Divided into four parts, the application is designed to gather comprehensive information about the nonprofit’s operations and overall health, in line with best practices in the sector.
· Expert Volunteers: We assigned “expert” volunteers to each of the five Pillar Strategic Grants Committees, leveraging their expertise to evaluate proposals effectively.
· Grant Evaluation Rubric: This detailed rubric helps reviewers consistently read, analyze, and score grant proposals. It minimizes personal bias, and ensures all requested information is relevant and necessary, saving time for both applicants and reviewers.
We believe these changes will create stronger nonprofits in our community and provide equitable opportunities. Updated guidelines for all our grantmaking opportunities are available on our website.