COVID-19 Community Response Grant Program

Overview

The Golden Civic Foundation has a proven 50-year history of partnering with residents, government, businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations to ensure essential programs and services work together to achieve positive change. In this challenging time of economic distress and uncertainty, we have formed the COVID-19 Community Response Fund (Fund) to provide relief to City of Golden community members that have been the most critically impacted by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Established Nonprofit and Community-Based Relief Organizations are often the most effective means of reaching community members in need.

The Foundation established the Fund through private donations and local government funds and will administer the Grant Program. The Fund is intended for rapid deployment of resources to the local Golden community via front-line non-profit organizations to address basic and urgent needs such as food, housing, and other financial burdens as a direct result of the pandemic. The Fund is unable to provide financial assistance to for-profit businesses.

The Golden Civic Foundation will be working closely with the City of Golden and local non-profit leaders to ensure that the grants awarded from this Fund address the greatest needs in our City resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. Initially, award funds will be allocated to well established and highly visible community-based organizations, including the Golden Backpack Program, the Christian Action Guild, and the Neighborhood Rehab Project. These organizations are direct witnesses to community need and have experience and a reputable history of providing people and families in our Golden community with the most needed services and support. As this crisis continues to unfold, other unknown needs that arise may be addressed by the Fund. Please review the following information before submitting a COVID-19 Community Response Grant.

Eligibility

Community-based organizations that meet the following three criteria are eligible to apply.

1. Organization type: Applicant organizations must be classified as a 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service or be a local government agency or public school.

2. Population served: Applicant organizations must operate within the City of Golden and funds must be used for the benefit of Golden residents.

3. Alignment with one of the Fund’s three funding priority areas: Eligible organizations must demonstrate that they are meeting a community-driven need through their programs and services within one of the three priority areas.

  • Phase 1: Rapid Response – examples include but are not limited to: urgent and basic needs (ex. food, shelter, access to medical care, immediate life-threatening needs/safety)
  • Phase 2: Community Stabilization – examples include but are not limited to: urgent and basic needs, core social infrastructure (ex. schools, childcare, youth programs, senior care, mental health recovery/resources), quality of life social infrastructure (ex. workforce opportunities, schools, recreation, cultural vitality)
  • Phase 3: Community Recovery – examples include but are not limited to: core social infrastructure, quality of life infrastructure, public infrastructure (ex. housing affordability, mobility, broadband), and capital investment (ex. buildings, redevelopment).

Funds are anticipated to be focused on the Rapid Response priority area initially. The second and third priority areas will also be considered.

The Foundation does not consider grants to organizations which discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or gender. Additionally, no grants will be made to an organization whose primary purpose is to influence legislation or to participate in a political campaign.

Additional Information

The selection criteria that follow are provided to inform the grant applicant of the values held by the Foundation and their relative importance. Applications that best meet the grant criteria will be given preference in funding. However, the Foundation will judge the merits of each application and the amount of funding, if any, based on not only the selection criteria, but also available funding, current Foundation objectives, past experience and history, and other tangible and intangible criteria. The Foundation reserves the right to be the sole and absolute decision-maker regarding funding of grants.

Organizations receiving grants must allow the Foundation to use the name of the recipient organization in Foundation publicity. Organizations receiving grants are encouraged to recognize the Foundation as appropriate on their website and in printed materials. As part of the application, if you are awarded a grant, the Foundation requires a photograph and description of how your organization utilized the grant funding by no later than six months after funding.

Application Timeline

  • Initial Review: A representative from the Foundation’s Fund Committee will conduct a brief interview with organization’s primary contact that submit a grant application. Applications will be considered on a first-come first-served basis.
  • Final Decisions: A review panel, comprising of Board Directors and Foundation Staff, will make a final determination on the Grant Program award. Finalists will be contacted regarding their status and amount of grant within 1-2 weeks of date of application.
  • Announcement and Payment: The Foundation will formally announce the Grant Program Recipients on the Foundation’s website as well as other media outlets. Grant payments will be distributed within three to five business days of award notification.

What We Fund:

Specifically, the Foundation created this Fund to support non-profit organizations which directly benefit the Golden community related to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, only one request is considered from an organization during any twelve-month period. The Foundation does not consider grants to organizations which discriminate on the basis of race, creed or gender. Additionally, no grants will be made to an organization whose primary purpose is to influence legislation or to participate in any political campaign.

What We Do Not Fund:

The Foundation will not consider grants for:

  • Direct support of individuals
  • Endowments
  • Research projects
  • Conferences, symposiums, or workshops
  • Debt retirement
  • Production of films or other media-related projects
  • For profit preschools, day care centers, nursing homes, etc.
  • Programs designed to influence legislation or elect candidates to public office
  • Tickets, raffles, golf outings, or sponsorships.
  • Note: The Foundation is unable to fund for-profit businesses. If you are a for-profit business, please consider looking at the “Small Business Resources” link listed on our COVID-19 Community Response Page.

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