Multi-Year Advocacy Grant

Before completing this application, please complete the Bolder Advocacy Capacity Tool, then use the results and capacity areas to develop your goals and benchmarks. This tool has been updated so please use the following link.

The application times out every 15 minutes, so we recommend that you cut, paste, answer, and save the following questions in a Word document. After you have answered all the questions, please paste your final version into the online grant application.

Organization Information

1. Enter the contact information for your organization, including name, mailing address, phone, and fax (optional), as well as a 100-word description of your organization and its mission.
2. Enter the Annual Budget for your organization.
3. Has your agency had a financial audit conducted by an outside auditor for a time period within the previous 18 months?

Contact Information

1. Enter the primary contact for this request.
2. Enter the name of your organization’s Executive Director/President or CEO.
3. Enter the name of the organization’s Board Chair.

Agency’s Advocacy Experience and Goals

1. Select the geographic area and population served/represented.
2. Describe your organization’s advocacy experience and how this work was accomplished. This may include previous work in public policy, advocacy to shape or improve programs, or institutional systems change advocacy – all of which go beyond individual advocacy services for your direct clients. Please share your most recent accomplishments and lessons learned. (300-word limit)
3. Describe the community or constituency that your organization advocates for and illustrate your experience in reaching, engaging, and serving this population. Please describe how they are/will be involved in setting or executing the organization’s advocacy strategy. What niche do you fill that is different from other associations or agencies serving the same population? (200-word limit)
4. How has your organization previously worked with coalition partners to advocate for policy or institutional changes? Please describe the partnership(s) and the role(s) played by your organization. (200-word limit)
5. Please complete this sentence: “Through systems change advocacy, our organization seeks to improve health for Tennesseans by… (100-word limit)
6. What are your organization’s systems change advocacy goals? Please explain how those goals aim to increase access to health services or prevent childhood trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences or “ACEs”). (300-word limit)
7. Using your results from the Advocacy Capacity Tool, please select all the applicable skills or capacities your organization currently has that position you well to pursue these goals.
8. Using your results from the Advocacy Capacity Tool, please select the skills or capacities your organization will prioritize to develop in the next three years in order to achieve your systems change advocacy goals. Please be sure to select at least one from each of the four main domain areas.

Required Attachments

1. Organization’s 3-year Strategic Plan, approved by the Board of Directors (please highlight advocacy goals and related work)
2. Summary results from Bolder Advocacy’s online Advocacy Capacity Tool. This free tool can be found at this link.

The information you entered on your preliminary application will populate into the appropriate fields in your full proposal. If needed, you will be able to change this information in the full proposal. Please remember to update and save your application after making any changes.

Statement of Inclusiveness

1. Please include your agency’s statement of inclusiveness indicating that services are provided without discrimination. This should be more than just your agency’s hiring practices. (100-word limit)

Media Contact Information

1. Enter the name of the staff member that handles media and communications.

Needs Assessment

1. Provide demographic information regarding your core constituency. What are the specific health needs or challenges faced by this population that can be addressed through public policy or systems change advocacy? Please provide citations for research or data source. (500-word limit)
2. Give evidence illustrating community need for your organization’s advocacy work and detail how the community or the state will benefit. If you are successful in your advocacy efforts, how many people in Tennessee could be directly impacted? Please provide citations for research or data source. (500-word limit)
3. Please describe specific policy or systems issues related to health care access and/or preventing childhood trauma that your organization wants to address through systems change advocacy. What challenges or opportunities do you see in the next three years and how is your organization well-positioned to address them? (300-word limit)

Advocacy Game Plan

1. Describe your organization’s advocacy experience and how this work was accomplished. This may include previous work in public policy, advocacy to shape or improve programs, or institutional systems change advocacy – all of which go beyond individual advocacy services for your direct clients. Please share your most recent accomplishments and lessons learned. (300-word limit)

2. How has your organization previously worked with coalition partners to advocate for policy or institutional changes? Please describe the partnership and the role(s) played by your agency. (200-word limit)

