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Venture grants are time-limited grants for innovation. In most cases, when a venture grant is awarded, no commitment for continued support is made. Some United Ways use venture grants primarily as an entry point to bring non-member agencies in as affiliates. Others focus these grants on innovative projects conducted by member agencies, and a number work towards both objectives, involving member and non-member agencies. Venture grants are funded from a small fund that is set aside from the regular allocations fund.
Two types of venture grants have been used most frequently by our United Way. One form of venture grants is seed money grants. These are venture grants intended to provide short-term support for start up, development, or stabilization of new or untried agencies or programs. Their purpose is to promote the improvement of human services through the addition of innovative agencies or programs to the United Way system.
The other common form of venture grants is system-building grants. These venture grants are intended to enhance the capacity of existing agencies and service delivery systems. For example, support for collaborative efforts among agencies or sectors by fostering the improvement of programs and agencies that are already a part of our United Way system.
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Why Venture Grants?
Our United Way has found the venture grant program to be an effective allocations
strategy for several reasons:
1.) Venture grants improve our United Way’s flexibility and ability to innovate. With a venture grant program our United Way can experiment to meet emerging needs without necessarily making a long-term commitment. Venture grants can also serve as the Research and Development arm of the allocations function.
2.) A venture grant program provides an opportunity to involve on a "test" basis new agencies, and thereby improve our United Way’s "inclusiveness." A venture grant might help a new agency strengthen its program so that it can ultimately become a United Way agency.
3.) Venture grants frequently provide agencies with valuable "start up" money needed to support an innovative effort. With a small venture grant an agency can launch a new service initiative and test it without having to decrease an existing service that is important to the community.
4.) A venture grant program can help foster improved coordination. Strategically designed grants can help agencies develop administrative mechanisms and service delivery revisions that will increase the coordination among them. These grants can be used to demonstrate various approaches and evaluate their effectiveness, again without having to reduce existing programs to finance them.
Our Venture Grant Program
I. Eligibility:
An agency/organization must meet the following criteria to be eligible to submit a
venture grant application.
1. Agency/organization must be or be sponsored by an incorporated non-profit human service agency with IRS Tax Exempt status.
2. Agency/organization must provide human services in the Northwest Georgia area.
II. Funding Criteria:
The Venture Grant Committee will evaluate applications according to the
following criteria:
1. Potential for success if funded, as defined by the objectives of the project itself, and as indicated by the capabilities of the agency/organization.
2. Potential for a positive impact upon identified service recipients, or community population.
3. The relationship between the expected impact of the project and the amount of funding requested through the Venture Grant Program.
4. The degree of duplication with other services/programs currently available to the target population in the identified geographic area of service.
5. The innovative, creative, and/or non-traditional characteristics of the project.
6. The ability of the agency or project to attract or develop funds to continue the project after funding through the Venture Grant Program is terminated.
7. The relationship between the project and the need for the proposed services. Three types of needs have been identified as appropriate venture grant funding:
a. Emerging needs – Needs previously unrecognized and/or unidentified; no services currently available.
b. Community or neighborhood needs – Need is shared by residents of a particular community or neighborhood; the need reflects a deficiency in the community or neighborhood that can be addressed through one-time expenditures.
c. Unmet needs of special population groups – Needs not being met by services currently available in the community.
8. The pilot or demonstration characteristics of the project, meaning that venture grant funds cannot be used to continue projects or programs previously operated and funded by other revenue sources.
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