2015 OREGON ACE PROGRAM GRANTS FOR LAND TRUSTS CONSERVATION CATALYST OUT-OF-CYCLE GRANT GUIDELINES A Program of the Land Trust Alliance For More Information Contact: Brad Paymar, Northwest Conservation Manager, [email protected], (971) 202-1483 CONSERVATION CATALYST GRANT PROGRAM OVERVIEW Purpose The Land Trust Alliance is partnering with the John Gray family to deliver the Oregon Advancing Conservation Excellence (ACE) Program. This program is a multi-faceted, results-oriented land trust capacity-building grant and technical assistance program designed to increase the pace, improve the quality, and ensure the permanence of land conservation in Oregon. Special Requirements These guidelines are specifically for Conservation Catalyst Grants. While it is anticipated that many Conservation Catalyst proposals will involve multiple partners, there may only be one Applicant for the grant. This entity will act as the fiscal agent for the grant. Grant Period The grant period is from June 29, 2015 – June 29, 2016 for one year grants and June 29, 2015 to June 29, 2017 for two year grants. Grant Amount There is no set maximum grant award for Conservation Catalyst grants. Application All potential applicants for Conservation Catalyst Grants must submit a application by June 9, 2015. To begin your application you will need to login to our online grant management system and create an account, by clicking on “Create New Account.” You will not need to create a new account if you have an existing account from the previous year of the ACE program. Once you have logged on, click “apply” on the top left column of the screen and then input the access code “1483” and hit enter. Select “Oregon ACE Grant” from the list of available grant categories. Please use the web address below. https://www.grantinterface.com/Common/LogOn.aspx?eqs=rnkDWlzN7Q SOcTHagMd22ZYBojy0XuVR3y3oa-toKC81 Please complete the appropriate budget template for this grant category. You will upload your budget table into the online application program. Contact Katie Fales if you need the link to the online application program, a copy of the budget template, or encounter difficulties using the online application program: [email protected], or 971-202-1484. Out-of-Cycle Grants Land trusts may apply for grants from the Conservation Catalyst for emerging, time-sensitive opportunities that arise outside of the November to November grant cycle. Applicants will follow Application processes described above for out-of-cycle grants. Applicants can apply for out-of-cycle grants for one or two year terms. Applicants will receive notice of award of out-of-cycle grants within a month of submitting an application. The Grant Review Committee will evaluate out-of-cycle applications using the same criteria as in-cycle Conservation Catalyst proposals. Out-of-cycle grants from the Conservation Catalyst program are funding dependent. Inquiries We encourage interested land trusts to discuss their applications with Alliance staff before submitting them. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applicant land trusts must be a member of the Alliance and COLT (not all partners must be Alliance or COLT members). Applicant must have completed an ACE Program Needs Assessment in 2012 (not all partners must have undergone a Needs Assessment). Applicant must provide a minimum 20% cash match against total project budget. Staff time is considered in-kind and is not eligible as match. Applicants may not use other Land Trust Alliance grant funds as match. PROJECTS NOT ELIGIBLE General brochures and newsletters. GRANT AGREEMENT At the time of notification of an award, the Alliance will send a grant agreement to the grant recipient. Once the agreement is signed and executed, the Alliance will release the first half of the awarded funds to the grantee to begin the project. The land trust must complete an interim report on the progress of the Conservation Catalyst grant after six months in order to receive the remaining funds for the year. A final grant report is due within 30 days of the end of the grant period. Multi-year grants: Grantees who receive multi-year Conservation Catalyst grants will receive half of the year one funding upon receipt of the executed grant agreement. The remainder of the year one funding will be disbursed when the Alliance receives their interim progress. Second year grant disbursements will have the same reporting requirements and disbursement schedule. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For one year grants, a final report summarizing activities and outcomes will be due upon completion of the project, or no later than 30 days after the end of the grant period. Twoyear grant recipients must complete an annual report after the first year of their grant period in order to receive the second annual disbursement. In addition to the grant reports described above, a data form will be collected annually in January to gather information necessary to measure the impacts of the ACE program. All grant recipients must complete and return this data form in a timely fashion in order to remain eligible to participate in the program. All reporting must be completed online by logging into the same system you used to apply for this grant. Deadlines and forms for Interim and Final reports will be given in your grant agreement. Failure to provide the completed report may require that the grantee return grant funds.
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