3. Describe the community or constituency for whom your agency advocates and illustrate your experience in reaching, engaging, and serving this population. Please describe how they are/will be involved in setting or executing the agency’s advocacy strategy. What niche do you fill that is different from other associations or agencies serving the same population? (200-word limit)

4. Please complete this sentence: “Through advocacy, our agency seeks to improve health for Tennesseans by… (100-word limit)

5. Drawing from your strategic plan, please outline your organization’s health advocacy goals over the next three to five years. What are the strategies you plan to use to achieve each goal? How will you evaluate success? Please explain how those goals aim to increase access to health services or prevent childhood trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences or “ACEs”). (500-word limit)

6. How does your agency propose to build or maintain these capacities in order to meet your systems change advocacy goals? Please ensure responses align with the advocacy goal tracker. (500-word limit)

7. What skills can you rely on other agencies to bring to collaborative work? Who else should be at the table? What are the specific area(s) of strength that your organization contributes in coalition work with other agencies? (250-word limit)

8. Will you be able to achieve your advocacy goals with existing staff? Will your organization need to hire or reallocate staff time to do advocacy work? Please explain. Include a professional biographical sketch for any new proposed staff. (200-word limit)

9. Identify additional current sources of funding that can be used to support the agency’s advocacy work. Please describe the length of the funding relationship and the likelihood of continued funding. Describe your plan for revenue to support advocacy. Please also describe any additional matching or in-kind support that the agency receives for advocacy. (300-word limit)

Financial Information

1. What is the total amount of support requested from The Trust?
2. Year 1 Request Amount
3. Year 2 Request Amount
4. Year 3 Request Amount
5. Identify additional current sources of funding that can be used to support the organization’s advocacy work. Please describe the length of funding relationships and the likelihood of continued funding. Describe your plan for revenue to support advocacy. Please also describe any matching or in-kind support the organization receives for advocacy. (300-word limit)

Data Integrity (250-word limit)

Please list the following:

1. Accounting software used by the agency
2. Describe how the software is backed up, including frequency and where backups are stored
3. Name and title of person(s) with access to enter data into the accounting software
4. If the accounting software is accessed by more than one user, please indicate if each user has a unique login and if there are any limits to user access.

Safeguarding of Assets (250-word limit)

1. Describe how agency checks and credit cards are physically secured
2. Name and title of person(s) with access to agency checks, credit cards, or online payment portals.
3. If online payment portals are utilized, please describe current user access and how new access is authorized
4. Please include the name and title of person(s) authorized to sign checks or approve online payments on behalf of the agency. Please indicate when dual approval is required.
5. If the agency uses credit cards, please describe the review and approval process for charges made by employees (including the name and title of person(s) responsible for reviewing the CEO’s charges). How is approval documented?

Processing of Transactions (100-word limit)

Please list the following:

1. Name and title of person(s) responsible for approving invoices for payment
2. Name and title of person(s) responsible for processing payments and issuing checks or online payments
3. Name and title of person(s) responsible for receiving funds for deposit
4. Name and title of person(s) responsible for processing deposits and remitting funds to the bank
5. Name and title of person(s) responsible for approving employee timesheets, leave forms, and payroll changes
6. Name and title of person(s) responsible for processing payroll. Please indicate if a 3^rd party payroll company is used or if payroll is processed internally.

Review & Reporting (100-word limit)

Please list the following:

1. Name and title of person(s) who prepare the monthly bank reconciliations
2. Name and title of person(s) who review the monthly bank statements and completed bank reconciliation reports (please indicate if reconciliation reports are not reviewed)
3. Name and title of person(s) who review payroll reports
4. Please describe how frequently board members review agency financial statements and what reports are provided.

