SOSNA Micro-Grants
SOSNA’s mission is to identify and leverage our community resources to provide answers and create meaningful solutions that empower and connect our neighbors.
Our mini-grants aim to fulfill one or more of
our organizational goals below:
1
To act as the impact hub and facilitate connections for neighborhood nonprofits, businesses, community groups, and neighbors.
2
To foster programs and initiatives that lead to a cleaner, litter-free neighborhood.
​
3
To collectively preserve and enhance public spaces as the heart of our community’s history and future.
​
4
To continuously develop volunteer engagement opportunities and build an engaged audience reflective of our neighborhood.
Granting Eligibility
All applicants must live in the boundaries of SOSNA or funding must directly serve our neighborhood. Applicant organizations must be 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations or have sponsoring 501(c)3 nonprofit organization if applying for more than $1,000. We will grant to a sponsoring 501(c)3 when necessary. Individuals can apply for funding under $1,000.
Application Process
SOSNA has a two-stage application process which includes a proposal submission and a proposal review for funding eligibility. Your submission is followed by a presentation to our SOSNA Impact Committee. Our Committee will review applications on a rolling basis and present their recommendations at our Board Meeting on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Below, we’ve outlined what applicants can expect, from initial outreach through final consideration.
As a first step, we strongly suggest reviewing the program goals before submitting an idea. This will allow you to confirm that your proposed work aligns with SOSNA’s strategic priorities and eligibility requirements. If you would like to speak to program staff about your application before submitting an inquiry, please email hello@sosnaphilly.org.
STEP 02
PROJECT REVIEW
Once Step 2 has been approved by our Community Outreach Committee, you will be requested to present to your full proposal to our Board of Directors. Following the presentation, the final proposal review will be done by the SOSNA Board of Directors. Our program staff with communicate with you during this process to let you know if there is any more information needed on behalf of your application.
For full proposals, we will require a quote where a vendor or subcontractor is concerned as well as an explanation for how and why the vendor or subcontractor was selected. For some projects it may be appropriate to request quotes from multiple bids sought. We prefer supporting local businesses whenever possible and also encourage inclusion of minority, women, and disabled owned businesses.
SOSNA is under no obligation to fund a proposal. If we choose to fund an idea, SOSNA may suggest various forms of partnering.
Application Review
The ideas submission and inquiry form review process typically requires intermediary communication between SOSNA and applicant to answer questions that surface during review. Questions may be related to any of the following components of SOSNA’s application review process:
Results, Milestones, and Activities
Every application requires a description of the specific result anticipated to be achieved through successful completion of the proposed work, as well as the key activities and milestones that will be critical to achieving that result. SOSNA staff may be in touch to clarify the project’s activities, milestones, and anticipated results and how they relate to SOSNA’s 2018 Strategic Goals.
Project vs. General Support
SOSNA typically provides funding for projects rather than general operating support. However, direct costs can include funding for staff, materials, and other organizational costs associated with the project, and we encourage organizations to include funding to support related indirect costs or overhead in the project budget.
Grant Size and Matching Requirements
The size of a grant from SOSNA depends on the nature of the proposed work and the need of a particular project.
A match for grant requests is not required unless specifically communicated during the application process. However, part of the SOSNA’s focus on collaboration and fostering partnerships is an interest in bringing together multiple funders around shared priorities. We always welcome the opportunity to pool resources.
If you have questions about the application process that are not answered here or in program-specific FAQs, please contact us at nicoleatsosna@gmail.com.