DEADLINE: By midnight, July 31 – No exceptions. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered.
ABOUT MONTEREY COUNTY GIVES!
In 2000, the Monterey County Weekly launched an annual program to create ‘change through charity,’ to support selected local nonprofits’ new initiatives. That campaign has since evolved into Monterey County Gives! — a Special Project of the Weekly, the Community Foundation for Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. Through this partnership along with the support of our other major partners — the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel, Cannery Row Company and a growing list of Community Foundation donor advisors and other key supporters — MCGives! has raised and donated over $22 million dollars since inception.
MCGives! leverages the editorial and advertising support of the Monterey County Weekly, pro-rata matching funds from our major partners, and organization-generated challenge gifts — all to stimulate broad donor support. A special print edition in the Weekly in early November highlights each participating organization’s mission and their ‘Big Idea’ proposal for MCGives!. The campaign directs the Weekly’s readers and donors to the MCGives! website that enables online donations.
Monterey County Gives! will kick off with a matching fund that may reach $450,000, spurring new donors‘ participation. Last year over $5.4 million from over 4,700 donors was donated during the six-week campaign..
MCGives! is a shining example of collaboration — great partners committed to supporting a unique program to benefit local nonprofits and their missions.
HOW MCGives! WORKS
By early September we will choose a select number of nonprofits to be in this year’s Monterey County Gives! based on our committee’s best judgement as to the value of the Big Idea proposed, the organization’s track-record for success, and the impact on our community. We like novel ideas and initiatives, and most important, programs that can deliver on the vision.
The campaign takes flight with a special Monterey County Gives! issue in the Weekly in early-November, the same day the website goes live. The MCGives! campaign runs through midnight December 31.
Readers will have the opportunity to learn about your organization in both the MCGives! edition of the Monterey County Weekly and online at www.montereycountygives.com.
Readers of the Weekly are directed online to donate to the nonprofit(s) of their choosing. You are encouraged to utilize the MCGives! website for your year-end fundraising, thereby increasing your opportunity for obtaining MCGives! Organization Challenge Grants, Special Awards and the matching funds.
Monterey County Gives! generates a matching fund to encourage more giving. Each nonprofit will receive their pro-rata share of the match based on its donations received. The match is applied only on the first $75,000 your organization raises in MCGives!, to ensure the overall match fund is shared most equitably among all participating nonprofits (for every dollar raised (up to the first $75,000) during our campaign last year, the match was approximately 12%).
SPECIAL MCGives! AWARDS ($5,500 total)
The Ingenuity, Most Donors and Most Young Donors Awards are made possible through the generosity of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. The Florence Haspel Zeve Award for Women, Families and/or the Arts is made possible through Florence Zeve’s estate, as well as individual donors.
$2,500 Ingenuity Grant
This grant is awarded to one nonprofit that demonstrates ingenuity and creativity through their approach in resolving their sector’s challenges.
$1,000 Most Donors Award
This award will be given to the nonprofit that generates the most donors during MCGives!.
$1,000 Most Young Donors Award (from 18-35 Year Olds)
This award will be given to the nonprofit that receives the most donations from those who are between 18 and 35 years old. This award is meant to challenge our younger readers and the organizations participating to help stimulate more contributions. This is a way to generate excitement around philanthropy and to inspire the next generation, to experience the feelings of joy and reward that accompany acts of generosity. Plus, the goal is to jumpstart vital lifelong partnerships between younger donors and the local nonprofit community, with the hope that as their financial position grows so will their contributions and involvement.
$1,000 The Florence Haspel Zeve Award for Women, Families and/or the Arts
This award, created in memory of Florence Zeve, will be given to one nonprofit for their initiative for women, families and/or the arts, a program that deserves special recognition.
WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION'S BIG IDEA?
We are interested in organizations and projects that improve the health, welfare and environment of our community; that are innovative, original, and when implemented, will make a noticeable impact.
Clearly state your Big Idea. It can be something new, a continuation of your normal services, or general support of your work. The main thing is to describe it in a big way. Be creative and thoughtful. Demonstrate that you can deliver on the program you propose with your proposed budget — how your organization plans to succeed in your MC Gives! Campaign. The more original and specific your Big Idea, the more likely your group will attract the interest and attention of our selection committee and the Weekly’s editorial staff — for MCGives! Spotlights to be published during the campaign.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
The deadline for application submission is midnight, July 31. No exceptions. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered.
(Note: include your high-resolution photos and most recent IRS 990 Form or your application will be considered incomplete)
THE PROCESS
A committee of Weekly and CFMC staff will review all proposals. Our goal is to select approximately 150 participating organizations, so the process will be competitive. Proposals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
- Any 501(c)3 organization that serves Monterey County is eligible to apply (sorry, we do not accept applications from groups with fiscal sponsors)
- We are seeking proposals that demonstrate innovative, mission-critical work, support diversity and have the greatest opportunity to make a measurable, positive impact in Monterey County.
- Organizations must have a board of directors of at least three members
- In the RFP, you will be asked to show how you plan to succeed in your MC Gives! Campaign. We have expectations that participating nonprofits will raise a minimum of $1,000 during the campaign — most raise much more than that
Your organization may participate in Monterey County Gives! campaign while pursuing any other fundraising campaign. If chosen to participate, you may be required to submit additional due diligence documents prior to the public announcement of the campaign, in order to be included.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF YOUR SELECTION
Organizations selected for the Monterey County Gives! Campaign will be informed by September 3 via email. The final award your organization receives, including the pro-rata match, will be determined once all donations are tallied in January after costs for production of the special MCGives! Special Issue, development of the website, credit card fees, and other accounting costs are deducted. Last year’s costs for running this campaign were 2.58%. Your group will receive funds by the week of March 1. All donations are handled by the CFMC, and directly deposited into the Monterey County Gives! Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. The official tax notification will be generated for donations $250 or greater by the CFMC (all donors receive an email receipt from the MCGives! website upon making their donation). However, it is our recommendation that you send a personal thank-you to each donor.
IMPORTANT: DEADLINES AND THE APPLICATION FORM
Your application, including attaching both your photos and most recent 990 form, must be completed by the deadline or your application will not be considered.
SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION BY MIDNIGHT JULY 31
Questions? Email: [email protected]
FINAL NOTES
1. Please add [email protected] to your email list and/or be sure to check your spam folder as to not miss any important updates from the Monterey County Gives! team.
2. You can work on this document and save (and resume) as you need to.
3. All fields with an *asterisk must be completed.
TIPS
For fields requiring NUMBERS OR DOLLAR AMOUNTS, only use numbers. Do not use commas, dollar signs, percent signs or text, or any decimals, as these will cause an error.
Word Count & Other Punctuation Issues
Because this is an online form, each field has a different space for your responses (the "word count"). In some circumstances, the form may seem to indicate there is more space for additional text, but when you press Submit you may receive a notice you are over the word count. In this case, please edit/shorten your response.
NOTE: Due to the slightly different ways the online form can read your text and punctuation, e.g. the way in which hyphens are counted, long dashes, numbers, $ signs, or commas, you may get a different word count on this form than in Microsoft Word. Please be patient and cut/edit as necessary. If you get stuck, we can assist.
Technical Challenges?
Email: [email protected] We are available for RFP support between 9am-noon and 1pm-4:00pm Monday-Friday. Really stuck? As a last resort call 831-394-5656, but first email your technical challenge and give us a chance to respond. Thank you!
