Grant Recipients

Congratulations, you have been awarded money!  Now the hard work begins as you move forward with your project!  As a grant recipient there are a few things that you will be responsible for providing the Buena Vista County Foundation, this page provides an overview of those items and some helpful information.  In addition, to this page please refer back to your notification email which will contain the specific deadlines.

Grant Agreement

Prior to providing your organization with the actual grant funds each organization will be required to sign a simple grant agreement that outlines the terms of accepting grant funds from the foundation.

The Grant Agreement is between you, the Grant Recipient, and the Buena Vista County Community Foundation.  It does not involve your Fiscal Sponsor, if you are using one.  The Foundation must receive an original signature copy of the grant agreement for our files.  If your organization would like an original signature copy for your files please return to the foundation two (2) original signature copies and one will be mailed back to you with your check.  If you only submit one original signature agreement the Foundation will retain that form and email a PDF copy to the email on the application.

The Grant Agreement must be completed and signed by the highest official with authority to sign for the organization.  Signatures should be in blue or red ink.  The highest authorized signature is the individual within the organization who can bind the organization to the terms of the Grant Agreement.  For a City this is typically the Mayor, for the County the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, or for a not-for-profit organization the Board President or executive director.  If you have specific questions, please contact us or review our FAQ page.

Grant agreements should be mailed to our post office box (P.O. Box 771, Storm Lake, Iowa 50588) within two weeks of the notice of award.  Failure to complete the Grant Agreement within two weeks will result in loss of the award.

Promoting Your Project

As a grant awardee it is you responsibility to promote the grant award and the Foundation’s role in your project.  There are several types of promotion that grantees can do including short term temporary promotions (examples including press releases, acknowledging the Foundation in programs and publications, and providing notice in grantee newsletters) and permanent promotions.  Permanent promotions may include plaques, signage, and other long term acknowledgements.  As a grantee you should plan to do multiple types of promotions to acknowledge the grant from the Foundation including both temporary and permanent.

Project Extensions

From time to time a project runs into unforseen challenges that may require an organization to apply for an extension to their project.  All grants are awarded for a project that can be completed within 12 months of notice of award.  If your anticipated timeline shows the project beginning more than 12 months from the date grants are due you should wait for the next grant cycle to apply.

Should your project require an extension you should download and complete the Final Report form which also doubles as a request for extension form.  This form should be completed and submitted to the Foundation with an explanation of why the project is delayed and a new timeline for the project that the project organization will maintain.

Project Extension forms can be submitted to the foundation only through our website.

The report will be reviewed upon receipt and the organization will be notified by email as to if the extension is granted or denied.  If the extension is denied and the organization is not able to complete the project on time, then all grant dollars provided by the Foundation for this project will need to be returned to the Foundation immediately.

While the Foundation does not typically deny extension requests that right is reserved.  Reasons for why a request for extension might be denied include, but are not limited to, a history of delayed projects, an extension request that is too long, or inadequate reasoning for why the extension is needed.  Your award and signing of the Grant Agreement is a commitment to completing the project within 12 months from notice of award.  The organization should be diligent about completing the project within that time frame.

Final Report

Each grant recipient is required to complete a Final Report before the grant is closed out and the organization is eligible for additional funding.  Please Note: Starting with the Spring 2015 Grant Cycle this requirement is being strictly enforced.

The Final Report form must be completed on our website.  To complete the form each grantee will need to submit the following additional documentation:

• Copies of all receipts showing payment has been made. The cost of all receipts (if multiple you can include a summary document) should clearly show that the organization has spent all grant dollars awarded and all matching funds required as part of the original grant application.
• Pictures of the completed project.
• Pictures and copies of all promotion of the project and the Foundations role in the project.
• Any additional information that the recipient feels is relevant to show that the project is complete and that they have done what they proposed in the grant application.

You may submit your final report upon completion of all the required fields in the form.

When you submit your final report, we will review the report to ensure compliance with your Grant Application, Grant Agreement, and any Grant Extensions granted.  Upon review if everything is found to be in order you may receive an email confirmation of receipt and acceptance of the final report from the Foundation.  If there is anything missing or if additional information is needed you will be notified by email.  You can also check the status of your final report form by visiting our Past Grantees Page and the Grant Cycle you were awarded.  The final column of the chart indicates which projects have been closed out.

If your project did not spend all of the grant funds provided or you did not meet the match requirements of your award you will be required to pay any difference back to the foundation.  Payments should be made by check to the Buena Vista County Community Foundation and mailed to our post office box (P.O. Box 771, Storm Lake, Iowa 50588).  Prior to sending any payment please contact the Foundation.