Required Attachments

1. Organization’s 3-year Strategic Plan, approved by the Board of Directors (please highlight advocacy goals and related work)
2. Summary results from Bolder Advocacy Capacity Tool. This free tool can be found at this link.
3. Advocacy Goal Tracker and Three Year Plan
4. Unaudited Profit and Loss Statement/Statement of Activities (P&L) with aggregate year-to-date data rather than month by month statements. P&L for the year-to-date period should show AT LEAST six months of activity AND be through the most recently completed quarter.
5. Unaudited Balance Sheet/Statement of Financial Position as of the date that the Profit and Loss Statement ends. For example, if your P&L is for January 1 – December 31, 2017, the Balance Sheet should be as of December 31, 2017. Click here for an example of the financial statements that are required.
6. Organization Chart with employee names and titles (Please upload your chart as a pdf file).
7. Letter(s) of Support from current or potential coalition partners

Please contact Meredith Benton at (615)284-8271 ext. 116 for questions about Advocacy Grants.

We evaluate Advocacy Grants based on responses to the following questions.

1. Does this agency (*articulate a plan to) advocate for policies that have been demonstrated or reasonably assumed to improve the health of individuals throughout Middle Tennessee?

2. Do the agency’s (*intended) advocacy efforts coincide with the mission and values of The Trust to promote just health policy, respect, and access to care for vulnerable populations?

3. Do the advocacy goals of the organization include systemic changes that address an existing deficiency within the community?

4. Does this agency have clear and realistic advocacy goals in its strategic plan and capacity-building benchmarks in its proposal? *Does this agency articulate a clear commitment to and realistic expectation for engaging in strategic planning for advocacy? Do the deliverables from their CNM contract address the support they need?

5. Are the infrastructure and leadership present for the successful execution of the agency’s strategic plan (*to take on systems change advocacy work?)

6. Is the agency well-positioned to address a specific timely policy issue or opportunity for systemic change?

7. Does this agency (*intend to) work collaboratively with community partners to develop and execute advocacy strategies? Do they have a history of collaborative partnerships?

8. Has the agency engaged a broad base of constituents, clients or supporters in their advocacy strategy? (*Do they have a network of clients, members or constituents that they plan to engage?)

9. Does the agency appear to be sustainable and the organization financially viable if The Trust’s funding were to end?

Advocacy Grantees are required to provide a verbal or written final report. Please contact your program staff person to share your preference. The following questions are included in that report:

Multi-Year Advocacy Grant Annual Report

1. What systems change advocacy work did you most advance in the last year? What systems change advocacy goals will you work to advance next year? Limit response to 300 words.

2. What advocacy capacities did you most develop in the year? What helped you develop those capacities? Limit response to 300 words.

3. What advocacy capacities did you want to develop but didn’t? What barriers did you face? Limit response to 300 words.

4. What advocacy capacities will you focus on in the coming year? Why did you choose these capacities? Limit response to 300 words. (optional)

5. How can The Trust best support your advocacy capacity development and systems change advocacy work in the next year? Limit response to 300 words.

6. What else would you like to share with us about your advocacy work and/or the advocacy grants program? Limit response to 300 words. (optional)

Multi-Year Advocacy Grant Final Report

Progress Toward Capacity Benchmarks

1. What 3-5 systems or policies have changed as a result of your advocacy work during the entire grant term? Limit response to 500 words.

2. Comparing your advocacy capacity tool scores from your original application to now, where have you seen the most growth? How did you make progress in those capacities? Where would you like to have developed more capacity? Limit response to 500 words.

Advocacy Work Narrative

1. What advocacy “best practices” or core competencies have you developed during the entire grant term? Limit response to 500 words.

2. What else would you like to share with us about your advocacy work and/or the advocacy grants program? Limit response to 300 words. (optional)

Attachments: Please submit the following documents with your Final Report:

1. The most recently prepared financial statements including a Profit & Loss statement and a Balance Sheet. The statements should be for the same time period and may be internally prepared. Profit & Loss statements should include at least six months of activity. If your most recent financial statements do not include at least six months of activity, please provide statements for your most recently completed fiscal year.

2. ACT! Results page

3. Updated Goal Tracker