Thanks to the generous support of our new and renewing members, we have achieved our goal of 500 memberships and will be able to award High Impact Grants in each of five Focus Areas: Arts & Culture; Education; Environment, Recreation and Preservation; Family and Health & Wellness.
During Grant Award Night on October 25, we will announce this year’s grant recipients. This annual event is the exciting culmination of much hard work done by many Impact SA member volunteers.
Each year, the grant process starts in the spring with agency training for nonprofits from San Antonio and the surrounding counties. Agencies wishing to apply for a grant then complete an organizational questionnaire which, together with agency financial information, is used to help determine each applicant’s readiness to implement an Impact San Antonio grant. Agencies are notified of the results of this readiness review, and those that qualify then submit a project application.
Grants given out in 2021 can be used for new programs, to expand existing programs, or for capital investments/construction projects. Recognizing the continued financial effects of the pandemic, we also are accepting applications for projects to sustain all or part of an existing program that has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Project applications submitted by the deadline are screened for completeness and compliance with Impact SA’s grant criteria. Approved applications are then passed to the appropriate Grant Review Committee, based on the Focus Area chosen by the applicant.
Trained grant reviewers will conduct multiple rounds of reviews and site visits during the summer to evaluate the more than 120 applications we received and select the 10 grant finalists. Reviewers will use these guidelines to help them determine the best project proposals in each Focus Area:
- Address a critical need in one or more of our five Focus Areas.
- Improve the quality of life for people in San Antonio and the surrounding counties.
- Benefit either a large population, or a smaller population in a major way.
- Result in an innovative approach to address a critical problem or expand on (or continue to use) an already successful approach.
- Result in compelling and measurable outcomes.
The finalists will be announced in September and will receive training to prepare presentations about their projects. Impact SA members will see these presentations online during the week leading up to Grant Award Night and vote to decide which ones will receive high impact grants. The grant process reaches its crescendo on Grant Award Night as we announce the five $100,000 grant recipients. The five remaining finalists each will receive a smaller Support Grant.
After grants are awarded, members serving as liaisons will work with grant recipients to ensure that grant funds are used for the project members voted on. They also will advocate for the grant recipients, sharing stories of the impacts these projects have on the lives of those served.
Whether or not you have a hands-on role in this process, you play a huge part in making it possible with your membership contributions, which go directly to funding our grants. We thank you for your support of Impact San Antonio and for helping nonprofits transform lives in our community!
