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• 2016 Matching Grant Guidelines Available

  Communities Foundation of Oklahoma (CFO) is committed to creating Funds that help communities meet the challenges of changing times; to connecting donors with community needs in supporting the long term impact of vital community organizations; and to meeting the charitable needs of all Oklahomans in communities large and small…now and forever.

  To promote community philanthropy and involvement and to strengthen charitable organizations in Oklahoma communities, the 2016 Matching Funds Programs are designed to help build and grow permanent endowment funds held at CFO. These matching programs are funded through the generosity of CFO donors.

  Matching funds are available January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, on a first-come, first-served basis. Once our allocation of matching funds is depleted, the program will end for the calendar year.

  Creating New Public School Foundation Endowments

  To support local education across our state, we are pleased to offer a $10,000 match for the establishment of a new $50,000 endowment benefiting a specific public school in Oklahoma. To be eligible for this special incentive, the benefiting public school must be recognized by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and appear on the most current State Public School Directory. Only one match will be awarded per benefiting public school.

  Establishing Agency and Designated Endowment Funds for New ClientsTo promote permanent endowments for charitable organizations, we are pleased to continue our matching program for nonprofit/charitable organizations, scholarship endowments, and individual/family/corporate endowments benefiting 501(c)(3) public charities. Only one match will be awarded per organization, per year. Matching funds are based on the following tier:

  • $ 5,000 match for the establishment of a $25,000 endowment
  • $10,000 match for the establishment of an endowment between $100,000 and $249,999
  • $15,000 match for the establishment of an endowment between $250,000 and $399,999
  • $20,000 match for the establishment of an endowment between $400,000 and $599,999
  • $25,000 match for the establishment of an endowment greater than $600,000

  Challenge Grants in Growing Current Endowments

  To encourage growth of existing endowments held at Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, we are pleased to offer a $2,000 match when new gifts into an existing endowment exceed $10,000. Only one match will be awarded per organization, per year.

  To learn more please contact Randy K. Macon, Executive Director at (405)488-1450, toll-free (877)689-7726, or send an email.

• Fiscal Sponsorship Guidelines Available

  Communities Foundation of Oklahoma (CFO) offers Fiscal Sponsorship services that adhere to Model C – the Pre-approved Grant Relationship as defined by Colvin & Link (2005).

  If you are interested in applying for Fiscal Sponsorship, please give due consideration to the following:

  1. Does your project have a legitimate nonprofit purpose?
  2. Would the IRS think this is a legitimate nonprofit activity if you applied for nonprofit status?
  3. Does your project have enough traction to get funding for this idea?
     a. Have you talked to potential funders?
     b. Do you have a core of dedicated individual donors? Have you identified revenue sources and started exploring those pathways?
     c. Remember projects under the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma umbrella are only able to solicit charitable donations in the State of Oklahoma. If you plan to seek funding from sources outside of Oklahoma, CFO will not be able to assist you with a Fiscal Sponsorship.

  *Remember fiscal sponsorship is not a way around nonprofit requirements.

  Applying for Fiscal Sponsorship

  Those interested in applying for Fiscal Sponsorship under the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma will work through the following steps:

  1. The person or organization seeking Fiscal Sponsorship shall establish a legal identity for the proposed project. IRS Form SS-4 allows you to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
  2. The person or organization seeking Fiscal Sponsorship will submit a written grant request to Communities Foundation of Oklahoma describing the specific program to be conducted. This must include a fully developed budget and timeline for project completion. Recall that Fiscal Sponsorship is intended to be a temporary arrangement. The template for the written grant request for Fiscal Sponsorship can be accessed by clicking here. (This link will download a Microsoft Word document to your computer.)
  3. CFO's Grants Committee will evaluate the grant request to determine whether the project is charitable and carries out the tax-exempt purpose of our organization.
  4. If it is found that the proposal furthers our exempt purpose, CFO's Board of Directors will issue a board resolution stating the grant proposal is approved and will be funded only to the extent that outside funds are received for the project. Note that CFO’s Board of Directors meets four times each year. The necessary board resolution will be issued after action is taken at the next board meeting. Please be prepared for the time delay with this step.
  5. If approved by the Board of Directors, Communities Foundation of Oklahoma will issue a written grant agreement setting forth all the terms and conditions that apply to the project’s use of the grant and relations with funding sources.
  6. After successfully completing all of the steps above, the project may now solicit funds for the specific grant. Remember that CFO’s bylaws provide that such solicitations shall be made only on the condition that CFO retains complete control and discretion over the use of all contributions received. This element of CFO control and discretion must be fully disclosed, in writing, when applying for funding. Additionally, CFO is only registered for charitable solicitations within the state of Oklahoma. You may not seek funds outside of the state under this agreement.
  7. As donations and grants are received for the specific project, the money is taken into income by Communities Foundation of Oklahoma and then disbursed as grant payments to the project, subject to the terms of the grant agreement between CFO and the project.
  8. Project organizers will submit written reports to CFO, in accordance with the grant agreement, showing actual expenditures of grant funds and outlining progress toward accomplishing the charitable purpose of the grant.

  Reference

  Colvin, G. L., & Link, G. (2005). Fiscal sponsorship: 6 ways to do it right. San Francisco, CA: Study Center Press.

• 2017 endowment matching program guidelines

  Communities Foundation of Oklahoma remains committed to creating endowments that help nonprofit organization's meet the challenges of changing times…now and forever.  To encourage constant growth, we are pleased to offer a matching program for new and existing endowment accounts.  
  
  Starting January 1, 2017, donations into endowment accounts will earn a match of five cents ($0.05) for each dollar ($1.00) processed, up to a maximum of fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000) matched in any given year.  
  
  Some examples:
  A new endowment established with an initial deposit of $25,000 will earn a match of $1,250
  If an existing endowment grows by $1,000,000 during the matching program period, the endowment will qualify for our maximum match of $50,000
  
  This will apply to all new and existing endowments.  These guidelines are always available on our website.  http://cfok.org/matching

• announcing advisor portal

  Fund Advisors with access to our new Community Donor Portal may visit www.cfok.org/portal.  If you have not yet received a username and password, and are a documented advisor for one or more charitable funds held at CFO, please email Randy K. Macon, executive director, for assistance.