Grants Update for November 2023 Newsletter
By Lily Iatridis
The grant application submission window closed on October 20, with 171 applications received. Thirty-four applicants were for Arts & Culture, 48 for Education, 11 for Environment, 26 for Health, and 52 for Human Services.
After the October 20 deadline, Grants Committee co-chairs Claire Magee Ferguson and Katherine Bunn did an initial review of all the grant applications to ensure there were no duplicates or ineligible applicants and all were placed in the appropriate subject category.
On October 30, they led a detailed training for the entire committee on how to screen applicants and determine finalists using a rubric based on WIF’s five funding principles.
The strongest grant applicants will demonstrate that they are able to:
- Build resilience and/or demonstrate the ability to adapt to changing societal and environmental circumstances
- Reduce disparities in our community
- Increase accessibility
- Respond to, or are aware of, root causes
- Consider racial and/or gender equity
- Serve populations that are underserved or not reached through other resources or organizations
Members of the Grants Committee are divided into groups by the five subject areas: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, and Human Services. In November, the five subcommittee subject groups were tasked to review applicants and narrow down the number of candidates to four in their area by Thanksgiving. All grant applicants will be informed of their application status once the 20 finalists are chosen. After Thanksgiving, the WIF Finance Committee will commence with a financial review of the 20 remaining applicants to ensure they’ll be able to effectively use the WIF funds if received.
