The Ruth Mott Foundation Grant Program
The Ruth Mott Foundation is a family foundation that funds organizations and programs serving residents in the City of Flint and Genesee County, Michigan. Our funding is focused in the areas of Arts and Culture, Beautification and Health Promotion advancing our mission to advocate, stimulate and support community vitality. We welcome grant requests for programs that encourage creative ways to address community issues and that offer a high level of sustainable impact.
If you would like to apply for a grant, please read through this information, and browse our most recent grants database to see the types of programs we fund. We also encourage you to talk with one of our program officers, who can help you determine if your grant request is likely to be a good match with our funding priorities.
Please note that we consider only projects that serve Flint or Genesee County residents.
Funding Priorities
These three areas encompass the focus of our funding:
Arts and Culture
The Ruth Mott Foundation focuses funding for arts and culture on community arts, which we identify as community-driven programs, projects and activities that are led by skilled artists, engage local residents, address issues of local concern and reflect and honor local culture.
We are especially interested in funding programs, projects and activities that:
- Support arts and culture learning
- Promote or encourage positive community change
- Celebrate Flint’s culture and heritage
The Ruth Mott Foundation defines arts and culture broadly to include all forms of arts and cultural expression.
Beautification
The Ruth Mott Foundation’s beautification funding is dedicated to initiatives that help create safe, attractive and livable communities. We support activities around neighborhoods, land use, and parks and public spaces that:
- Involve residents in planning the kind of community they want to live in
- Transform and enliven public places
- Offer sustainable solutions to challenges with parks systems and other public spaces
- Engage citizen-led efforts to increase community livability and safety
- Develop leadership that will support long term change
Health Promotion
The Ruth Mott Foundation supports health promotion, which creates the conditions and reinforces the behaviors necessary to achieve good health. The foundation does not make grants focused on treating illness. Within health promotion, we are interested in projects that:
- Foster healthy sexuality
- Promote active living
- Support a healthy food system
Funding Values
Our five funding values guide our decisions about programs we support. We strive to do the following and seek partners who do the same:
- Build effective collaborations
- Increase community engagement
- Demonstrate diversity and inclusion
- Inspire hope and pride
- Establish a plan for continuous improvement and learning
Eligible Applicants
Grants are awarded to non-profit 501 (c) 3 organizations and to other qualifying tax-exempt institutions such as schools, units of government, hospitals and religious institutions. We do not make grants to individuals. If your organization does not have 501 (c) 3 status but wishes to propose a project, talk to one of our program officers to learn about your options.
Preparing a Grant Application
If you believe your project is a good fit with the foundation’s funding priorities and values, and you would like to apply for a grant, a good first step is to talk with one of our program officers. If you are not already working with a program officer, call the foundation office so we can put you in touch with Elizabeth Jordan, Sylvester Jones, or our program director, Raquel Thueme. Or, you may contact them directly by phone at (810) 233-0170 or e-mail.
Elizabeth Jordan: ejordan@ruthmott.org Sylvester Jones: sjones@ruthmott.org
Raquel Thueme: rthueme@ruthmott.org
If your project has not been previously funded by the Ruth Mott Foundation, you may be encouraged to meet with a program officer and bring a brief, one-page summary of your concept.
What to include in your grant proposal
To be complete, your proposal must include all of the following:
For project-specific requests:
- Proposal narrative (no more than 5 single-spaced pages)
- Project description- include number of participants to be served
- Why is this project needed and how does it fit with RMF Funding Priorities and Funding Values?
- How are other partners involved?
- Prior results (for existing projects)
- Logic Model (see the attached sample format or use your own logic model)
- Project budget (you may use the attached Total Project Budget template)
For general operating support requests:
- Your organization’s mission and brief summary of key programs
- Relevant organizational changes and top organizational priorities (include strategic plan if applicable)
Documents required with all proposals (please note if a document is already on file with the foundation rather than sending an additional copy):
- Proposal Cover Sheet with signatures of the executive director and board chair (use the attached REQUIRED proposal cover sheet template)
- Audited financials for the most recent 3 years – OR– the Financial Reporting Form (use the attached form) if you do not have audits
- IRS 990 Forms for the most recent 3 years (or note if it is not applicable)
- Your organization’s board-approved annual budget for the year of the proposed grant
- Current board member list and staff list
- Current racial and gender composition of board and managerial/non-managerial staff
- Organizational history
- Most recent annual report (optional)
If we require you to have a fiscal sponsor, you will need to also provide the following:
- Audited financials for the most recent 3 years of the fiscal sponsor
- A copy of the Ruth Mott Foundation Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement signed by the fiscal sponsor’s executive director and board chair
- A signed copy of the Memorandum of Understanding outlining the relationship and mutual agreements between the fiscal sponsor and the project
At the end of this document, you will find a proposal checklist with all required components to help you make sure your application is complete. Only applications that are complete and received by the cutoff date will be reviewed. The cutoff dates for the 2012 funding cycles are December 16, 2011, March 30, 2012 and August 10, 2012.
How to submit your proposal
We will accept materials submitted electronically or as a hard copy, as long as the proposal cover sheet includes the required signatures. If you submit materials electronically, please e-mail them to both rmf@ruthmott.org and to your program officer.
If you submit a hard copy, please send it to:
Ruth Mott Foundation
111 E. Court St. Suite 3C
Flint, Michigan 48502-1649
We will notify you when we receive your proposal. Your program officer will stay in touch with you as your proposal advances through the assessment process and may contact you with additional questions.
Funding Cycles
The Ruth Mott Foundation accepts grant proposals throughout the year. Final approval of grants rests with the foundation’s board of trustees, who generally meet three times a year. For 2012, proposals received by December 16, 2011, March 30, 2012, and August 10, 2012 will be accepted for board consideration at the March, June, and November board meetings, respectively.
Any questions?
We encourage you to talk with Elizabeth Jordan, Sylvester Jones or Raquel Thueme if you have questions about the Ruth Mott Foundation’s grant program or your proposal.
Contact Us
Main Office Phone: (810) 233-0170
Fax: (810) 233-7022
Website: www.ruthmott.org
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