Learn How You Can Help Spruce Up Our Beautiful Lands!

Public Lands Program: Capacity Building Grants

Frequently Asked Questions



Our organization is a 509(a)(3) group, but otherwise fits very well with the requirements for the grant.  Would our non-profit classification make us ineligible for this grant?

  • An organization with this classification is eligible to apply.  The 509(a)(3) status, as well as 509(a)(1) and 509(a)(2), are subsets of the larger 501(c)(3) charitable organization category.  We did not restrict the eligibility requirements past this large 501(c)(3) category, so organizations that are part of these subset groups are allowed to apply to the grant as long as they make a strong case that they do more than just award grants.


My organization wants to use the grant funds to employ new volunteers to work with one of our programs.  This process would include recruitment efforts, developing training programs and performing background checks.  Would these activities qualify as capacity building?

  • Unfortunately, this does not qualify.  It is focused on the mechanics and operations of a particular program and making that program stronger.  We want these grants to focus more on improving the organization as a whole.

 

One of our employees is working with us specifically on building our organizational capacity.  Would their salary qualify?

  • This is a possibility, but you would need to make a strong case that the work the employee is doing will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the organization.  You would need to detail the specific capacity building elements the employee is working on, as well as the time they spend on it.  When their work is over, will your organization be more effective in the long-term, as a direct result of their work?

 

Our organization wants to hire a part-time fundraising staff member to assist us in securing funds for each of our programs.  Could the grant money be applied to this employee’s pay?

  • This grant would be applicable to their pay if their position is part of a long-term plan to improve the fundraising capacity of the organization.  If you are hiring someone for six months, that does not qualify.  But if you are hiring someone with the goal that they become permanent fundraising staff, that would qualify because it would add to the overall effectiveness of the organization.

 

You mention and repeat the term "Friends Group" throughout the application.  Friends Groups are governed very differently than something like a Cooperating Association.  Do Cooperating Associations, and similar groups, meet the requirements to apply for your grants?

  • Yes, absolutely. Cooperating Associations, or any other 501(c)(3) nonprofits, that are in existence to serve a public land are eligible to receive the Capacity Building funds, assuming they meet all of the other eligibility requirements as listed on the application.

 

Based on the fact that our organization hosted a National Public Lands Day event, are we considered a Friends Group?

  • While many Friends Groups do host National Public Lands Day events, doing so does not necessarily qualify your organization as a Friends Group.  In order to be considered a Friends Group, and hence eligible for this grant, your organization needs to be a community based, non profit organization whose mission is focused on serving a local public land, and a collaborative partnership must have existed with this public land for at least one year. To clarify, what this means is that the purpose of your organization, your reason for existence, is to serve a specific public land in your community and that this public land recognizes you as such an organization.

Does development of a website qualify as capacity building?

  • Yes, website development does qualify as capacity building and is eligible for this grant.  This is assuming that the website will represent the entire organization and is not focused on a program or project. If the website is concentrated on one specific program, it would not qualify as capacity building for the purposes on this grant.

 

Is a Memorandum of Understanding the only documentation of a formal partnership with a public land that you will accept?

  • No, a Memorandum of Understanding is just one way to prove partnership with a public land.  Any formal agreement, such as a General Operating Agreement or similar legal document, is acceptable.  If your organization has an established partnership with a public land but there is no formal agreement, a letter from the public land manager, detailing the nature, structure, and history of the partnership, is also acceptable.

 

One of your required attachments is a copy of the applicants Organizational Budget.  If my group does not have such a document, are we ineligible to apply for the grant?

  • No, not having an already established Organizational Budget does not disqualify your group from applying to this grant. We understand that some smaller Friends Groups may not have established formal budget documents, and so we have created a simple budget template that may be filled out and submitted in place of the Organizational Budget. Download the budget template (xls).

 

Your application cites the due date as December 1st, 2009.  Does the application need to be received in your office by this date, or may it be postmarked by that date?

  • We will accept mail-in applications received past the due date, as long a they were postmarked by December 1, 2009.  However, those applications that are submitted by email must be received by midnight on December 1, 2009.

My organization has been in existence for several years, but our formal 501(c)(3) status was not granted by the IRS until this past year.  Does our tax status factor in to the eligibility requirement that states the applicant group must have been in existence for at least 2 years? 

  • The time period of two years can be measured from the date the group formed as an organization. We understand that some smaller Friends Groups may have worked through a fiscal agent in the past, or had delays in gaining 501(c)(3) status.  Hence, your tax status will not be a consideration in the two year requirement.   As long as your organization has been working to serve a public land for at least two years, regardless of tax status at the time of conception, you are eligible to apply.
Public Lands Program Capacity Building Grants