Grants

NOTICE:

There will be NO Grant Writing Session this year. For any questions, please contact Tracy Trenkamp on our Contact page.

Grant Guidelines

Funding Allocation Policy

Revised March 2010

1.  Purpose.  The purpose of this document is to provide the Board of Directors of Clinton County Development Association (“CCDA”) an objective and consistent framework within which to award grants to deserving qualified organizations in such a manner as to optimize the present and future benefits of such grants to the citizens of Clinton County.

2.  Scope.  The allocation formula described herein shall be applied to the total amount available for distribution as of each determination date.  The “total amount available for distribution” shall be determined annually by the CCDA Board of Directors.

3.  Determination Date.  “Determination date” as used in this document shall mean the first Wednesday in March of each year.  Fund A Grant applications from eligible organizations shall be due in the CCDA office on the second Tuesday in April of each year, and Fund B applications shall be due by the second Tuesday of July each year. The Board of Directors shall make awards from the funds described below as soon as practicable after such date.

4.  Formula.  The total amount available for distribution shall be allocated to two separate funding pools as follows:
• 50% of the total amount shall be allocated to Fund A, any funds not distributed shall be carried over to Fund B.
• 50% of the total amount shall be allocated to Fund B.

5.  Fund A.  Funds allocated to Fund A shall be awarded with the goal of accomplishing economic, civic or community development within Clinton County, Iowa, to improve the area economy, and to create and retain employment opportunities. Any organizations, which are awarded funds from Fund A, shall be required to obtain, from sources other than CCDA, funds for the organization's specific project equal to 50% of the total project cost.  In determining whether an organization meets this matching funds requirement, in-kind contributions of labor or land toward the specific grant shall not qualify toward the 50%.  In-kind material contributions will qualify.
Download
CCCDAGrantAppFormFundA.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [40.5 KB]
Download
Grant Application Fund A.doc
Microsoft Word document [52.5 KB]
6.  Fund B.  Funds allocated to Fund B may be awarded, subject to a matching funds requirement, to qualified organizations up to $75,000.  Any organizations, which are awarded funds from Fund B, shall be required to obtain, from sources other than CCDA, funds for the organization's specific project equal to 25% of the total project cost.  In determining whether an organization meets this matching funds requirement, in-kind contributions of labor or land toward the specific grant shall not qualify toward the 25%.  In-kind material contributions will qualify.
Download
CCCDAGrantAppFormFundB.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [35.9 KB]
Download
Grant application Fund B.doc
Microsoft Word document [52.0 KB]
7.  Residual Amounts.  Any funds that are awarded as grants from Fund A and which are not distributed by June 30th of the following year or Fund B and which are not distributed by September 30 of the following year shall revert to the general fund for re-allocation.

8.  Governmental Support.  Projects requiring commitment from a governmental body must receive that commitment prior to applying for funding from the CCDA.

9.  Consecutive Funding Limit.  In the event that a qualified organization receives grants for three consecutive calendar years, regardless of the fund, the qualified organization will not be allowed to apply to either fund for one calendar year.  In the event that an organization which was originally considered ineligible for a current year, forfeits an entire grant award before the application due date of a potentially forth-coming application, their ineligibility will be re-determined based on the forfeiture.

10.  Awards Covering Marketing Costs.  No organization will receive funding for marketing costs (i.e. advertising, promotion) more than once in a three-year period.

11.  Qualified Organizations.  Qualified organizations are those organizations which meet the definition of an “eligible organization” (as defined below) and which submit a grant application that is not an “ineligible application” (also defined below).

12.  Number of Applications.  Qualified organizations may submit up to three applications in each pool per funding period.  This limit includes applications the qualified organization submits on its own behalf as well as ones it submits on behalf of non-qualified organizations.

13.  Grant Extension Policy.  The Board of Directors of the CCDA shall be called upon to consider extensions of awarded grants from time to time.  These extensions shall be considered at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors.  The board reserves the right to request that the organization appear before the board to review the merits of the extension.  As extensions are considered, extension(s) may be made for any length of time not to exceed 12 months.  In the event that an extension is requested beyond 12 months, the organization requesting the extension shall be required to appear before the board to present a detailed description and summary of the project.  Further extensions will be considered only if the project has not changed in any material way from the original grant application.  The board reserves the right to refuse any grant extension request.  

Back to Top

Eligible Organizations 

To be eligible for a grant from the Clinton County Development Association, an organization must meet all of the following tests as of the date specified by the Clinton County Development Association as the deadline for submission of grant applications:

A.  The organization must be described in at least one of the following code sections:

      • Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)(charitable, religious, or educational 
        organizations);
 
      • Internal Revenue Code Section 170(c)(2)(governmental units); or
 
      • Iowa Code Section 99B.7(3)(b) (educational, civic, public, charitable, patriotic, or religious
        organizations).

B.  The organization and project must be physically located within Clinton County, Iowa.

C.  The organization must not illegally discriminate on the basis of age, gender, or race.

D.  The organization must be in compliance with the terms and purposes of any prior grant from the Clinton County Development Association.  If the organization has violated the terms of any prior grant, the organization will be considered ineligible until such time as the violation has been cured.

Back to Top

Ineligible Applications

To be eligible for a grant from the Clinton County Development Association, an organization must submit an application that is not described by any of the following:

A. Applications which benefit specific individuals, including education scholarships.
B. Applications which benefit the individual members of an eligible organization.
C. Applications which request funds to cover operational costs.
D. Applications which request funds to make up for deficit spending.
E. Applications which request funds to salvage any program or organization.
F.  Applications which request funds to retire an organization's debt.
G. Applications which request funds to support any private for-profit enterprise.
H. Applications which request funds to be used directly or indirectly in political campaigns to
    support or oppose any candidate.
I.  Applications which request multiple-year grants.
J.  Applications receiving funding in one respective “Fund” will not be accepted as duplicate

    applications in another respective “Fund.”