Operating Grant

Operating Grants provide unrestricted funds for nonprofits that have already received 3 years of grants from The Healing Trust. These nonprofits have organizational and financial strength and have received a grant from The Trust within the last 12 months. Grant size is based on the budgeted operating expenses of the agency.

 
 
 

AGENCY BUDGET SIZE
$500,000 – $999,999
$1M – $1,999,999
$2M and above

MAX REQUEST AMOUNT
$40,000
$49,500
$63,000

In addition to meeting our general eligibility requirements, Operating Grant applicants must also:

Have an established relationship with The Trust:

  • Agency has at least three full years of previous grant funding history with The Trust. The three years do not have to be consecutive.
  • Agency has received a grant from The Trust within the previous 12 months.
  • Agency met or exceeded outcomes and complied with all reporting procedures with previous grants.

Have a mission that aligns with The Trust’s mission:

  • Agency provides compassionate health services to the vulnerable in Middle Tennessee.
  • At least 51% of the agency’s clients must live within the geographical area funded by The Trust. These clients must also have low incomes.
  • The majority of the agency’s programs must be health services. These programs must produce measurable, positive health outcomes within one of The Trust’s areas of interest or include efforts to increase access to compassionate health care.

Have demonstrated organizational sustainability and stable financial position:

  • Agency had revenues (excluding in-kinds) of $500,000 or more in their most recent year of operation.
  • Agency must have received an unqualified audit for the prior two years. The agency must provide any letters from their auditors which communicate material weaknesses and/or significant deficiencies in the agency’s internal controls.

Guidelines:

  • Request amounts must follow the guidelines based on size of agency’s budget (operating expenses) for the most current budget year.
  • Requests cannot exceed $63,000.
  • Applicant cannot apply for a Transom and Operating Grant within the same year.
  • Grants are awarded for one-year terms.
 

1. Application Details

Deadlines
The Operating Grant does not have a preliminary application. The full application is due on the Full Proposal Deadline.
Contact Information

  1. Indicate the primary contact for this request.
  2. Indicate your organization’s Executive Director. This is your organization’s highest-ranking salaried position. Could also be titled President or CEO.
  3. Indicate the organization’s Board Chair and Treasurer.

Organization Information

  1. Identify your organization, including: name, mailing address, phone, and fax
  2. Indicate the primary contact for this request.
  3. Indicate your organization’s Executive Director. This is your organization’s highest-ranking salaried position. Could also be titled President or CEO
  4. What is your organization’s annual budget?

Executive Summary

  1. Describe your organization. Please include the mission statement and the date established as a 501(c)(3). (250 word limit)
  2. Please tell us about any changes that have happened within the agency over the past year. Please also describe any recent accomplishments. If there is anything that you would like us to know about your agency that isn’t described in the rest of the proposal, please tell us here. (250 word limit)
  3. 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)
  4. Please describe your agency’s collaborations and how they assist your organization in more effectively serving its target populations. New applicants are required to include current Letters of Support from all significant Collaborative Partners. Letters of Support are optional for recurring Operating Grant applicants.
  5. Choose the geographical area by county(ies) served and identify the target populations served by the agency.

Needs Assessment

  1. Please use local data to describe the prevalence of the need in the communities that you serve and how the programs that you operate meet those needs. (300 word limit)
  2. Please detail the demographic information of your organization’s clients. (250 word limit)

Organization Goals

  1. What are your agency goals for the upcoming year? (200 word limit)
  2. How many individuals will be served by your agency in the upcoming year? Please break down numbers by target populations and/or programs if possible. (200 word limit)
  3. Please list the measurable outcomes that your agency hopes to accomplish in the upcoming year. Your outcomes should be measurable, and at least 50% of your stated outcomes should have positive health implications.  Please use The Trust’s outcome format. E.g. 50 out of 100 (50%) of clients will have a reduction in trauma symptoms. (200 word limit)

Organization Staffing

  1. The Trust cares about the sustainability of your organization and views sustainability as more than just financial. Please tell us about any succession planning that the agency has done in the past few years. If you anticipate any change in your agency’s leadership team within the next two years, please describe here, and if so, what is the agency doing to prepare new leaders? (250 word limit)
  2. Please list the names, titles, annual salaries and give a brief biographical sketch for each member of your agency’s leadership team. (250 word limit)

Organization Strategic Plan

  1. Please describe how these operating funds will assist you in meeting your agency’s goals and outcomes. (500 word limit)
  2. Please list the date of the adoption of your agency’s most recent strategic plan and list the goals and benchmarks that were outlined in the strategic plan. Indicate what years are covered by the most recent strategic plan. If it is nearing the end of your strategic plan term, please provide an update as to how the agency has performed relative to the plan’s benchmarks and goals. (500 word limit)

Required Attachments

  1. Current Financial Statements (Unaudited Profit and Loss Statement) Please include aggregate year to date data rather than month by month statements.
  2. Current Financial Statement (Unaudited Balance Sheet)
  3. Organization Chart (Please upload your chart as a pdf file)

Optional Attachments

  1. Current Letter(s) of Support from Collaborative Partners. These letters are required for new Operating Grant applicants. They are optional for recurring Operating Grant applicants.

Please contact Meredith Benton for questions about Operating Grants that address healing from abuse, neglect, and violence at (615)284-8271 ext 116.

Please contact Catherine Smith for questions about Operating Grants that address mental health and recovery from alcohol and drug addiction at (615)284-8271 ext 121.

Please contact Jennifer Oldham for questions about Operating Grants that address physical health at (615)284-8271 ext 114.

 

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

1. Does this agency benefit the health of individuals through near term direct services or through longer term structural enhancement efforts?

2. Do the values and mission of this agency coincide with the mission and values of The Trust to promote compassionate, holistic healthcare?

3. Does this agency focus on health needs of underprivileged population(s)?

4. Does this agency address existing deficiency (ies) within the community?

5. Does this agency have clear, measurable and realistic outputs and outcomes and does the agency have a reasonable, current strategic plan?

6. Does this agency work collaboratively within the community to ensure that needed services are delivered in the most effective manner?

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

8. Are the infrastructure and leadership present for the agency to succeed?

9. Does this organization offer a spiritual/ faith-based approach to care?

Operating grantees are required to submit a final report. The following questions are included in that report. To submit your final report, please log in to your account and select “requirements.”

1. For each of your anticipated goals and outcomes listed above, please describe, in the same format as they are listed, your current progress toward meeting your organization’s goals and outcomes.

2. Describe any unexpected occurrences or problems. Additionally, if you have met less than half of your projected goals and outcomes, please explain why.

3. Have you revised any of your original goals and outcomes since the grant began?

4. Please describe any changes that you have had with leadership staff since the beginning of this report.

5. Cite a specific example or story that illustrates how your agency is living out its mission.

Ready To Start?

Applicants must also meet our general eligibility criteria. You will need your agency’s Tax ID number to begin the application. Please remember to update and save after modifying any of the fields. We also suggest that you save your text in a Microsoft Word document as a backup.

Get the Operating Grant checklist here and begin your application or return to a saved application.

 

Begin Your Application