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MSI GRANTS

As one component of its wholistic support of sustained collaboration among nonprofits, the Mission Sustainability Initiative (MSI) at Forefront provides grants to nonprofit organizations to support the exploration or implementation of long-term or permanent strategic partnerships. These grants are made possible by a collective of funders that support collaboration and provide guidance and grantmaking oversight to the MSI.

The first stop in exploring an MSI grant is a conversation with the MSI Director, who will help to confirm eligibility and fit with the MSI funding priorities and provide guidance and connections to other helpful resources.

Email: msi@myforefront.org

Schedule a Meeting: https://calendly.com/msikate/30minutes


 

Grant Application Process

The MSI provides grants to support the one-time costs associated with exploring or implementing strategic partnerships.  

What to Expect 

View a sample of the grant application here.

Grant Eligibility and Selection Criteria


 

Grant Types

MSI grants may be used to pay for necessary, one-time, out-of-pocket costs incurred in exploring or implementing a strategic partnership or sustained collaboration. After a consultation with the MSI Director, eligible organizations will be invited to apply for the grant most appropriate for where they are in the partnership process. Organizations may be invited to apply for two or three different grant types over the course of a partnership process. The maximum amount that may be awarded is $75,000 across all three grant types.

Pre-Exploratory

Pre-exploratory grants provide funding for an organization to assess its readiness to engage in a strategic partnership, or for multiple organizations to either assess their preliminary compatibility or define their goals before exploring a formal partnership. These grants are often used for single-organization assessments or for the cost of a facilitator, space, and food for meeting(s) with the key decision-makers of multiple organizations.

The maximum amount available for a pre-exploratory grant is $5,000.

 

Exploratory

Exploratory grants provide support to two or more organizations as they engage in good faith negotiations regarding a strategic partnership. These grants are often used for consultants to assist with planning, structure evaluation, and negotiation or for outside financial, HR, or facilities experts to assist with due diligence. Before receiving approval to apply for this grant, organizations must have:

Exploratory grants range from $5,000 to $75,000.

 

Implementation

Implementation grants help cover the one-time costs of implementing partnerships once they have been finalized. These grants are often used for donor database, technology, branding, cultural, and financial integration; directors and officers tail insurance; moving costs; and closing out contracts or leases for property or equipment.

Before receiving approval to apply for this grant, organizations must have:

Implementation grants range from $5,000 to $75,000.

The Funders Committee will consider public relations requests that make up a modest percentage of a grant request on a case-by-case basis, particularly in light of COVID-19 and due to an overall desire to increase awareness about strategic partnerships.


 

Eligibility for Grants

Through our work, the MSI supports a wide array of strategic partnerships, including nonprofit mergers, acquisitions, back office collaborations, joint ventures, and other long-term or permanent programmatic alliances. Projects eligible for funding support from the MSI will meet the following requirements:

Organizations will be invited to apply for the grant most appropriate for where they are in the partnership process, but may be eligible to eventually apply for all three types of grants. The maximum amount that may be awarded is $75,000 across all the grant types, and the average grant is just over $20,000.


 

Selection Criteria

 

Grant awards are determined by the MSI Funders Committee based on the following criteria:

If funding is being requested for implementation:

MSI Grant funds are not available for:


 

Grants Amounts and Uses

 


Grants will be made on a sliding scale from $5,000 to $75,000. Most grants awarded will be for less than the indicated maximum dollar amount. Grants may be used to pay the necessary, one-time, out-of-pocket costs incurred in exploring or implementing a strategic restructuring. Exploratory grants will generally be smaller than implementation grants and be awarded for strategic planning and consulting, though they may also be awarded for other purposes. Implementation grants may be awarded for a wide variety of purposes, including merging technology systems, closing out contracts or leases for property or equipment, Human Resources, cultural alignment of the applicant and proposed partner(s), rebranding, and printing new collateral materials.

The Funders Committee will consider public relations requests that make up a modest percentage of a grant request on a case-by-case basis, particularly in light of COVID-19 and due to an overall desire to increase awareness about strategic partnerships.

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